Silence Speaks Volumes as Rodgers Comes to Grips With New Reality
DETROIT – Aaron Rodgers, dressed in black, paused for 13 seconds when asked what gave him belief the Green Bay Packers could turn around the season after a disgraceful loss at the Detroit Lions.
It was as if he’d been asked to deliver the eulogy at his own funeral.
“I’ve been counted out many times in my life, as have many of my teammates, and I hope we just dig deep and find a way,” Rodgers said after a stunning 15-9 loss on Sunday at Ford Field sent the team to an equally stunning 3-6.
“We will truly be underdogs for many games moving forward. Hopefully we can embrace that. We have two games at home. We’ve got to go win those two games in a week, and then this thing looks a little different.”
Whether Rodgers actually believes those words is anyone’s guess.
Barring the greatest turnaround in a sporting endeavor since the tortoise rallied to beat the hare, the Packers’ hopes are, in all likelihood, dead. The Lions, who entered Sunday with the worst record in the NFL and with the worst defense on Earth, probably delivered the knockout. The Packers had a chance to win the game in the final moments. Fittingly, and appropriately, they didn’t.
The Packers are 3-6. They have their first five-game losing streak since 2008. With home games against Dallas (6-2 and coming off a bye) and Tennessee (5-2 and at Kansas City on Sunday night) and at Philadelphia (9-0) coming up, who knows when the Packers will win a game.
Sunday’s game against woeful Detroit was supposed to be that light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. Instead, it was the freight train of reality running through the Packers like a tractor-trailer runs through a plump mosquito. A team that’s used to playing big games in November and December to set the stage for January and the chase for February had its season essentially end on the first Sunday of November.
Rodgers went down swinging – and running – on Sunday. He threw for 291 yards and led the team with 40 rushing yards. But he threw three season-killing interceptions, including two inside the 10-yard line, and went 0-for-4 with the Packers needing 17 yards to steal victory from the jaws of defeat.
“I played shitty,” Rodgers said.
This is Rodgers’ 15th season as the Packers’ starting quarterback. The first 11 reached the playoffs, including one Super Bowl win and four trips to NFC Championship Games. He entered this season with legitimate championship aspirations. That’s why he returned to Green Bay, after all. Instead, he’s staring at the specter of playing in eight meaningless games, a potentially miserable ending to a magnificent career.
“Pretty disappointed. That about sums it up,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers knew the offense would be a work in progress following the trade of Davante Adams. The progress has been practically nonexistent. Injuries have been an ongoing issue, and were again on Sunday, with receiver Romeo Doubs exiting following an 18-yard catch on the first play from scrimmage and left tackle David Bakhtiari, receiver Christian Watson and left tackle David Bakhtiari missing most of the second half.
But those are just excuses. Aside from Doubs, the offense was intact for the first half – and the Packers still trailed 8-0 against a team that had been on pace to allow the most points in NFL history.
Is it simply the absence of Adams, the sure thing for every big moment?
“I think there’s a lot to it,” Rodgers said. “But it really just comes down to execution. Play comes in, we’ve got execute it. There’s a lot of things that go into that. We had a couple chances for sure. Can’t lose a game like that against that team, though, so that’s going to hurt for a while.”
For the final eight games, the Packers are going to be “that team,” something that wasn’t even true when Scott Tolzien, Matt Flynn and Brett Hundley had to step in at quarterback. Rodgers’ 13 seconds of silence on Sunday spoke volumes about that new reality.
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