Aaron Rodgers and the Packers own the 1 seed in the NFC right now. However, after an unimpressive showing, Rodgers was quick to call the offense out.
Advertisement
Here is what Rodgers said exactly:
“That type of football in the second half…not gonna get it done in the playoffs.”
After the Packers jumped out to a 21-3 lead against Carolina, it took everything from their defense to prevent a complete collapse.
The offense would only manage a field goal after that as the defense held on for a 24-16 victory. While a win is a win, the Packers are 11-3 and a Super Bowl contender. Their opponents, the Carolina Panthers, are a measly 4-10. There is no excuse for them being in the game that late.
Also read: Justin Herbert is about to break the rookie passing TD record for a season
The Path to the Number 1 Seed
If the Packers play their cards right, the road to the Super Bowl could run through Lambeau this January. The simplest, and perhaps safest, route involves winning their next two games straight up.
The Packers will take on the Tennessee Titans (10-4) next week and will wrap up the season against the Chicago Bears (7-7).
Other ways exist for the Packers to clinch that coveted one seed, however. If the Packers lose to the Titans they can still win the NFC by beating the Bears. At that point, if the Seahawks and Saints win out, all three teams would be tied at 12-4.
However, the Saints and Packers would have conference records of 10-2 while the Seahawks would be at 9-3. Further, since the Packers beat the Saints earlier this season, they would win that tie-breaker too.
However, a loss to Chicago could complicate things even if the Packers beat Tennessee. Again, all teams would finish 12-4, but the Saints would win the conference-record tie breaker, and thus end up with the one seed.
Since the Seahawks and Packers would both have conference records of 9-3 at that point, the tie breaker comes down to common games.
Seattle would win this tie breaker as they are 4-0 against Minnesota, San Francisco and Philadelphia while the Packers are 3-1. That means Green Bay would finish as the 3 seed and face the Bucs again in the first round.
The drop off between the one and three seed is steep, as there would be no bye-week and a much tougher opponent, one the Packers were humiliated by earlier this year.
Aaron Rodgers For MVP?
Rodgers has had a few bad games here and there, but he’s built up quite the season and is a strong MVP candidate alongside Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Rodgers has thrown for 3,828 yards (sixth in the NFL), 40 touchdowns (first), and only five interceptions. He also currently has the highest QBR in the league at 83.6. Simply put, Rodgers has been tearing it up.
A few bad games have proven to be knocks on his case as the race between him and Mahomes is airtight. If Rodgers can have two strong showings in the final weeks, he may just lock up the award.
Also read: Joe Montana would rank almost last in 2020 NFL quarterback stats
