After a disastrous Week 1 against the New Orleans Saints, the Green Bay Packers have responded to silence the naysayers for now by ripping off five consecutive wins. While it’s been an enjoyable stretch and one that fans should lean into, Green Bay will either have to get healthy or walk a tightrope with a narrow margin for error with the schedule that awaits them.
Over the last five weeks, they have beaten the Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, and Chicago Bears. Green Bay can only play who is next up on the schedule, but there are probably only two playoff teams in that group. The road gets daunting after they play Washington this week.
Back-to-back road games against the Arizona Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs loom. No one would suggest that any of the pass offenses and quarterbacks over the last five weeks compared to what lies ahead in Kyler Murray and Patrick Mahomes.
Injuries to All-Pros Jaire Alexander and Za’Darius Smith should have the Packers’ defense. Tack on recent ones to Preston Smith and Kevin King, and it’s starting to pile up for Green Bay. Yet, the defense has been brilliant over the last couple of weeks. It helps going up against a Matt Nagy run offense with a rookie quarterback under center. It also helps facing Ben Roethlisberger, who has a right arm that looks as though it will detach from his body at any moment.
Aaron Rodgers and Matt LaFleur realize this. While the objective is to take things a week at a time, a watchful eye always needs to be on the big picture. For the Packers, that’s winning the Super Bowl this year, and it’s attainable if they get healthy.
On the offense, the injuries to the line have decimated Green Bay. Josh Myers, their second-round rookie center, is expected to be out for a few weeks. David Bakhtiari hasn’t played a snap yet, and Elgton Jenkins, an All-Pro-caliber lineman, is just getting settled back in after missing three weeks. Rodgers knows they need those guys back.
“That’s kind of how we’ve been winning the last few weeks with as banged up as we’ve been up front and really on defense,” said quarterback Aaron Rodgers, referring to the ball-control offensive approach LaFleur has taken to protect the makeshift offensive line from having to protect for extended periods as a downfield passing game requires. “We’ve been trying to control the line of scrimmage, get those guys kind of comfortable up front.
“If we have to win like this, it’s great. We’ve got to get healthy, though. … It’s nice to be 5-1 and be banged up and have won five in a row, but we’ve got to get healthy as we move forward against an important stretch coming up.”
The Packers have been fortunate to get to the mark they are at right now, but it’s hard to envision this team getting to the promised land at this moment, given not only the landscape of the NFC but the key pieces that are missing. LaFleur provided a grocery list-sized update on all the injuries he could earlier in the week. To keep up, it’s best to get one of those detective boards where they plaster up the faces and the stories and the events to connect all the dots.
One positive for Green Bay is the eventual return of Bakhtiari. He hasn’t played since last year after tearing his ACL, and his return will have a significant impact since he hasn’t been in and out of the lineup this year. LaFleur recently provided an update:
“I would anticipate David being out there for practice. Time will tell whether or not we put him in a position to suit up for us (this week).…Certainly, when you’re coming off a significant injury, you don’t want to just throw someone out there. We want to make sure, number one, that physically, his knee is in great shape and he’s not at further risk of doing more damage to it.”
There’s still plenty of fogginess on All-Pro Jaire Alexander, who Green Bay desperately needs come playoff time to hold things down in the secondary.
“I can’t 100% rule that out (surgery), but we feel like it is progressing nicely. It’s a constant thing that we’re always rescanning, if you will, and making sure we are getting the right opinions to help Jaire out and put him in the best possible position.”
It’s a bit more optimistic on Kevin King.
“It’s something that’s getting better every day. He’s working hard at it, we’ll see where he’s at. It’s more day to day.”
It’s been a sight to see watching rookie cornerback Eric Stokes ball out with confidence every single week. Despite that, a starting duo at cornerback featuring him and Rasul Douglas, who was scooped up off a practice squad two weeks ago, isn’t going to intimidate the likes of DeAndre Hopkins or Tyreek Hill. Green Bay hasn’t faced a wide receiver like that. They also haven’t faced a complete corps of weapons that the Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams have, both of whom Green Bay will see in the coming weeks.
Starting the season 5-1 is something Green Bay would’ve signed up for before the year began. But knowing all the injuries that have come along the way (we didn’t even mention Preston Smith, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, etc.), if there was a 4-3 compromise to have stayed healthy, they probably make that deal.
The Packers can get to the Super Bowl this year. With No. 12, there’s always that possibility. But even Rodgers knows the key isn’t his right arm; it’s getting their starters healthy and back on the field.
