No, there is no need to panic. Yet.
The Green Bay Packers are 8-3 and still two-and-a-half games ahead in the NFC North. What could have been an almost division-clinching win against the Minnesota Vikings turned into a heartbreaking loss. Now the Packers have to face the Los Angeles Rams. And this is after losing another major piece of their offensive line.
The Rams are currently 7-3 and second in the NFC West. They are behind the Arizona Cardinals, but still very much in the race. LA will be fighting for a high playoff spot and possible division title. Acquiring players like Von Miller and Odell Beckham Jr. before the trade deadline proved that they are all in. They have to be. The Rams basically have no draft capital for the next few years.
LA heads into Lambeau Field, with the Packers looking for a bounce-back win before finally reaching their bye week. Head coach Matt LaFleur has never lost two consecutive games.
Los Angeles is a good football team, and the Packers are nowhere near close to full strength. Two major factors could lead to a Packers loss and possible season-threatening downward spiral: Way too many injuries and Rodgers’ lingering fractured toe.
Rodgers’ Current Injury
On The Pat McAfee Show this past Tuesday, Rodgers claimed that he had a form of COVID Toe, a side effect from getting COVID-19. He later revealed that was a joke.
A lot of people didn’t know he was joking. To be fair, his tone or face didn’t convey the joke. Then after a Wall Street Journal article started a media storm over it, he revealed Wednesday that he actually has a fractured toe and that it happened during quarantine. He even showed his feet, if you’re into that.
Whether it is COVID Toe or a fractured one, No. 12 is still in pain. That doesn’t mean he won’t play great again like he did against the Minnesota Vikings, but it could still slow him down against the Rams. The defense could now also target his feet during the game, and “accidentally” step on it a few times.
He might need those legs, too, because the Packers are thin at offensive line. Folks were hoping David Bakhtiari would be back by now, but then some new information dropped this week:
Now it appears he won’t be back until much later than expected, maybe even right before the postseason. It’s pretty safe to say that Green Bay will make the playoffs again this year, it’ll just depend on how often they will have home field advantage. A thin line up front and a quarterback in pain is not a great equation for a win against a good football team.
Packers Are Banged Up
It’s almost comical at this point how hurt the Green Bay Packers are. Sure, it has vibes of the 2010 team that won it all with 15 players on the injured list. Plenty of players have stepped up. But the Vikings also had their way with Green Bay’s defense last week. Too many of their playmakers were wide open for easy scores. The defense went from being ranked in the top five to plummeting down those rankings in less than a week.
Here is the updated list of injured players:
There are so many, you probably forgot some. Yes, it’s good that Rodgers, Davante Adams, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling are all playing well. But they are still without your top running back and three of their best offensive lineman. Losing Elgton Jenkins for the year was brutal. He’s irreplaceable. And with Josh Myers also out, they now have their third-string player out there.
And now they have to face off against Aaron Donald, Von Miller, and the rest of the Rams’ defense. It might be harder to get A.J. Dillon going, which will force the pass more. And that means more blitzes, which means more pressure for a lot of backup linemen. It’s not that these guys can’t get the job done or won’t step up this weekend, but it won’t be easy.
Bye Week Coming
Green Bay’s schedule should be a lot easier after their Week 13 bye. They will have the Chicago Bears, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Vikings, and the Detroit Lions. The Packers could easily win all of those games, but teams like the Ravens, Browns, or Vikings could cause some problems. They will also be fighting for potential playoff spots.
Two-straight losses and an 8-4 record don’t seem great, but it isn’t anything world-ending either. Even if they lose to one of those three teams listed, they would still be 12-5. That should still be good enough to take the NFC North. If not, they will be playoff-bound and should have players like Bakhtiari, Myers, Aaron Jones, Za’Darius Smith, Rashan Gary, and maybe even Jaire Alexander back.
Hopefully, the games against the Vikings and Rams ultimately don’t matter too much, and we aren’t seeing the beginning of the end of a promising season ruined by a plague of injuries. Teams have overcome this before. The Green Bay Packers can do it again. The first step would be beating the Rams in Lambeau.
