The Green Bay Packers won’t be getting a Mike McCarthy revenge game in the postseason this year. After a sloppy outing against the San Francisco 49ers, the ex-Packers coach came up short, and his Dallas Cowboys will not advance.
While the Aaron Rodgers vs. Mike McCarthy at Lambeau Field narrative was fun, the beauty of being a consistently successful team is that there is no shortage of enthralling playoff narrative possibilities. Instead of the battle between a quarterback and his former head coach, the playoff seedings are likely setting up a different sort of revenge. With the 49ers coming to Lambeau Field Saturday night and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an excellent position to visit next week, Matt LaFleur may get his chance to exorcise both of his NFC Championship demons in back-to-back weeks.
LaFleur has won 13 games in each of his first three seasons as a head coach. His first two seasons brought the Packers to the penultimate game of the season. However, his squad fell short in both showings.
Green Bay’s playoff losses come in two exciting flavors: blowouts and heart-breakers. LaFleur’s team has had one of each.
In 2019, the rookie head coach faced his friend and mentor in the NFC’s biggest game. That year, the Packers took a beating in their first trip to California, and San Francisco’s elite defense and powerful run game proved too much to handle.
Nothing changed in the second battle, and LaFleur’s team had their blowout defeat. The Packers entered halftime down 27-0, which many would say is very bad. In the second half, Green Bay’s offense would get their rears in gear, putting up 20 points, but the team fell short, 37-20.
Raheem Mostert embarrassed Mike Pettine’s porous run defense with 220 rushing yards and a whopping four rushing TDs. (I’m sorry I made you remember that.)
Year 2 of LaFleur’s tenure saw a much-improved team. After being considered “prime regression candidates” by analytics gurus, Green Bay saw a massive leap forward in LaFleur’s system. Aaron Rodgers unlocked something in the offense and tore the league apart, arguably having the best season of his career.
The Packers lit up the gold zone while having the league’s best offense, earning them the NFC’s lone bye week with the new playoff system. Green Bay went on to carve up the Los Angeles Rams’ No. 1-ranked defense in the divisional round. With the NFC’s path going through Green Bay, it seemed the Packers would be Super Bowl-bound.
And then, heartbreak. The Tom Brady-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers came to town. After trouncing the Packers in the regular season, the game would take place on Wisconsin soil. And Green Bay played much better on their home turf. The Packers would hang in against the Bucs until a questionable no-call defensive holding penalty led to a rare Rodgers interception.
In another Why are you making me relive this? moment, Pettine’s squad failed again in the biggest moments, with a miscommunication that led to Kevin King bungling his coverage against Bowling Green legend Scotty Miller for an end-of-half touchdown.
The Packers would ultimately fall short despite a poor showing from Brady, who threw three interceptions. It went to the final seconds, but Green Bay couldn’t get it done.
Once again the NFC playoffs run through the Frozen Tundra. (Buffalo, you are not allowed to use this term). Following a wild and often tumultuous season that Rodgers and Davante Adams compared to the Last Dance, the Packers are the team to beat. Rodgers has played at an MVP level, and the Green Bay offense is getting hot at the right time. After parting ways with Mike Pettine, the Packers have an improved defense under Joe Barry, further bolstered by some savvy free-agent pickups. Special teams are bad, but what’s new?
This year’s team is much better than they had the two years. And that’s not even taking into account getting back multiple starters that appeared to be lost for the year. This 13-4 squad may be getting Jaire Alexander, Za’Darius Smith, Randall Cobb, Billy Turner, and Whitney Mercilus back, and David Bakhtiari and Josh Myers have already returned. LaFleur is battle-tested and more knowledgeable.
In 2019, LaFleur was a rookie head coach facing a mentor who destroyed his squad earlier in the season. LaFleur has beaten his mentor twice since then while becoming a widely respected head coach in his own right. Week 3’s win over Shanahan’s 49ers showed cracks in their relationship and that Green Bay could find a way to win when the chips were down against a good team (and bad officiating).
The 2019 NFC Championship likely still brings unpleasant memories for Packers fans, but it is entirely irrelevant to Saturday night’s game. The Packers are a better team with a more seasoned head coach. Yet it still represents a chance to wipe the slate clean and reforge the narrative. The 49ers may be the worst matchup for Green Bay on paper, but no team should want to face the Packers either.
While there is no certainty Tampa Bay will overcome their NFC West opponent, there’s a good bet the No. 2-seeded Bucs will make the NFC Championship. Random chance (and some Mike McCarthy failures) will give the Packers a chance to face both of their recent conquerors in the playoffs and rewrite their story. There are a lot of unknowns for the boys in Green and Gold in 2022 and beyond. But the Packers have the power to right the wrongs of the past and come out on top.