It was all there.
It was all set up.
One of, if not the, greatest non-Super Bowl playoff wins for the Green Bay Packers was about to happen.
Then, in the blink of an eye, a snap of the finger, there was the mob of red jerseys celebrating in the endzone.
Huh? What? How?
Once again, we found out sea changes happen just that quickly in the postseason. Once again, one happened Sunday.
And once again Green Bay was on the losing end.
Karlos Dansby’s 17-yard touchdown in overtime, off an Aaron Rodgers fumble, gave the Arizona Cardinals a 51-45 win, ending the Packers’ season. Green Bay finishes with an 11-6 record.
It had been an epic display of grit from the youthful Packers up until that point. Trailing 31-10 early in the second half - and having trailed 17-0 earlier in the game – Green Bay powered back. The offense became unstoppable, scoring 35 points in the final two quarters (21 in the fourth alone).
Then, when it seemed like it just wouldn’t be enough, Neil Rackers whiffed on a 34-yard field goal with 14 seconds left.
Well, sure, that was great. But you knew they wouldn’t win the coin toss. Then, though, they did. They did win the coin toss! Tails never fails!!
Green Bay was a lock to go down the field and put the winning points on the board. Arizona’s defense hadn’t stopped the Packers in hours. And this time, we didn’t have a turnover-prone quarterback.
But there was the back-breaking turnover. The jerseys change but the results are the same, apparently.
As brilliant as Rodgers was for much of the game (28-of-42, a team-record 422 yards, four touchdowns, one interception), the two mistakes he made came at perhaps the two worst times to make them. His foolish interception, on the first play from scrimmage, led to a 7-0 Cardinals lead. That got the crowd fully into the game and gave a shot of life to Arizona, as a team. And as much as you might want to blame the offensive line for the sack that led to Rodgers’ fumble in overtime, the fault really lies with the young signal-caller.
He held on to the ball far too long – again – and when he was hit, he failed to hang on – again. Rodgers truly has the skills to become an elite quarterback in the league. Honestly, I think he’s pretty close right now. But he still waits for plays to develop longer than allowed at times and he needs to develop better ball security when he gets hit. At this point, those are about the only two things holding him back and it’s a damn shame they both came to light on the game-ending play.
(Please note: If you are a parent, spouse, family member or friend of anyone involved with the Packers’ defense, you should probably stop reading…now)
Of course, Rodgers and Co. were the only thing keeping Green Bay in the game. The defense wasn’t doing a damn thing, that’s for sure.
Where was the group of hard-charging, quarterback-bashing, turnover-forcing animals we’d gotten so used to seeing as the season progressed? Did they even get on the plane?
The performance of Green Bay’s defense was an out-and-out joke. They generated zero pressure on Kurt Warner, couldn’t cover the middle of the field and forced a putrid five third downs (oh yeah, Arizona converted three of them). They couldn’t tackle and, at times, looked like they weren’t even trying to tackle, instead going for ball strips on countless plays. The ball strip approach, by the way, worked exactly once – on Charles Woodson’s strip of Larry Fitzgerald in the second quarter. But yet they kept at it. Not really sure why.
As bad as all that was, the worst aspect of the atrocious performance was that the league’s second-ranked run defense was shredded to the tune of 156 yards. No pressure in the run gaps and no containment of any kind. A unit that shut down Ray Rice, Frank Gore and Adrian Peterson (twice!) couldn’t stop “Beanie” Wells and Tim Hightower? Are you KIDDING me?
Warner, even without the injured Anquan Boldin, was brilliant, no question (29-of-33, 379 yards, five touchdowns, no inteceptions). If there’s any doubt he’s a Hall-of-Famer, it died Sunday. And the receivers/backs found the open spaces and ran tough. Tip your hat to them for that. But Green Bay’s paper tiger defense made it a whole hell of a lot easier for them, time and time again.
We’re left with no other option than to think that there are some major weaknesses on this defense, weaknesses that must be addressed in the offseason.
As mighty as the offense was, there are holes on that unit, as well. Daryn Colledge, for example.
We will discuss how the Packers should address these deficencies in the days and weeks ahead. For now, though, none of that matters.
All that matters is that a brilliant, but ultimately wasted, comeback means we have to chalk up another playoff heartbreaker on our collective resume. Owens’ catch in ‘99. Losing at Lambeau for the first time in ‘03. Fourth-and-26 in ‘04. Favre’s OT interception in ‘08.
And now, losing the highest-scoring playoff game in NFL history.
What a long, cold offseason it looks to be.
-Chris Lempesis
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