After re-watching the game, very apparent things become very transparent what will hold the Green Bay Packers back from coasting to a Super Bowl victory; the Green Bay Packers.

Green Bay was the better team in almost every facet of the game against Detroit (the league’s best team in my opinion), aside from execution – which is the most important. The massive number of mistakes are impossible to ignore:

• Pick-6 (led to 7 points for Detroit)
• 3 poor snaps (taking at least 3 points off the board for Green Bay)
• 6 drops (two on crucial 3^rd downs and another in the end zone, costing Green Bay at least 10 points)
• Missed Field Goal, obviously wiping 3 points off the board for the Packers
• Penalties – potentially wiping 7+ points off the board

Total all of those mistakes together and that’s a 30-point differential. Easy to play the what if game, but that directly turns a 10-point loss into a 20-point win. The Packers had no issue moving the ball up and down the field, totaling 411 yards to Detroit’s 261. The Packers had 7 drives end inside Detroit’s 40-yard line, resulting in only 14 points. Even if you kick field goals that’s 21 points and is a much different game just with that outcome.

Who Played Well?

I’d argue Jordan Love looked extremely good, given the weather conditions, for a majority of the game. There were 2 poor throws (one poor decision, the other a straight miss) throughout the entire game. The pick-6 to Kirby Joesph was more of a good play by Joseph than it was a poor play by Love. Had the OL kept their blocks, they had a deep-crossing route wide open (Jayden Reed) for a 30+-yard gain, but tried to check down to Josh Jacobs due to the pressure and inability to escape. Aside from that, Love put the ball on the money throughout the game, and even if the Packers had just 2 or 3 drops, the results likely would’ve been much different. This bye week comes at a great time for Green Bay in hopes to clean up a lot of the pre-snap penalties and to get healthy, mainly Jordan Love’s groin/knee and Jaire Alexander’s hamstring.

Current Standings

As it stands now, the Packers are 3^rd in their division, trailing behind Detroit and Minnesota – with Green Bay dropping each game against those rivals, at home nonetheless. The Packers will come out of the bye (hopefully) ready to take on the Bears at Soldier Field, with likely the #1 FOX crew calling the game. It begins the most important stretch of games for the Packers on the season. Currently holding the final playoff spot in the NFC (7^th) with an opportunity to still catch Detroit should some things fall their way, Green Bay can only worry about improving upon themselves and stringing together consistent football for the remainder of the season.

Moving Forward

Mentioned above, the Packers have 8 remaining games, four of which will come against division opponents. Should Green Bay strive to win their division, let alone contend for the highly-coveted #1 seed in the NFC, they’ll likely have to finish the season 7-1 (very realistic) against similarly hungry teams remaining on their schedule. All of these are very winnable games, but the Bears will give their best shot (or at least their fans will), San Francisco is likely getting Christian McCaffery back, the Dolphins are now healthy and rolling, Seattle is vying to win their division, and the Vikings still have resemblance of a horseshoe stuck up their ass. It’ll be tough, but Green Bay is likely to be favored in all but 1 of their remaining games.

Should Green Bay finish 7-1, that would put them at 13-4, and if one of those wins comes against the Lions, or if the lone loss comes against Miami, that actually puts them in great shape to gain the #1 seed, however, that would mean Detroit has to drop 3-4 more games on their schedule, again, a big ask.

Trade Deadline

The NFL trade deadline has come and gone, and while many fans wanted Green Bay to make a move, a major one, they chose not to. The Packers decided to move on from DE/Edge Rusher Preston Smith, who wanted to be traded as he wasn’t a fan of the new defense. Green Bay moving on from Smith frees up Lukas Van Ness, Kingsley Enagbare, and Arron Mosby to garner more snaps, and hopefully that generates a more consistent pass rush. We’ll see.

Again, there’s a lot to clean up, but even if Green Bay limits the drops and pre-snap penalties, they’re a favorite to hoist the Lombardi Trophy come February.

Keep in mind, this team is still the youngest in the league, and with that, you get mistakes…the good news, as the youngest team the liklihood

Keep in mind, this team is still the youngest in the league, and with that, you get mistakes…the good news, as the youngest team the likelihood of improving is higher than any other team. Especially given the amount of talent dispersed on this roster, that should be something to keep in the back of your mind as you watch them the remainder of the season.