Gary Seymour, sports@wolfrivermedia.com
After putting away the surgical instruments and disconnecting the IV drip, and just before wheeling the gurney down to the morgue, the nurses called the doctor back into the operating room.
The would-be stiff appeared to still have a pulse.
With their playoff chances dangling on the faintest of life support, the Green Bay Packers summoned a wakening breath and sat up in the bed, not quite well but definitely not dead yet.
In what must be considered their best game of the year, the Packers handed Philadelphia its first defeat at Lincoln Financial Field last Monday, 27-13, and in doing so kept their slim postseason hopes alive for another week.
With four straight losses in the books and even the most hopeful of supporters looking to next year, quarterback Aaron Rodgers made a fanciful, bold prophesy. He looked at the Packers’ remaining games and saw them running the table.
Oddsmakers, for their part, saw the Packers scratching. The betting line, which had the Eagles as 3-point favorites early in the week, was 5 1/2 by game time.
That was Rodgers’ cue. His 30-for-39 night passing was a three-cushion bank-and-kick shot with side English, a brilliant effort that restored his station as one the best quarterbacks in the league. The inspired victory also set up the Packers nicely for their next shot. The reeling Houston Texans, losers of their last two, come to Lambeau Field to face a revived and hungry Pack, who are favored by a touchdown.
Last week, a 10-6 Packers finish was borderline laughable. Their injury-tattered defensive unit didn’t seem capable of holding Rasmussen College to 13 points, let alone an NFL offense. The Packers’ D had been abused to the tune of 153 points over their previous four games; Philadelphia had averaged 27 a game at home going into last Monday.
Yet, there they were, sacking Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz four times, making key stops and limiting the hosts to a field goal in the decisive second half. The Packers’ offensive line, meanwhile, kept Rodgers’ backside clean in a sack-free performance.
“It’s been a rough four weeks,” Rodgers said. “We hadn’t played a complete game yet this season.”
But on this night they controlled every phase of the game, including the special teams, an area where the Packers had been struggling and the Eagles had exceled. The little things all added up.
There were plenty of big things, too, like Davante Adams’ great catch of a touchdown pass on the first play of the second quarter, where it appeared for all the world that Eagles cornerback Nolan Carroll would make a drive-killing interception.
“I couldn’t see the ball till the last millisecond,” said Adams, whose five receptions accounted for 113 yards and two scores. “I lost it in the lights.”
“Davante was a key for us,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “He’s playing the best football of his career.”
That’s what it may take from everyone the rest of the way to get home, and for the first time this season the notion looked like something other than a fanboy’s pipe dream.
First-place Detroit, presently two games up on the Packers, still has to deal with road games against New Orleans, the New York Giants and Dallas before hosting the Packers in the regular-season finale. Second-place Minnesota, one game behind the Lions, also plays the Cowboys before its second meeting with the Packers.
They still need help, but the Packers’ fate is in their own hands.
“It’s just good to get off the schneid,” Rodgers said of breaking the losing streak. “(A) 5-6 (record) is a lot better than 4-7. It’s great for our confidence, but we can’t let a lot of relief set in.”
No, they can’t. They have to chalk up and sink the next one.