Gary Seymour, sports@wolfrivermedia.com
This is why they invented the reset button.
Following last week’s Mile High humiliation, the Green Bay Packers find themselves in the unfamiliar position of getting up off the ground, dusting themselves off and returning to the fray after the dispiriting 29-10 loss to Denver.
It was the first defeat of the year and as sound of a thrashing as any good Packers team of recent memory has endured.
The numbers alone were startling, despite the relatively tame final score. For the second week in a row, the Packers’ defense gave up 500 yards. There aren’t many 6-1 teams in NFL history that have given up 500 yards in successive weeks, but that is the grim reality that needs to be reversed this week.
The defense bent like a champ but didn’t break in the win over San Diego. Against Denver it was a different story. While the Broncos were running wild, the Packers’ offense went AWOL.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers finished with 77 yards of passing – for the entire game. That’s not a typo. Rodgers usually has 77 yards of passing before he’s done brushing his teeth.
The Packers got drilled because the Broncos’ front seven beat up the Packers’ front seven, simple as that. It may have been Denver’s best game of the season, but when you get outgained 500 yards to 140, feel free to assume it wasn’t your night.
The challenge facing the Packers this week is putting the wounded pride and statistical horrors to the side and get ready for Carolina.
Besides, the Denver game was only one loss, and despite the complete breakdown, it actually wasn’t that bad of a loss.
If you’re wondering what in the name of Vince Lombardi constitutes a bad loss, I direct your attention to last year’s NFC championship game. A bad loss occurs when yours was the better team that day but didn’t get it done. At no time last week did you get the feeling that the Packers were the better team.
The Packers weren’t likely to run through the entire regular season unscathed, not as badly as they’re hurting at key positions.
Two cornerbacks – Sam Shields and Quinten Rollins – are nursing shoulder injuries and are listed as questionable to play Sunday. In light of the aerial blistering absorbed over the past two games, cornerback is one spot they can ill afford to get any thinner.
Also questionable to go in Charlotte is wide receiver Ty Montgomery, whose ankle injury has sidelined him for the past two games.
The Panthers are banged up, too, as are most teams halfway into a season. Avoiding key injuries goes hand-in-hand with the part about getting hot at the end of the season. Sometimes the best team at the end is the one that stayed healthy.
As for this year, the Broncos may end up being the best team in the league after all. Maybe it’s their year. Time will tell. For now, Denver is the problem of New England, Cincinnati and every other AFC playoff team. Good riddance.
Try to remember to forget the loss to the Broncos. Payback for Rodgers and the Packers is down the road somewhere. If that somewhere turns out to be this season, then everything will have worked out.