Gary Seymour, sports@wolfrivermedia.com
Oh, the indignities.
The Green Bay Packers’ 20-13 loss to Minnesota in the regular season capper was not only their second straight defeat and sixth in their last 10 games, but it marked the first time since the divisions were realigned in 2002 that they failed to win an NFC North game at home.
With the moorings of a season on the brink further unfastened, a mutinous fan base began grumbling about a total overhaul, all the way to the top of the organization. Second place doesn’t cut it when division titles are second nature. It’s the first time the Packers haven’t won the NFC North since 2010.
That utter failure of a season, remember, ended with the hoisting of a 2-foot, 7-pound sterling silver memento named after one of their former coaches. The next gripe about the Packers’ not winning their division that year will be the first.
There are worse fates than second place in the division. One that springs to mind would be missing the playoffs. The Packers played well enough over the 16-game haul to avoid that outcome.
Coming into the Vikings game, the Packers were faced with one of two postseason scenarios. With a win, they would have had to play Minnesota again in this weekend’s wild card game. Beating any NFL team three times in one season is no walk in the park, regardless of how dismal the opponent. The Vikings, while not yet Super Bowl caliber, aren’t bad.
As a thought experiment, consider whether you would prefer a loss to the Vikings coming last Sunday or this weekend. To ask the question is to answer it.
Last week’s loss means a first-round matchup at Washington. Packers coach Mike McCarthy, while not jumping for joy with the result of the Minnesota game, had the big picture in mind going in. For one thing, he sat starting left tackle David Bakhtiari, who is recovering from an ankle injury and probably could have played in a more urgent setting. McCarthy is fully aware that the big game – or, hopefully, games – lay ahead.
Another team to have dropped its final two regular season games this year was New England. In doing so, the Patriots lost their hold on home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady remarked in the postgame press conference that what’s happened over the past six weeks doesn’t matter. To emphasize his point he added that what’s happened over the entire past 16 weeks doesn’t matter, as long as you’re in the playoffs.
Three years ago the Baltimore Ravens roared into the postseason by losing four of their last five regular-season games. Then they won the Super Bowl. A strong closeout is a great deodorant to a lousy regular-season finish.
All that matters for the Packers now is the game in front of them.
The Patriots’ late-season wobbling, wherein they lost to division rivals New York and Miami, also underscored the wide-open nature of the playoff field. Quick, who is the best team in the league right now?
For much of the season the consensus was New England, or Denver. Carolina was unbeaten until its 15th game. A week ago the Arizona Cardinals were garnering the accolades, fresh off their 30-point win over the Packers. But their stock fell when Seattle handed them a 30-point spanking of their own.
Traditionally, the defending champion is considered the team to beat until they’re knocked off. In that vein, the Seahawks can rightly lay claim as the team to beat in the NFC. So be it. The eventual champ is obliged to knock off whoever shows up in any case.
Throughout the second half of the season the Packers have been the proverbial enigma wrapped in a riddle surrounded by a mystery. On Sunday they’ll find out who they are, for better or worse.