Packers desire a trip to the playoffs, not a repeat of the heartbreaking season-ending loss last year.
GREEN BAY: It’s impossible to overlook the similarities.
The Green Bay Packers are 8-8, same as they were in the previous year.
Like they did a year ago, they just finished a comprehensive tuchus-kicking of the Minnesota Vikings, one of their NFC North opponents.
Bo Melton of the Packers’ lengthy road to an NFL opportunity ends with a breakout performance against the Vikings.
And just like they did a year ago, they suddenly have a win-and-they’re-in regular-season finale at Lambeau Field against a division opponent who has been eliminated from playoff contention, only this time it’s the 7-9 Chicago Bears rather than the Detroit Lions.
All they need to do is make sure that they avoid making the same mistakes they did a year ago, which would be to lose and miss the playoffs.
“We know exactly what we have to do,” quarterback Jordan Love said in the aftermath of the Packers’ 33-10 victory over the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on New Year’s Eve. “Everyone, I think, remembers last year. A lot of the guys were on the team. We know exactly how it went down and just how sick that taste was, losing that game and not making it into the playoffs.
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“I think a lot of guys in that locker room remember that, but at the same time, it’s a new year. So we’ve got that mentality that we’ve just got to go win and go handle business.”
Of course, Love was sidelined for that chilly Lambeau Field night’s 20-16 loss to the Lions while supporting Aaron Rodgers. He’ll be behind center on Sunday, 364 days later, carrying on from his stellar debut season as the starter.
Love enters Sunday’s finale having completed 345 of 547 passes (63.1%) for 3,843 yards with 30 touchdowns and 11 interceptions for a 93.8 quarterback rating. Love’s performance against the Vikings included completing 24 of 33 passes for 256 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 125.3, his seventh game with a passer rating of 100 or better in the last nine outings.
Ahead of their rivalry match, quarterback Jordan Love has the young Packers ready for the playoffs.
Even better, he’s completed 210 of 313 (67.1%) passes for 2,351 yards and 19 touchdowns against only three interceptions (105.5 rating) over the last nine games.
Again, though, despite all of the development and progress he and the offense have demonstrated, as well as all of the lapses and setbacks the defense has experienced, it all boils down to one game.
Even if the Packers lose, they still have a complicated, roundabout path to the postseason. However, the simplest route is for the Seattle Seahawks to lose to the Arizona Cardinals, the Vikings to lose to the Lions, and either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the Arizona Cardinals to lose. the New Orleans Saints or the Carolina Panthers lose to the Atlanta Falcons—is negligible.