The Green Bay Packers weren’t expected to beat the Dallas Cowboys over the weekend, and they especially didn’t choose to race the boat against a 12-win Dallas team en route to a 48-32 victory.The Packers weren’t supposed to make the playoffs this season. It was considered an experimental “growth year” for Green Bay.
General manager Brian Gutekunst traded four-time MVP and future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets, and the Packers were excited to see who would be his successor, Jordan Love. And they didn’t seem to have much to do in the first quarter of the season. Love struggled early and the Packers started 2-5. But something happened to Love in early November, and he and the Packers’ offense have been an absolute force ever since.
This was never more evident than against Dallas in the playoffs, when Live stepped into Jerry Jones’ masterpiece and created one of his own. He completed 16 of 21 passes for 272 yards and three touchdowns, showing complete control of the offense as a whole, and showed off his supernatural talent on multiple occasions.
The win against Dallas set the Packers up for a matchup with a familiar foe in the San Francisco 49ers, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the Packers were knocked out of the top seed in the NFC. But it’s surprising that less than a year after trading Rodgers, Green Bay is still running and struggling.But Love’s rise to stardom has much bigger implications for Green Bay’s future. Because if he’s still “figuring it out,” what will next season and beyond look like? The same seems to be true of the crimes around us.
Coach Matt LaFleur currently has a roster of young playmakers in Romeo Dubs (sophomore), Dontayvion Weeks (freshman), Tucker Craft (freshman), Luke Musgrave (freshman) and Christian Watson (sophomore). As Love continues to thrive, the core of young, cheap talent is likely to improve.
Despitethe Packers losing to the 49ers the following weekend, Love extended the Super Bowl window to Green Bay.
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