@JimPolzinWSJ Don't disagree with that at all, which is why I said the offense was also hugely at fault for the loss. But I'm explaining why a lot of fans (including myself) are more upset about the special teams' shortcomings than the offense's.
The offense and special teams were both hugely at fault for the loss. The difference is the offense was playing a great defense in awful weather. The special teams were just flat-out incompetent. Everyone knew they were incompetent all year and hardly anything was done to fix it.
Packers up 7 points with 6:10 left after a 4th down redzone stop.
Their next 2 drives combined for -15 yards.
1 completion: 4 yds
1 run: 2 yds
3 incompletions
2 penalties: -10 yds
1 sack: -11 yds
Say what you want on special teams, the offense wasn't good enough in the moment.
Recency bias in sports in fascinating. Someone who played lights out in a Super Bowl victory and was more efficient in the playoffs than just about anyone over the past decade is now a regular-season quarterback because he had a bad game.
@JamieBautch He didn't really start bad or end bad, though. And Brady played poorly for most of the game. That end-of-half debacle/Aaron Jones fumble sequence was why the Packers lost.
@JamieBautch Also, just one more point on last year. The Packers scored two TDs and a FG in the 2nd half against the league's best defense. Saying Rodgers didn't come through when it counted based on two 3-and-outs when he nearly led an 18-point comeback is really harsh.
@JamieBautch Also, calling 2010 misleading because they got hot at the right time is hilarious. Rodgers was a massive reason why they got hot at the right time.
@JamieBautch and everyone would say Rodgers played well even though nothing would have changed about the way he played. Brady was much worse than Rodgers and was lauded for making another SB. That's my issue, is that there's a lot more that goes into W-L than QB performance. (2/2)
@JamieBautch Just a few examples but he's almost always played well in the playoffs. And we're going to "take out" his best postseason run when he won a Super Bowl when evaluating how good he's been in the playoffs? (2/2)
@JamieBautch You can't just say the W-L record and expect that to be an argument that Rodgers hasn't played well. 2014 was a fluke, he carried the 2016 team further than it should have gone, played well in 2019 but had no chance against superior 9ers team, played really well last year. (1/2)
@JamieBautch Are you saying Rodgers has been bad in the playoffs for the past decade? Because that's objectively not true, and a statement like that just proves my point.
I hope Rodgers does this but I would understand his hesitancy after what's transpired the last couple years. If he makes less it makes it easier for the Packers to cut bait on him in the future.
Here's the thing – if Rodgers doesn't want to be a part of a rebuild, the Tom Brady payscale is always an option: take the pay cut and put that money towards keeping the caliber of talent you want around you. That's how you (can) avoid dismantling this #Packers team