The Rubber Meets the Road Starting Tonight

Tonight is the 1st game of the rest of the Packers life when the NFC South Leader New Orleans Saints travel to the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday Night Football.

This most crucial week continues at noon on Sunday when the Cleveland Browns host the Green Bay Packers, the Carolina Panthers host the Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Bucs host the Detroit Lions, the New York Giants host the Cowboys and concludes at 3:25 p.m. when the Jacksonville Jaguars host the Seattle Seahawks.

On Pro Football Talk today this is what Mike Florio and his other picker had to say about the upcoming game against the 0-12-0 Browns.

MDS’s take: This is actually a winnable game for the Browns, which we don’t say very often, because Brett Hundley is playing so poorly. And yet . . . they’re the Browns. I can’t pick them to win.

MDS’s pick: Packers 14, Browns 13.

Florio’s take: It’s time, Cleveland. It has to be.

Florio’s pick: Browns 18, Packers 12.

So someone is picking the Browns and I think the Packers could lose although not really or not. I wish I could be certain, but I’m not.

Even if the Packers win the rest of the games they will need help if they are to make the playoffs and it starts this week. The Packers are on the outside looking in at the moment tied for the 4th Wildcard Spot (remember there are only 2) with the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys at 6-6-0.

The Carolina Panthers and the Seattle Seahawks are tied for the 1st Wildcard at 8-4-0 and the Atlanta Falcons have the 3rd at 7-5-0. The Packers still have the Panthers, Vikings and Lions remaining on the schedule, so if they win out they would own the tie-breaker over the Seahawks (beat them in Week 1), the Panthers and it would go to another tie-break instead of head-to-head with the Lions (lost to them in Week 9) while losing out to the Falcons (lost to them Week 2).

First, the Packers HAVE TO win this week and it says a lot when the world outside of the kiss ass local media even considers the winless Browns winning. Open Your Eyes Tedders. This is the condition your cult leader has put the Packers in.

Sadly, there is precedence for the Browns beating the Packers this week. Back in 2011 the Packers were 13-0-0 and the Chiefs were 5-8-0, but the Chiefs beat the Packers, 19-14, with Kyle Orton out-dueling Aaron Rodgers after Todd Haley was fired and Romeo Crennel was coaching his 1s game.

That game actually was the beginning of the end for the Packers. The Packers beat da Bears the next week and then Rodgers was sat down the following week against the Lions when Ndamukong Suh threatened to hurt Rodgers. The Packers had a bye, so Rodgers and the offense hadn’t played together for 21 days and then lost to the Eli Manning led Giants at Lambeau Field and were knocked out of the playoffs without winning a playoff game.

Second, we have to root for the Vikings this week to beat the Panthers this week. I can do that. Third we have to root for the Bucs to beat the Lions. I can do that easily. Then just because they are da Bears it would also be nice for the Bengals to beat the Windy City Blowhards.

Fourth, we have to root for the Jaguars to beat the Seahawks, so our tie-breaker comes into play. Fifth, tonight we have to root for the Saints to beat the Falcons and then again in two weeks.

The Packers need help and it begins tonight and runs through Sunday in order for Aaron Rodgers to return against the Panthers and fulfill a prediction he made last year and hasn’t, at this point, made this year of “running the table”.  

However, if Brett Hundley can’t beat the Browns he will have 3 more games to prove he can make it in the league, but if he doesn’t beat the Browns why bother. I would hope Joe Callahan would play out the string because Rodgers won’t be activated, but once again Mike McCarthy has made it abundantly clear he only has eyes for Hundley.