Young Packers believe they can make noise in the playoffs
The Green Bay Packers are obviously underdogs entering Super Wild Card Weekend, as you would expect for a seventh seed. In most places, the Dallas Cowboys are 7.5-point favorites, a justifiable perception considering how well they have played. Practically, the Packers season is already a success — they found out that Jordan Love is their […]
The Green Bay Packers are obviously underdogs entering Super Wild Card Weekend, as you would expect for a seventh seed. In most places, the Dallas Cowboys are 7.5-point favorites, a justifiable perception considering how well they have played.
Practically, the Packers season is already a success — they found out that Jordan Love is their future at quarterback, and they made the playoffs in the first season of the new version of the team.
But that doesn't and shouldn't affect how the Packers view themselves and how they are approaching the game on Sunday. They have not given up, and the mindset is still trying to win and advance.
"Our goal is still to go win a Super Bowl," said running back AJ Dillon. "It's not just, 'Oh, we made the playoffs. Thanks!' We're not just happy to be here. We still have a mission. We still have things we want to accomplish."
The pathway to a Super Bowl is nearly impossible. They would have to beat the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers. Then another NFC contender (Detroit Lions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles, or Los Angeles Rams) in the Championship Game. Theoretically, the Packers are expected to be contenders in 2024 or 2025, not now. But they are not putting a ceiling on themselves.
"We're young. But at the end of the day, that doesn't matter when you go on the field," said wide receiver Bo Melton. "You're not young no more. You've got to play."
Smart approach
Few people thought before the season the Packers could make the playoffs. After consecutive losses to the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team had a 25% chance of making the postseason. But they did it.
And that ability to overcome questions and doubts are important to build character, to build inside trust, to put the roster together. And, more than anything else, to allow them to believe.
"Of course, nobody believed in us, but we always believed in us and that's all that matters," edge defender Preston Smith said. "We know what we can do when we play together. We know what we can do when we play our style of football, and (when we're) playing at the top of our game. We can beat anybody, we can win any game and we can go the distance."
First playoff experience
It will be the first playoff start for Jordan Love, but also for a lot of the other guys — especially on offense. After all, the entire quarterback and wide receiver rooms and most of the tight end room are formed by first- and second-year players.
So, we will only know for sure how they will react to a high-pressure game like this when it starts. But the pregame approach won't change, and Jordan Love's calm personality helps other players to keep their minds in the right place.
"Every game, I go through a checklist of what I tell myself," Love mentioned. "Things to try to tell myself to relax, calm down, see the game, let it come to me, and just focus on all the little details that I can focus on, control what I can control. So I don't think it will be any different than any other game. Obviously, it will be an away game, it will be a loud environment. So just trying to get my feet and get settled into the game will be huge."
It's an important step for the Packers, and an important experience for these players before the roster can be considered ready to compete for a championship. But that doesn't mean they can't be competitive right now. If you don't believe them, they don't seem to care.
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