It was only a couple of years ago that Aaron Rodgers urged Packers fans to relax after a slow start. Sure enough, that Packers squad went on to the NFC Championship game, and was on the verge of a Super Bowl appearance.

Rodgers had a much different tone on Sunday.

The Packers fell to 4-4 with an uninspiring 31-26 loss to the Colts yesterday afternoon. The final score is misleading, too; Indianapolis handled Green Bay, holding a 31-13 lead in the fourth quarter.

After the game, Rodgers brushed aside his usually calm demeanor. He was stern with his comments, and he didn't hesitate to question the motivation of his teammates.

From ESPN's Rob Demovsky:

“I don't understand it,” Rodgers said. “I mean, this is what we get paid to do, is to bring it every week, and I hope the guys would say I bring it every week. I mean, I love this game and I bring energy. I'm not a rah-rah guy, but I'm a focused, enthusiastic player, and I don't know what the lack of juice was. You kind of felt it over the entire sideline. We didn't have the same kind of enthusiasm and encouragement that we had the previous two weeks. So we've got to look deep in the mirror there, because that's just not acceptable.”

Due to a slew of injuries at the running back position, Rodgers was forced to throw the pigskin 43 times against the Colts. He completed 26 passes for three touchdowns as well as one interception.

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Wakeup Call

With their season now on the brink, Rodgers hopes that Sunday's defeat will lead to more urgency on the field moving forward:

“We have to respond better, like we did to close out the game, [and] get the crowd involved more than just the squirrel on the field,” Rodgers said.

…

“Everybody's going to talk about it; you guys are going to write about it,” Rodgers said. “Hopefully, that wakes people up enough that that's important. I mean, we feel it. It's not something that's some mystery. You feel the energy and excitement and the focus, it just wasn't where it needed to be, and that's on everybody — myself included. We've got to find a way to get guys dialed in.”