Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers are fresh off of a dominant 17-0 shutout victory over Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks in Week 10. It may have been an ugly game up until the fourth quarter, but they came out with the win. What the game did show was how good this Green Bay defense is capable of playing, which is what fans and the Packers themselves have been hoping to see.
The two losses so far this season have come to the New Orleans Saints in Week 1 by a final score of 38-3 and in Week 9 against the Kansas City Chiefs by a final score of 13-7 without Rodgers. Neither of those two losses are games that should worry Green Bay fans.
With an very high-powered offense and a defense capable of shutting down opponents, this team has been talked about as the best in the NFL. Any time a franchise has a quarterback like Rodgers, they are in play to win a Super Bowl. Add in an elite defense and a plethora of offensive weapons and the odds just keep getting better.
"[The Packers] are the best team in the NFL right now."
—@SaturdayJeff 👀 pic.twitter.com/nv6U7XwLeH
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) November 16, 2021
Green Bay has their work cut out for them this season in the NFC, however, with four or five teams more than capable of competing for the Super Bowl. Among those teams are the Arizona Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams. All of those teams are loaded with talent.
All of that being said, let's dive in and take a look at the three main keys for the Packers to focus on to achieve their Super Bowl hopes.
Keys For Green Bay Packers' Super Bowl Hopes
3. The Packers need to stay healthy
Throughout the entire season, the Packers have seen injury after injury try to hold them back. Green Bay has not seen superstar pass-rusher Za'Darius Smith much this season, they lost superstar cornerback Jaire Alexander, and they also saw starting tight end Robert Tonyan go down with a torn ACL a couple of weeks ago.
Add in this past week seeing Whitney Mercilus go down with a season-ending biceps injury and Aaron Jones injure his knee, and the Packers have to focus on staying and getting healthy. Green Bay is expecting to see star offensive lineman David Bakhtiari make his return soon and are hoping to have both Alexander and Smith back at some point this season.
If the Packers can get their players back who are able to return, they should be just fine. Remaining healthy outside of those returns will be a major factor that will determine whether or not they will be able to make a run at the Super Bowl come playoff time.
2. Remain consistent on defense
Article Continues BelowNext up, it is imperative that the Packers to remain consistent defensively. Over the last few years, Green Bay has shown flashes of having a good defense. Unfortunately, come playoff time, the defense has faltered and allowed too many big plays.
So far this season, the Packers have appeared to have a top-notch defense. They have players capable of getting to the quarterback, an above linebacker corps for the first time in years, and a secondary full of talent and potential. If that can remain constant, Green Bay will have a very good chance to make a deep run in the playoffs.
Over the past three games, the Packers have defeated the Cardinals and Kyler Murray and held them to just 21 points. They lost to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs without Rodgers, but only allowed 13 points. To back that up, they beat Russell Wilson and didn't allow a single point.
In the playoffs, the competition level rises a notch. Green Bay's defense needs to rise with that increased level of competition and pressure. Joe Barry has his group playing at an elite level and that must continue.
The Packers defense have faced Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes and Kyler Murray in the last 3 games.
They have 4 interceptions and allowed only 1 touchdown. pic.twitter.com/Jxt7xtVDJv
— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 15, 2021
1. Green Bay needs Aaron Rodgers to be elite
While the Packers have been extremely successful this season, they would still like to see the face of their franchise raise his level of play. Rodgers has been solid this season, but he certainly hasn't played at the MVP level that he did last campaign.
Rodgers has completed 66.4 percent of his pass attempts for 2,186 yards, 17 touchdowns and four interceptions. He has made some uncharacteristic mistakes at times, including this past week against the Seahawks when he threw a bad pass that was intercepted by Jamal Adams in the end zone. Green Bay would be nearly unbeatable if Rodgers plays up to his potential.
Don't take that for any kind of criticism of Rodgers, however, as it is far from that. Rodgers playing at an even higher level, which he is capable of, just adds another layer to Green Bay's ability to win a championship. If he does raise his level of play, opponents will have nightmares trying to game plan against the Packers.