Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers failed to reach the playoffs this season, the first time that’s happened since 2008. Of course, that was mainly because Rodgers missed over half the season after breaking his collarbone. But even when they have reached the postseason, they haven’t made it back to the Super Bowl since their championship-winning season of 2010.

In a recent appearance on Golic and Wingo on ESPN Radio, Rodgers says the team is not that far away from bringing another title to Titletown, USA. But he brings up a salient point that they’ll need to get back to having a championship-caliber defense like the top contenders had this season.

Per ESPN’s Jason Wilde:

“I'd say we're not too far off. If you look at the final four teams that were in it, three of the four have dominating defenses, and the other one is the Patriots, which are often the most well-coached team in the NFL. You're looking at what Jacksonville did with their defense; what obviously Minnesota, what they do with their defense, and Philly was phenomenal. We need to get back to playing championship defense.”

It’s hard to argue with Rodgers’ point. The last time the Packers finished with a top-10 defense, they ended up winning the Super Bowl. After seven years of underachieving on that side of the ball, they’ve finally shaken things up by letting go of Dom Capers and bringing in Mike Pettine as the new defensive coordinator.

Pettine has overseen several top-10 defenses during his defensive coordinator stints with the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills. If he can do the same in Green Bay, Rodgers and the Packers should take a significant step toward adding another title sooner rather than later.