After last season ended well short of a Super Bowl, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst spoke of the franchise operating with more urgency.
“I think it’s time that we start competing for championships, right?” Gutekunst said, via NFL.com.
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That’s why the Packers traded for Micah Parsons. It was a push to going from good to great. And Parsons transformed the Packers defense with his 12.5 sacks.
And now, with Parsons done for the season with a torn ACL, the worry has to be that the Packers go from a potentially great season and revert to being good.
The Packers aren’t going to go away without Parsons. There’s still a lot of talent. But Super Bowl dreams are much less realistic without their best player, and one of the best players in the entire NFL. Even beating the Chicago Bears for the NFC North championship becomes harder.
Parsons made that type of impact. He is third in the NFL with 79 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. His 12.5 sacks are tied for third in the NFL. No other Packer has more than 47 pressures or 7.5 sacks. No offense to Rashan Gary or anyone else on the defense, but there’s no other difference maker that’s on Parsons’ level, or anywhere close.
Micah Parsons suffered a torn ACL in the Packers’ loss to the Broncos. (Photo by John McGloughlin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
And if the Parsons injury was the only one, it would be easier. The Packers have also lost tight end Tucker Kraft, who was the Packers’ best weapon in the passing game this season, as well as defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt and offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins. Include Parsons and the Packers are going forward without four key players. That’s a lot to overcome.
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The Packers knew they had to upgrade to chase a championship. Parsons was everything they could have asked for. Without him, it seems like a Super Bowl might be out of reach.
Panic meter: It’s looking like a “what if” type of season for Green Bay
Patriots have a rough loss
The Patriots could have clinched the AFC East with a win on Sunday. They led 21-0 over the Bills. And they allowed Buffalo to score a touchdown on five straight drives. The Bills’ 35-31 win left them with a 37.7% chance to win the division, according to DVOA.
The Patriots are still clear favorites, but 37.7% isn’t insignificant. And the Bills might feel even closer after they blew that 21-point lead with an AFC East title on the line.
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It was a bad turn of events, but the Patriots shouldn’t panic. They had won 10 in a row before Sunday. They still lead the division by a game over a Bills team that has a great quarterback but has plenty of flaws around him. The Patriots shot at the No. 1 seed took a hit when they lost and the Broncos won, but the first priority is winning the division. And that should still happen.
Panic meter: Every team is allowed a loss every 11 games, even if it’s a big blown lead to a division rival
Buccaneers’ slide continues
When Todd Bowles went on an expletive-laden rant after Tampa Bay blew a 14-point lead to the Atlanta Falcons and lost, it was out of character. It was so out of character, it seemed like a coach who needed something extreme to get his team going, since nothing else was working.
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The Buccaneers should be running away with the NFC South. Instead they lost back-to-back games to the Saints and Falcons, who are a combined 9-19. Tampa Bay is fortunate they play in a bad division. The Panthers lost to the Saints on Sunday to make sure the Buccaneers didn’t feel too much pressure.
In terms of the division race, the Buccaneers are fine. They’re tied for first place and if they win two more games they’ll take the division title. That might not be the point. Due to the ongoing struggles of the offense and the defense’s inability to even slow down Kirk Cousins and the Falcons, the Buccaneers look like a team that will be immediately dismissed from the postseason, if they get there. It’s a team that is playing under its talent level.
Panic meter: The Bucs’ slump has exposed some major issues
Big change for Dallas D?
The Cowboys hired Matt Eberflus to be their defensive coordinator, then traded Micah Parsons right before the season started. That didn’t help him out, but the results have still been poor. Dallas ranks 31st in points allowed and 29th in yards allowed. After seeing the Cowboys defense get shredded by Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who had struggled mightily for much of the season, Jerry Jones was asked if he thought Eberflus was the right coach to run the defense.
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“The adjustments that we should be making (defensively) should be with these next three games in mind,” Jones said, via The Athletic. “With three games left in the short time that we’ve got to play them in, then that will impact any adjustments that you make regarding coaching with the time frame we’re dealing with. That’s a legit question.”
That’s also not much confidence in Eberflus. Unless there’s a big improvement with just a few games left, Eberflus might be in trouble.
Panic meter: It seems like Eberflus has three games left to save his job
This news was originally published on this post .
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