Sure, our only responsibilities as fans are to watch the games sitting on our fat butts and drinking, but this was an exhausting year to follow the Packers. They didn't just back into the playoffs; they fell off a mountain into the playoffs and hit every boulder on the way to the chasm floor. Just how many times did this season seem finished? Let's go to the highlights:
- Nov. 10: With Aaron Rodgers and half the team already hurt, backup quarterback Seneca Wallace leaves the Eagles game early with a groin injury and is never seen again. Scott Tolzien takes over as QB #3. The Pack loses at home for the second week in a row.
- Nov. 28: Green Bay allows 37 unanswered points in Detroit and almost 600 yards on defense. In their fifth straight winless game without Rodgers, the Packers look like the worst team in the NFL. QB #4 (no, not that #4) Matt Flynn is horrible.
- Dec. 15: Green Bay trails 26-3 at the half as thousands of TVs across Wisconsin are clicked off. Flynn leads the Packers back in the fourth quarter as Dallas unaccountably continues to pass instead of running out the clock.
- Dec. 22: The Packers lose to Pittsburgh and will be eliminated from playoff contention if Chicago wins later that day. The Bears promptly get destroyed in Philadelphia.
- Sunday: The blundering Bears hand the NFC North title to the Pack. Chicago's defense stares at a fumble until Green Bay picks it up for a cheap touchdown. Alshon Jeffery drops a pass that could have given Chicago an eight-point lead late in the game. Safety Chris Conte helpfully leaves Randall Cobb wide open for the winning throw from Rodgers.
And that's just the quickest of summaries. Unfortunately, the 49ers come to Green Bay Sunday and probably will punctuate the list with a final bullet. San Francisco won't beat itself, and the Packers are likely out of miracles.
