OUT OF ROCK BOTTOM: Packers to build off of confidence for playoff run

After describing the week nine loss to the Detroit Lions as “rock bottom,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers was not ready to give up on the season after a week 10 win against Dallas.

“I felt like that was the bottom and it was only up from there,” said Rodgers. “I think a lot of the battles that we face are between I and I — between the person that can go out there and dominate, and knows that they can, and the little voice in your head that tries to knock you off that confident perch that you’re on.”

Worries of falling to 3-7 were squashed though with Green Bay’s recent overtime win over the Dallas Cowboys. While a 4-6 record is not considered great — or even good — it does shine a small bright light onto a team that has been looking for one since week four. Not only a win, but an emotional win against former head coach Mike McCarthy may be what this Packers team needs to get it’s season back on track.

A major reason for Green Bay’s win over Dallas came on the back of rookie wide receiver Christian Watson, who not only recorded his first receiving touchdown, but his first three receiving touchdowns. A performance like this from a receiver looked to be somewhat of what the Packers need this season, as the offense has gotten very stagnant at times.

Rodgers has talked in detail over the past few weeks about getting Watson more involved in the offense, something that was unable to happen due to injuries. If Watson can stay healthy, this game against Dallas may be the piece that general manager Brian Gutekunst held out at the trade deadline for.

“Obviously, he’s really, really fast,” said Rodgers. “We’ve got to get him to catch the ball a little more consistently, but not much negative you can say after his performance tonight.”

Getting back into the win column is a bright spot for Green Bay, not only to stay in playoff contention, but to also give the team something to build off of. The win over Dallas almost proved to be a statement win for Green Bay, showing the other teams in the NFL that the Packers are not just going to lay down and die this season. Getting back to the run game seemed very apparent for Green Bay, something Rodgers knows has to be used in order to continue to build momentum.

“I think that we can run the football pretty well and you’ve got to in the wintertime,” said Rodgers, referring to Green Bay’s 207 rushing yards against Dallas. “With the question marks in protection at times and the health of our receivers, I feel like this is definitely a formula that can work for us. We still have to throw it downfield, but until people are going to give us a heavy dose of one-high, we’re going to run the football and then use play-action to take some shots downfield.”

Head coach Matt LaFleur said that a win like this, over the Cowboys, should give the Packers enough confidence to build off of for their next game. Confidence is something that Green Bay needs at this point.

Suffering a five-game losing streak in the middle of the season and seeing multiple players go down throughout the season with major injuries was shaping up to be a recipe for disaster, especially at a time when Rodgers’ future with the team is unpredictable. With a multitude of teams that are over .500 left on it’s schedule, confidence should be the number one thing that Green Bay rallies around as they look to make a push for the playoffs.

“I do think it’s tough anytime you do go through a stretch like that — it’s hard to shut out the negativity,” said LaFleur. “There’s a lot of negativity out there and you just can’t let that filter in and affect what you believe. That’s something we talk about all of the time, you have to believe in yourself and you have to believe in the guys next to you.”

Circling back to Watson, LaFleur seems to know that getting the young receiver as much confidence as the team can will only have a positive result for Green Bay. Establishing a number one receiver should give Green Bay the personnel that they need to open up running lanes and to continue to effectively run the football.

“Christian, obviously he’s got elite size and elite speed and I do think that he’s going to continue to get better and better, because I see him and how he works on a daily basis,” said LaFleur. “That gives us confidence in terms of just wanting to continue to go to him in some critical moments.”

lreimer@newmedia-wi.com