Green Bay likes where it stands at bye

NFL bye weeks are a time for teams to take a break from the long season and recharge their batteries.

The Green Bay Packers bye week didn’t arrive until this week, but the team is happy to have reached it.

“I think we’re at a point where everybody is pretty exhausted, but it definitely feels good going into the bye week on a win,” said coach Matt LaFleur after the win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

Of course, with their bye week coming this late in the season, Green Bay has a pretty good idea of what kind of team it is and what lies ahead.

The Packers have dealt with several injuries to key players this year, yet the team still owns a 9-3 record through 12 weeks.

Green Bay’s nine wins are tied with the Arizona Cardinals for the most in the NFL, but the Packers do have another loss on their resume. The green and gold knocked off the Cardinals earlier this season, so Green Bay would win a tiebreaker should the teams own identical marks at the end of the year.

“It’s been a lot of adversity for sure, so I’m proud of the guys,” said quarterback Aaron Rodgers of the team’s injury woes.

Speaking of injuries and Rodgers, the bye week will also allow players to rest and heal up before the final stretch run.

Rodgers has been dealing with a broken pinkie toe. It was reported on Monday that Rodgers planned to forgo surgery on the toe and instead use the off week to heal up and get closer to 100%.

“I’m going to get treatment every single day,” said Rodgers after the Rams’ game.

He added that he will be doing some reading this week, but that “the most important thing is healing and taking care of myself.”

Rodgers isn’t the only Packer who needs some rest to heal up an injury.

Offensive tackle David Bakhtiari is still working his way back from a torn ACL he suffered late last season. He had surgery to clean up his knee recently and is expected to return to the field at some point in December.

Then there’s cornerback Jaire Alexander, who hasn’t played since early October after sustaining a shoulder injury. He’s expected back before the end of the regular season.

Outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith is also expected back before the end of the regular season. He hasn’t played since week one because of a back injury.

There are some additional players who recently returned to the field that also will enjoy a week of healing. Running back Aaron Jones and outside linebacker Rashan Gary both returned to the field against Los Angeles after missing the previous game.

With the addition of some of its currently injured players and nudging its roster closer to 100%, there’s reason for optimism as the season winds down and playoffs near.

Green Bay has a commanding 3½-game lead in the NFC North at the bye week, so it’s possible the Packers could lock up the division well before the final week of the regular season.

“There is still a lot to figure out in the conference, but I like where we are at and I like our football team,” said Rodgers.

The team has its second round of division play remaining during the final five weeks, plus games against the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns.

Another thing working in the team’s favor is where those games will be played. Green Bay has just two remaining road games — and one is against the winless Lions.

Even with one of the NFL’s best records, there’s still more out there for the Packers.

“There’s room for improvement in all three phases, which is always exciting, and we know there’s a lot of challenges left in front of us,” said LaFleur.

“When we’re back in this building, we need to attack it on a daily basis, which I think our guys embrace and they take that to heart. We never look too far in front of us. We always try to focus on and stay as present as possible and our guys have that mentality, and I think that’s the mentality that it takes to win games in this league.”

Morgan Rode is the sports editor for NEW Media. Readers can contact him at sports@newmedia-wi.com.