For seven long weeks, Aaron Rodgers stood helplessly on the Green Bay Packers sideline and watched as his team fell apart. Sure, his arm was in a sling. Then he grew a moustache.
The thoughts that must have run through his head while opposing defences abused three of his successors had to be dark. While the former Super Bowl MVP recovered from a broken collarbone, the Packers lost four of seven games.
But his return, last week, demonstrated how much one player can make a difference in this league.
After he was cleared to return in time for the final game of the regular season at Chicago Bears, he threw a season-saving touchdown pass in the final minute of what many thought would be the Packers’ final game of the season.
Instead, they left Soldier Field with a stunning 33-28 victory and now, despite a modest, 8-7-1 record, the Packers are in the NFL play-offs. Better yet, that 48-yard toss from Rodgers to Randall Cobb earned the Packers a division title and the home play-off game that goes with it, against the wild cards San Francisco 49ers.
“Aaron and Randall just made a phenomenal play,” said Mike McCarthy, the Green Bay coach.
“It’s two guys making a great, great play that’ll be running on the highlights now for the rest of my time on this Earth. What a great finish.”
The big finish may lead to more than one play-off game for the Packers. In the NFL, momentum counts for a lot in the post-season; often it matters little what a team’s record was during those first 16 games. A team that sneaked in but won dramatically in the final week often seems to perform better than the club with the impressive record but no must-win games for weeks.
Three of the past eight Super Bowl champions entered the play-offs as wild cards, an indication that getting to the play-offs is more important than how you did it. Playing well at the right time is a prerequisite for hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
The Packers will march onto the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field at least one more time and with their leader under centre. Rodgers stepping back onto the field could be just what this injury-riddled squad needs. Unfortunately, Rodgers’s counterpart also knows a little bit about momentum.
Colin Kaepernick led San Francisco to last year’s Super Bowl and enters the postseason on a six-game winning streak.
agray@thenational.ae
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