Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep: The sound of a heart monitor. Life support.
By the time the Cleveland Browns went up 21-7 vs. the Packers, cheeseheads everywhere were preparing to hear the flatline sound. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.
“Green Bay Packers 2017 Season time of death: 4:07 Eastern Daylight Time…. Location: Cleveland, Ohio… Cause of death: Murder by zombie Browns.”
Lord knows this author had written the season off, enough so to tweet about it while at his niece’s birthday party. At least, that’s the blame for “Tae” autocorrecting to “Rae”. Damn you, autocorrect.
But no. Somehow, some way, the Packers gutted out two touchdowns in the 4th quarter to tie the game and squeak into overtime for the second week in a row. Brett Hundley, who managed to bungle his way into the book of Professional Football’s All-Time Bonehead Plays (0:32 mark) with one of the ugliest botched 4th down attempts inside the 5 yard line in league history, kept his team alive. Every bit of his 76.4 QBR was needed to eke past the 0-12 Cleveland Browns.
Following the game, Hundley stated his goal was to keep the team’s postseason hopes alive until Aaron Rodgers could return. Mission: Excessively Complicated but Accomplished so Far.
The Falcons and Panthers needed to lose this weekend. They didn’t.
The Lions needed to lose this weekend. They didn’t.
Aaron Rodgers is scheduled to be evaluated for a comeback, now that he’s eligible. Status: Agonizingly Uncertain.
The Packers roll into Carolina (9-4) next week coming off two straight overtime victories against one mediocre and one historically bad opponent. Their defense is wounded and is a schematic disaster when everyone is healthy anyway. Their starting QB could come back, but that’s anything but guaranteed. If he does, there will be rust. The odds where other NFC teams have to lose are stacked against them.
The one guarantee is another week of the roller coaster ride. Keep it rolling, boys.
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John Piotrowski is a UW-Eau Claire alum, spending most of his life in western WI. He makes the trek east to Lambeau whenever possible. Follow him on twitter at @piosGBP.
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