The Green Bay Packers have made it to the playoffs again, This should be cause for some kind of celebration or a toast, especially as the franchise now holds the record for the most appearances with a total of 37. The Packers have only missed out once on the postseason party during Matt LaFleur’s six seasons as head coach. However, they enter an important weekend on a downer.

It all feels a little bit of an anti-climax for the four-time Super Bowl winners. The current mood of low expectations was summed up in the final game of the regular season when they lost to the Chicago Bears, a team they have owned for the last decade and a half with 16 wins from 17 clashes. It wasn’t a good way to sign off at Lambeau Field.

Packers right guard Sean Rhyan summed up the utter frustration at losing to one of the worst-performing sides in the NFL. “For us, it’s like, just sick. Sick, Losing to these  guys right before the playoffs, it’s a kick in the gut. We’ve got to flush it. That’s all we can do.”

It was the Packers’ second straight loss, the exact opposite of last year’s three-game winning surge before the playoffs. The momentum is not there this year and the alarm bells will be ringing. The wild card round will take them to Philadelphia Eagles who beat them at the start of the season in South America and are on a run of 12 victories from 13 matches.  An away encounter with the form team of the NFL is a worry. The Packers’ Super Bowl odds have taken a big hit because the pathway is as tough as it gets.

As the NFC’s seventh seed, the Packers will be away from home for however long the run lasts. It might not be such a bad thing given that last performance on their own patch. More worrying already is that top personnel have taken a hit.  Wide receiver Christian Watson has been taken out through a torn anterior knee cruciate ligament and quarterback Jordan Love lost feeling in his throwing hand when he came off against the Bears.

It’s been the kind of season where the Packers have done enough without really beating one of the elite teams. All their five defeats prior to the Bears came to the top three teams in NFC North in the shape of Detroit and Minnesota twice alongside that narrow Philadelphia reverse. Their sole victory win against an NFC playoff qualifier came against Los Angeles, but even that came with a  caveat as the Rams were depleted with major injuries in a very unstable start to their campaign.

However, there’s a positive context here. The closer defeats came by an aggregate of five points to the Lions and Vikings where the result was very much in doubt up until the last possession. However, on the other side of the coin, The Packers have a bad habit of constantly trailing. It’s not possible to chase the game in extremis constantly when leaking large deficits upfront to the very best in the division.

In the other games, they did what they had to do. However, Cheeseheads will know that it doesn’t suit their team to constantly come from behind. “It’s no secret, we have to find ways to win these games on the road. That’s going to be our reality,”  said LaFleur. He is certainly correct in that assertion.

Despite the recent slip-ups, Love is an explosive presence although that is stymied a little bit by the lack of a real go to wide receiver. The defense has certainly improved by some margin, jumping up the DVOA rankings into the top seven. Safety Xavier McKinney was named in the NFLPA Players’ All-Pro Team and that accolade is well-deserved.

Even so, the Packers are outsiders for the Vince Lombardi Trophy which they last lifted in 2011. Ultimately, they have youth on their side – their roster is the youngest in the NFL for the second straight season. That loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the last seconds of the playoff divisional round last year still hurts . Although these men are now older and smarter for the experience, the team’s fans have been through the agony of so many losses at critical points. Chokers is not a nice tag to have to shake off.

Tough love is needed to make heroes on the big stage. Jordan Love is certainly capable, but he will need all the support he can get if Green Bay are to make it all the way to Caesars Superdome.