One of the achievements that the Green Bay Packers have been able to accomplish this season was being able to beat both teams from Los Angeles, as the Packers defeated the Rams in Week 9 as well as the Chargers in Week 11. But, without a doubt, the marquee matchup this past week was the Super Bowl rematch between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, with the Eagles prevailing 21-17. I wanted to reflect on how the Packers can learn from these two powerhouse franchises.
Super Bowl 57….and 58?
Coming into this past Monday’s game, the two teams that had participated in last season’s Super Bowl were once again the leading teams in their conferences. They also were the top seeds going into last year’s playoffs. So it would be wise to try to glean as much as possible from both squads, since it is very possible that both teams could very well be back in the Super Bowl this year.
As for the game itself, it was mostly a defensive slugfest. It was very much in contrast to the high-flying championship shootout we saw 9 months prior in Glendale, where the Chiefs won 38-35. Packers fans need to pay attention to how much both teams have invested in young talent on both sides of the football. Despite major coaching changes for both teams, they both have been able to draft and acquire their top players at an extremely high level. That only reaffirms the importance of good scouting and smart executives for NFL clubs.
What the Green Bay Packers should learn
Naturally, the face of a football team is its quarterback. In recent years, both the Eagles and the Chiefs had to make difficult but necessary choices to be in the best position to succeed. In Philadelphia, they decided to end the Carson Wentz experiment and promote Jalen Hurts to the starting slot despite Wentz being a former NFL MVP. They realized that Hurts’ skills and potential could elevate the team into being a perennial contender.
Similarly, Kansas City finally pulled the plug on Alex Smith’s tenure before the 2018 season. Smith was consistent and well-respected, but the thinking was that backup Patrick Mahomes was a generational talent who could lead the Chiefs to a Super Bowl championship. That decision also turned out to be quite successful, as the team has now won 2 titles and has made the conference championship game the past 5 consecutive seasons.
The reason to bring this all up is to illuminate the questions that the top brass for the Packers will have to answer at the end of this season: Is Jordan Love the future for Green Bay, or is there a better option out there? The Packers can add and draft as many solid role players as they want, but the top priority is ensuring they have their quarterback for the future.
Final thoughts
As we approach the Packers’ rematch with division-leading Detroit on Thanksgiving, it’s essential to ponder over how to improve the Green Bay Packers for the remainder of this season and going forward. The first step is assessing the quarterback. The Packers GM has practically admitted that he will be intensely evaluating Jordan Love for the rest of the 2023 season to see if he is indeed the team’s starting QB going forward.
Added to that, the Rasul Douglas trade has given the Packers much-needed draft capital. The team needs to draft and acquire proven role-players to support Love and to beef up the defense. If they are able to accomplish both these feats, then it is not a reach to predict that Green Bay will eventually join the likes of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs as Super Bowl contenders.
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