The Morning After: Super Sunday

The Super Bowl is set.

It's a rematch of a game we all saw just two years ago.

The Philadelphia Eagles won the NFC with a 55-23 trouncing of the Washington Commanders.

The Kansas City Chiefs did what they always do, beating Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills 32-29.

The last time these two teams met, the Chiefs won 38-35 on a short field goal from Harrison Butker.

The Chiefs have opened as a 1.5 point favorite. It's certain to be an entertaining game.

That begs the question, how do the Green Bay Packers get into a position where they are playing in this game? 

The Packers are certainly talented enough.

They played the Eagles tough on two separate occasions this season. 

They were in close battles with both Minnesota and Detroit. 

They beat the Los Angeles Rams, albeit a beat up version in early October. 

Ultimately, however, the Packers were defined by the games they did not win.

Six of their seven losses came against Detroit, Minnesota, and Philadelphia.

Those three teams finished with the three best records in the conference.

The conference is not getting any easier, either.

Sure, Minnesota and Detroit both have questions, but Chicago could be on the rise with Caleb Williams entering his second season.

The Washington Commanders knocked the Lions out earlier in the postseason behind rookie phenom Jayden Daniels.

Both Daniels and the Commanders should be better in 2025 than they were in 2024.

The Rams are always going to be tough with Sean McVay at the helm. Matthew Stafford has some questions to answer about his future, but if he returns, they cannot be counted out.

Then there's the San Francisco 49ers, who missed the playoffs this season, but should have better injury luck in 2025.

Brian Gutekunst claimed he needed to up the urgency around the organization.

He felt it was time they started to compete for championships.

How do they do that? 

They certainly have some talent, but it's time for the Packers to model one of the words that Gutekunst often likes to use when describing his organizational mentality.

Aggressive.

Howie Roseman is an aggressive General Manager. If he sees a weakness, he'll use all avenues of player acquisition to fill those needs.

Philadelphia's secondary was in shambles at the end of the 2023 season. 

Roseman added Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson to the fold.

All three played starring roles in Philadelphia's run to the Super Bowl.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Eagles are equally as methodical as they are explosive.

Yes, they can wear you down the field with their run game.

Yes, they'll run the brotherly shove to extend drives in short yardage situations.

They'll also run around you with guys like AJ Brown and Saquon Barkley.

Barkley's first touch of the NFC Championship Game was a 60-yard touchdown to give the Eagles a 7-3 lead. They'd never trail again.

Explosiveness is something that the Packers lacked sorely at the end of the season.

As good as their ground game was, it was more methodical, than explosive.

The passing game was a mess, and the ground game was not nearly dominant enough to overcome a weakness like that against the league's best teams. 

If the Packers are looking to emulate the Eagles, they won't be able to build the offensive line that the Eagles have. That's the best group in football. 

The Packers have a good base in that group, but certainly are not dominant.

How do they find a way to be more explosive?

A leap from some guys in house should be a priority. Featuring players like Tucker Kraft is another priority.

Yes, adding more explosive players on offense, should also be a priority.

It's a big-play league. 

If the Packers want to be playing on Super Sunday in 2026, the first path to finding that is making plays down the field.