Packers plummet in latest National Football League power rankings

Packers fans have been hoping this never happened, but with the loss of Aaron Rodgers, the inability to get Brett Hundley ready for prime time, and a defense that continues to be soft and lethargic, this team is on the edge of oblivion.

Packers losses over the past two weeks were amplified in Monday night’s defeat at home to division rival Detroit, knocking a once proud and competent unit down three notches in Bleacher Report’s most recent power rankings and a step closer to sitting out the 2017 playoffs.

In the best Jim Mora impersonation, we can only say, “playoffs? Playoffs …?”

While Hundley was once again limited by head coach Mike McCarthy’s play selection that saw the ball traveling sideways more often than downfield, much of the blame should also be laid directly in Hundley’s lap.

His inexperience was evident as he too quickly looked for dump-off options instead of continuing to look downfield. On Green Bay’s first drive last night, Hundley lost sight of a wide open Jordy Nelson on a play in which he pulled the ball in too quickly and took a sack.

Green Bay Packers

That sack led to a stalled promising drive and a blocked field goal attempt … and from there, the route was on.

Detroit moved through Green Bay’s defense on their first possession like butter, scoring to take a lead that would never be overcome.

But the blame for Monday night’s loss on national television wasn’t all Hundley’s or McCarthy’s fault.

On that Lions first drive, Green Bay had stopped the Lions on a third and 14, only to watch defensive leader Mike Daniels pull one of the most idiotic stunts of his career by head-butting a Lions offensive lineman – after the play was over.

Players on playoff-caliber teams don’t do that.

The Packers defense once again was putrid.

Dom Capers’ unit was soft, indecisive, and out of position more often than not once again. Matthew Stafford completed nearly 80 percent of his passes Monday night, going 26-of-33 for 361 yards, and two touchdowns.

He was given all night to throw as Green Bay’s defense provided very little pressure on the highest paid player in the league.

And it wasn’t like the Packers’ defense didn’t put the Lions into difficult situations, but Packers defenders melted away on third and long situations.

The Lions converted five of the eight third-and-long situations they faced – that’s a conversion of 63.5 percent in those situations.

This is a franchise that is imploding through no reason but the leadership’s refusal to plan for this day.

A team loses its best player and leadership has no answer.

A team that has continually seen it’s defense among the worst in the league and only getting worse, and leadership does nothing to shake the tree.

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A team that was once considered the NFC’s prime choice for the Super Bowl, is now in the death grip of a losing season.

This is a team that may not win another single game this year unless something shakes them out of the nightmare that continues week-in, week-out.

Green Bay fell from 24th last week in Bleacher Report’s power ranking to 27th this week.

Frankly, I’m thinking this team should have fallen farther.

Don’t be surprised if teams like Tampa Bay or even Cleveland rise up and beat this battered Packers team.

By the end of the season, this might be considered one of the franchise’s worst seasons. We have to go back to 2005 and Mike Sherman for a team that was as bad as this one appears. The Packers were 4-12 that year. Sherman was fired at season’s end.

What’s the answer?

Next: Top 30 moments in Green Bay Packers history

At this point, nothing will happen until season’s end, but if Packers leadership is interested in trying to salvage anything from this train wreck, they need to start looking inward and evaluating how they do things from an organizational standpoint.

Aaron Rodgers won’t be around forever, and we’ve gotten a good glimpse of what life is like without the future hall-of-famer.

It’s not pretty …

Stay tuned …