Packers: Top 15 what-ifs of the Ted Thompson era Part 2
9. What if the Packers won the 2011 NFC Divisional Round?
What happened?
The Packers were the best team in football during the 2011 season but were upset in the playoffs by Eli Manning and the New York Giants who went on to beat Tom Brady for a second time in Super Bowl XLVI.
This upset continues to haunt Packers fans as the team was 15-1 headed into that game, and they could have gone down as one of the best teams in football history if they had won this game and gone on to win the Lombardi Trophy for a second year in a row.
What if the Packers won the 2011 NFC Divisional Round?
They would have gone on to play San Francisco in the NFC Championship and I think they would have won that game. They had a far superior quarterback and the best offense in football.
San Francisco had a really good defense with names like Ahmad Brooks, Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman but I don’t think they would have been able to handle that Green Bay offense. The Packers would have also had an advantage at the coaching position with Mike McCarthy.
After beating San Francisco, they would have gone on to face New England in Super Bowl XLVI. The matchup of Tom Brady who was chasing a fourth ring versus 2011 MVP Aaron Rodgers would have been exhilarating and I think the Packers would have won that game.
The 2011 Packers defense was not as good as the 2011 Giants who beat New England in Super Bowl XLVI and that would have hurt the Packers’ chances, but their offense was a lot better and I think they could have put up at least 30 points on the Patriots if they had played them.
Winning Super Bowl XLVI would have done a ton for the legacies of Ted Thompson, Mike McCarthy and Rodgers. Thompson and McCarthy would have had a better chance of entering the Pro Football Hall of Fame had they won two straight Super Bowls while Rodgers would have an even better legacy than he already does.
More people would have considered the Thompson/McCarthy era to be more successful than the Ron Wolf/Mike Holmgren era had the Packers won Super Bowl XLVI, since that would mean they had won more rings.
Rodgers could have solidified himself as one of the five best quarterbacks ever if he had won Super Bowl XLVI as he would have the same number of rings as Peyton Manning and John Elway, and he is arguably a better talent than either of those quarterbacks ever were.
Rodgers could have also had a improved case for being the best quarterback in Packers history as he would have the same number of rings as Bart Starr and more than Brett Favre.