Packers: Three duds from the NFC Championship game
By Cody Young
The Green Bay Packers had a phenomenal 2020 but it has come to an end thanks to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
For the first time in his career, Aaron Rodgers played an NFC title game in Green Bay and it didn’t matter. This is a tough loss and is going to sting for a while. The Packers had real Super Bowl aspirations this season, something that in years past hasn’t always felt possible.
As great as it was to see the team in the NFC Championship last year, it almost felt like they were lucky to be there. This year was different, the Packers legitimately felt like the best team in the NFC and it was Super Bowl or bust.
With so much uncertainty around the team, it felt like it was now or never for the Packers to get a Lombardi Trophy with this squad. The team will definitely look a little different next season and some familiar names may be on new teams.
However, we have plenty of time to talk about many different things during the offseason, so let’s look at three duds from Sunday’s game. Starting with number three…
The Packers offensive line as a whole was not good on Sunday
Dud #3: Billy Turner
Billy Turner had some unfortunate timing on Sunday. Turner has been a very solid piece for the line in 2020 but he may have had his worst game on Sunday. Turner gave up two sacks, both of which came against Jason Pierre-Paul. Pierre-Paul, along with Shaquil Barrett, dominated this Packers front, sacking Rodgers five times and making his job difficult the whole time.
Turner had a decent 2019 but really stepped up his play in 2020. When David Bakhtiari was injured earlier in the year, Turner played great. Unfortunately, it was clear that the Packers needed their All-Pro left tackle against Tampa Bay.