With the Packers yet to be beaten heading into week 15 at an undefeated record of 13-0, the likeliness of any of Green Bay's upcoming opponents putting a dent in their record is minimal. After the team pays a visit to Kansas City to play the hapless Chiefs this Sunday, the Packers will play host to a Chicago Bears team that's been lost since week 11 without Jay Cutler under center who's been sidelined with a broken thumb and a Detroit Lions team that was downright embarrassed at home in front of a national audience on Thanksgiving. Despite losing their star wide-out Greg Jennings who left during last week's 46-16 shellacking of the Raiders with a knee injury, it'll be hard to see any team defeating the Packers this year let alone in the regular season given their depth on offense.
Though Aaron Rodgers has displayed a season for the decades at quarterback having already thrown for 4,125 yards this year which is slightly behind pace to break Dan Marino's single-season passing record of 5,084 yards as well as throw for 39 touchdowns which ties him with Brett Favre for the most by a Packer in a single-season, it's Green Bay's defense or the lack thereof that could rewrite the record books. Throughout the history of the NFL, the saying has always been, "defense is what wins games." Among the best in the league last year, Green Bay's defense has been an absolute ghost of their former selves and have been suspect this season to say the least. Not once have football fans seen a defense that's allowed as many yards and points as the Packers have this year, yet be so successful. To their credit, however, Green Bay's D has come through in the clutch when needing to force critical turnovers with the game on the line.
Even with their lackluster defense though, it's hard to imagine any team disrupting their path to perfection with offensive fire power that would make the U.S. armed forces nervous. The only way I see any team dethroning the Pack this year, is if they get into a shootout in the playoffs and run out of time. Then again, Aaron Rodgers already proved to us this season in week 13 against the Giants, that there's no such thing as not enough time as he marched his offense down field for the game-winning drive with 58 seconds remaining, setting up a Mason Crosby field goal with time expiring. So unless head coach Mike McCarthy decides to bench his star quarterback and go with Green Bay's practice squad, we might as well congratulate the Packers now on their undefeated regular season. Whether or not they can complete their run, however, is yet to be seen. As the New England Patriots demonstrated in 2008, if you can finish the regular season undefeated, but can't win it all, you've accomplished nothing.
With the road to the Super Bowl going through Green Bay who's only one win away from clinching the number one seed in the NFC, knocking off Aaron Rodgers and company on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field is a daunting task alone, and it doesn't help that the Saints, Lions, Cowboys and Falcons who have all either clinched a playoff spot or are in contention, play in domes or indoor stadiums. And as much as the optimist in me would like to see the San Francisco 49ers win their sixth Super Bowl, the realist in me just doesn't see Alex Smith trading punches with Aaron Rodgers. Having said that, I think when it's all said and done that Green Bay will stand alone with the '72 Miami Dolphins as the only teams in NFL history to complete a perfect season.
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