After attempting only two passes, Aaron Rodgers went down with what turns out to be, probably, a broken collarbone, and with that pretty much ends any hope the Green Bay Packers might have had to compete this season, be it win the division, make the playoffs or play in the Super Bowl.
There is no definitive answer and still some tests to run, but it doesn’t look good. A broken collarbone usually means between six and sixteen weeks of recovery. At best, the Packers can hope for a week 15 return from their quarterback, but by that time it might be too late.
Eddie Lacy and the running game did all they could to prevent the loss of the team’s best player, who might also be the best quarterback in the league, affect the outcome of their game against the Chicago Bears. Lacy ran for 150 yards and the team gained 199 yards on the ground. Wallace did throw a an interception on his first drive since 2011 and was sacked four more times throughout the game, and simply wasn’t good enough.
The Bears won 27-20 thanks to 13 unanswered points, including a touchdown pass from Josh McCown to Alshon Jeffery late in the third quarter. The Packers tried to be as conservative as possible and simply go with what they know works, which is to run the ball through Lacy, who has more yards than anyone in the NFL since returning in week 5 from a concussion (545 yards). The misleading statistics of the past suggest that when the Packers run designed rushing plays on more than 50% of the time, they win 33 out of 35 games. However, that usually means they’re simply in the lead and have Rodgers to take care of the ball and create an early lead. But chasing a team by simply running the ball all the time (Wallace was 11-of-19 in the game) is not a recommended course of action.
Rodgers joins a long list of key Packers players out with an injury: Bryan Buluga who tore his ACL; Clay Matthews out with a broken right thumb; Randall Cobb who broke his leg; Nick Perry; Jermichael Finley with a dangerous neck injury; and James Jones, who will be ready to play next game.
However, even with all of those guys back from their injury, it won’t matter without Rodgers, who has been among the most consistent quarterbacks in the NFL since the day he started, leading the Packers to a 57-29 record over that time span, ranking second in total QBR, passing touchdown and the best in the NFL when it comes to touchdowns-interception ratio.
He has a shoulder injury. They want to run more tests. They don’t have an exact diagnosis. We’ll have more information, probably tomorrow. No timeline, no exact diagnosis. That’s where it’s at. Seneca, he needs to perform better and he’ll definitely do that with a week of practice.