How Aaron Rodgers’ Injury affected the Packers Season

This is a Cause and Effect essay I had to write for school. I thought it would be nice to put this on jacobszczap.com also…

This season, the Green Bay Packers suffered through their first losing season since 2008, mostly in part to losing possibly the best player in the NFL due to a collarbone injury in a Week 6 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.  The injury forced inexperienced backup Brett Hundley into action. Hundley won a few games for the Green n’ Gold, but wasn’t able to patrol the Pack to the playoffs. Because of Rodgers’ injury the Green Bay Packers suffered through a mediocre season; their first losing season since 2008. Now we don’t know for sure that Green Bay would have made the playoffs if not for Rodgers’ injury, but considering the Packers have had a shot at the Super Bowl every year but his rookie season and that Rodgers is a two time MVP, chances were pretty high for the Packers entering the season.

The Packers were rolling when they came to Minneapolis, Minnesota on October 15 to play the Minnesota Vikings. They were fresh of a comeback victory in Dallas, and things were looking pretty good as they got off to a 4-1 record. But eight minutes into the 1st Quarter, Rodgers rolled right and fired a bullet down the field but was hit viciously three steps after the the throw by Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr. Barr’s hit on Rodgers was extremely unnecessary, as the ball was already out of his hands for at least three seconds. Barr would’ve been totally able to avoid tackling Rodgers. Back up Brett Hundley was forced into the game and was seeing his first meaningful time in the NFL. He went on to throw 3 interceptions in the 23-10 loss to the rival Minnesota Vikings.

Hundley was expected to come back from his performance in Minnesota the next week after a week of practice as the starting QB. However, Hundley picked up right where he left off against the New Orleans Saints at home the next week, and resulted in another loss. Hundley showed the same quarterbacking skills the next week at home vs. the Detroit Lions on Monday night in a disheartening loss. What started off as a promising season for Packers was already going down the drain in only three games without their beloved star quarterback.

Hundley showed flashes during wins against the Bears and Buccaneers, and orchestrated a comeback win against the winless Browns, but he ultimately could not get the job done. Here is just a glimpse of how valuable Rodgers is to the Packers : in seven games, Hundley threw only 9 touchdown passes with a backbreaking 12 interceptions; Rodgers threw 16 touchdowns in only 7 games. Hundley’s passer rating was 70.6 while Rodgers average passer rating per season is 103.8

Rodgers loss certainly was not the only reason the Packers missed out on the playoffs. The defense ranked 21st in the NFL and simply did not play well for Hundley. After a star quarterback goes down other players need to step up, and the Green Bay defense did not help out. And even in the D’s better games, they were always on the field because the offense couldn’t generate anything.

All together, the dismal season ( mostly in part to Rodgers injury ) led to moves in the front office and coaching staff. The biggest change was that long time general manager Ted Thompson was fired, but will still remain with the organization, but in lower power. Defensive Coordinator Dom Capers was also fired due to the fact that his defense did not step up without the presence of a stud quarterback. QB’s Coach Alex Van Pelt was also fired this offseason for not preparing the backup, Brett Hundley well enough.

By Jacob Szczap