For Packers, Championship Expectations Return to Titletown

While the Green Bay Packers were beaten 24-21 by the San Francisco 49ers in a divisional-round playoff game, they announced to the world they can play with anybody.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Expectations?

In a city named "Titletown," chances are they’re pretty high.

Every season since Brett Favre’s emergence as a franchise quarterback in the early 1990s has held a simple message.

Win a Super Bowl or the season is a failure.

That remained true for the Green Bay Packers with one year of respite when Aaron Rodgers announced himself as one of the best young quarterbacks in football by the end of the 2009 season.

Rodgers and the Packers won the Super Bowl after the 2010 season, and the expectations remained there until he was traded in April.

General manager Brian Gutekunst, coach Matt LaFleur and the players might never admit it, but the reality is the Packers were not expected to be Super Bowl contenders this season.

The 2023 season was all about 2024 and beyond. It was about whether or not they had a quarterback of the future, or if they’d be in a position to draft one if the season was a disaster.

The reality is the Packers exceeded expectations in 2023, because there were not any.

Making the postseason was an accomplishment. Winning a road playoff game was almost akin to winning a championship.

And, yes, losing to San Francisco probably stings a little less because the team was widely considered to be playing with house money.

Maybe that was a cathartic reason for a fanbase and franchise that has been under the weight of enormous expectations since Feb. 6, 2011, when the team won its last Super Bowl.

Pressure is a privilege, but it also can cause a team to combust.

The 2022 team was a good example. Between a talent drain with the loss of Davante Adams, injuries and below-standard play at the quarterback position, the season felt exhausting.

LaFleur never said that explicitly but would give a nugget every now and again about how this season felt like a fresh start.

"There’s a different energy about our team," LaFleur said in media availability after the Packers’ 48-32 win over the Dallas Cowboys. "It’s so much fun to come to work every day."

There’s likely a litany of reasons for LaFleur to feel that way, but there’s little reason to doubt that the saga that has played out with the quarterback situation since LaFleur arrived has something to do with that.

The pros far outweigh the cons of coaching the great players around the league. Having great players is how a team wins.

That’s not a novel concept.

There’s also a lot of extra noise that comes with having one of the league’s best players.

Playing free and easy in 2023 was likely cathartic for LaFleur and the rest of the organization that had to navigate the previous three years.

With that said, I come with good and bad news for those who felt that way during the 2023 season.

The days of no expectations are gone.

The Packers have proven they can play with anyone. Of the final four teams set to play on Sunday, the Packers have beaten Kansas City and Detroit, while controlling a game for 3.5 quarters against San Francisco.

Pressure is a privilege, and it’s back on in Green Bay.

With Jordan Love’s emergence as a franchise quarterback – he threw 23 touchdowns to just three interceptions after the calendar turned to November – the Packers are back in business.

The goal now is to win and win big.

The opportunity was there for the Packers to do that this year, but a litany of mistakes cost them the chance to play for the NFC championship in a building where they had already won on a big stage this season.

That loss might be forgivable considering the San Francisco 49ers are what the Packers hope to become as they reach their final form.

Such a loss in any subsequent season will be met with nothing but bitter disappointment.

That’s the way every playoff loss was with Rodgers under center.

Ditto now for Love.

Love cannot do it alone. The Packers have a list of holes that they’ll need to fill, and changes will take place, as well.

In addition, they’ll need to continue to grow. Growth is not linear. The Philadelphia Eagles were supposed to be a slam-dunk Super Bowl contender after falling just short a year ago. They started 10-1 but fizzled down the stretch, and were blown out in a playoff game by Tampa Bay.

More famously, it was assumed Dan Marino would play for multiple championship rings after losing to the 49ers in the Super Bowls in his sophomore campaign.

Rodgers was a lock to win multiple Super Bowls in Green Bay until he didn’t.

Fair or not, that’s how this organization is going to be judged moving forward.

Maybe they enjoyed the less stressful season while going through a mini-rebuild.

They better not have gotten too comfortable, because now it’s back to a familiar message.

Win a championship, or don’t.

Welcome back to Titletown.

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