clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Cheese Curds, 9/9: The Super Bowl is the only goal in Green Bay

The Packers have one path to success this year: winning the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl XLV Photo by Rob Tringali/SportsChrome/Getty Images

It’s a good practice to ask what outcomes for a given team would represent success or failure.

In theory, any team that doesn’t win a Super Bowl in a given year has failed. That’s the goal of NFL football, and only one team can reach that goal.

That strikes me as the wrong approach, though. We all know that only a few teams have a realistic shot at winning the ultimate prize every year. Other teams are working for other things, whether that’s breaking in a new coach, building up their roster, or suffering through a down season while they escape cap purgatory.

The Green Bay Packers aren’t one of those teams, though. They’re firmly in the “contender” category. The reigning MVP is still in town, the rest of the roster is deep and talented, and they’re the only team other than the Chiefs that has advanced to at least the conference championship game each of the last two seasons.

And that reveals the problem: the Chiefs have made two straight Super Bowls, winning one. The Packers have twice come up short.

Success, then, for the Packers means succeeding where they’ve failed the last two years. For this to be a successful year, the Packers need to make it to the Super Bowl and win. If they don’t, it will be hard to characterize this year as anything other than a failure.

It’s Super Bowl or bust for the Green Bay Packers to open 2021 season | Packers Wire

Packers Wire offers a different perspective on why it’s Super Bowl or bust: it seems likely that there’s going to be big-time roster turnover next spring.

Amid ‘a lot of unknowns,’ Aaron Rodgers prepares to begin 17th season with Green Bay Packers | ESPN

Nobody knows if this is the last dance for the Packers, including Aaron Rodgers.

QB Index, Week 1: Ranking all 32 starters entering 2021 NFL season | NFL.com

Aaron Rodgers comes in at the second spot

Packers 2021 Season Trailer: A message from Charles Woodson | Packers.com

When Charles Woodson says get hyped, we get hyped.

Zebras Spotted in Prince George’s County | TV 4 Washington

“I said, ‘Mom, there’s, like, a zebra outside our playground.’”