GREEN BAY – Of the various emotions Packers players expressed as they cleaned out their lockers Monday – from motivation and hunger heading into the offseason, to anticipation for the future, to gratitude for their teammates and opportunities – one was more palpable than all the others.
“Well, we certainly didn’t win anything,” tight end Tucker Kraft said matter of factly, less than 24 hours after the 22-10 loss to the Eagles in the NFC Wild Card playoff in Philadelphia ended Green Bay’s season.
“The whole last few games we played, you could kind of feel what was brewing for us.”
The postseason defeat capped a three-game losing streak that saw the offense hit the skids, the defense hang tough but lose its discipline at times, and the special teams stumble into game-changing mistakes.
An 11-4 record a few weeks ago that felt loaded with promise didn’t mean much as the Packers sunk to the lowest postseason seed and bowed out as an also-ran.
Kraft summed up the frustration best.
“Couldn’t finish,” he said. “That’s what I think of this team. We’re all sitting in here, in this locker room with frowns on our faces. People packing their (stuff), ready to go home. People talking about the offseason, vacations. That’s just a bunch a crock of (stuff), man. We should be getting ready to play the next game in the postseason.”
They aren’t playing another game because they were never able to beat one of the top three teams in the NFC, despite six tries against the Eagles, Lions and Vikings.
A win or two against them in the regular season might’ve changed the Packers’ postseason position. Or exorcising such a demon Sunday would’ve not only continued the season but validated the effort expended to try to reach another level the Packers believed was out there for them.
Players expressed they don’t feel that far away from those top teams. Rookie safety Evan Williams said “we’re right there,” while veteran corner Keisean Nixon described the gap as “small as hell.”
But in the same breath, 0-6 against the NFC’s elite is a reality they know they can’t ignore.
“Shoot, you’ve got to beat ’em,” rookie safety Javon Bullard said. “Good teams beat good teams. You can’t consider yourself to be one of those elite teams if you haven’t beat ’em. You know what I mean?
“I feel like we’re a good team in this league, and our record shows we’re a good team in…
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