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Six NFL franchises that have peaked and are headed downhill

Are there major issues brewing between Russell Wilson and his teammates in Seattle?

Green Bay Packers

Aaron Rodgers simply needs more help with the Green Bay Packers

As long as the Packers have Aaron Rodgers under center, they should be top contenders in the NFC. That’s the argument many will use when questioning why Green Bay appears on a list like this. It’s also foolish.

Sure Rodgers is one of the top-three quarterbacks of this era. The former MVP is coming off a 2016 campaign that saw him throw for 4,428 yards with a league leading 40 touchdowns to go with just seven interceptions.

Even then, that wasn’t enough for the Packers to break away in the pedestrian NFC North. In fact, it took a Week 17 win over Detroit for the Packers to capture the division title.

After wins against the Giants and Cowboys to open the postseason, Green Bay laid an absolute egg in the NFC Championship Game. It fell down 31-0 in the third quarter before ultimately losing 44-21.

All of the Packers’ issues came out on full display in that game. Their defense couldn’t stop Matt Ryan from dominating through the air. Offensively, Rodgers was sacked twice and found himself under pressure throughout the game. Wide receiver-turned- running back Ty Montgomery didn’t help on the ground with just 17 yards on three attempts.

This is the crux of the issue for Green Bay. It seems that the team is simply looking to piece together broken parts to go with a perennial MVP candidate in Rodgers.

Is Montgomery suited to be the three-down running back Green Bay is asking him to be? Can Randall Cobb rebound after a down 2016 season? On defense, how will the Packers’ inside linebacker position play out with Clay Matthews looking to move back to a pass-rushing role?

More than that, Green Bay’s talented but inexperienced secondary will be challenged big time. The team did add cornerback Kevin King and safety Josh Jones with its first two picks in April. They now join a defensive back group that has a long way to overcome some horrendous performances last season, including in the NFC Championship Game.

There’s just too many questions for the Packers. We can’t look at them as legitimate Super Bowl contenders right now. All of these pieces have to fall in place for Aaron Rodgers to lead his squad to the promised land once again. And at 33 years old, it’s possible his individual window at contending for a championship is closing as well.

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