The Green Bay Packers entered Mile High Stadium with a 6-0 record, and they exited feeling the effects of a 29-10 beatdown at the hands of the Denver Broncos and their ruthless defense.
According to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, Packers coach Mike McCarthy said: “That’s a humbling loss. I haven’t had my ass kicked like that in a long time.”
Sunday night’s matchup was the perfect definition of a humbling defeat for a 6-0 team that’s expected to contend for the Super Bowl.
Packers quarterback and reigning NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers completed 14 of his 22 passes, but only two attempts resulted in a gain of 10 yards or more. The 77 yards was Rodgers’ worst 60-minute output of his career.
Demovsky notes Rodgers said Green Bay will learn how good it really is depending on how the team responds to the big loss.
“This is the kind of thing that’ll make everyone a little bit maybe more on edge this week,” Rodgers said. “We’ve got another tough road challenge in Carolina, so these two games are going to show us how good we are after a 6-0 start. And we weren’t good enough tonight.”
The Carolina Panthers are 6-0 heading into their clash with the Indianapolis Colts, but Cam Newton and Co. will pose a formidable test no matter the result Monday night. Like Denver, Carolina’s defense leads the way for a respectable offense that should have success opposite Green Bay.
If the Packers can’t bounce back next week, that might even be more humbling than being thoroughly outplayed by Denver.