Aaron Rodgers has the chance to lead the Packers to another late playoff push

The Green Bay Packers completed phase one of what could be yet another Aaron Rodgers late-season push into the postseason. They knocked off the Cleveland Browns 27-21 in overtime on the road, after falling behind 21-7.

Going into Week 15, the Packers are now able to welcome back Aaron Rodgers from injured reserve. If they would have lost the game against the Browns, we probably wouldn’t be having this discussion.

While he can return, it’s not a given just yet, but there’s great optimism:

Prior to his injury, Rodgers posted a 4-2 record, completing more than 66 percent of his passes for 1,385 yards, 13 touchdowns, and just three picks. One of the losses Rodgers is credited with came in the game he suffered his injury in.

In the three games the Packers won prior to his injury, he threw 10 touchdowns and just one interception.

In other words, he was the Aaron Rodgers that we know to be one of the best quarterbacks to ever step on a football field. There’s no telling what Rodgers can do.

Rodgers and the Packers can’t afford a loss if they want to make the postseason. They stand at 7-6 right now, tied with the Lions, and the Vikings are in first place in the division at 10-3.

Their last three games are all winnable, but none of them are guarantees.

The Panthers are coming off a win that ended the Vikings’ eight-game winning streak. The Vikings looked like one of the best teams in the NFL during that run. The Panthers almost blew it, but going to Carolina in Rodgers’ first game back is no easy task.

Rodgers suffered his broken collarbone against the Vikings in Week 6. He’ll have a chance at redemption on his home turf. The Vikings defense has been one of the best in the NFL this season, holding opponents to an average of just 18 points per game. His showing against them would be a good indicator of how much rust there is — if any.

If Rodgers were to get the win against Minnesota, the Packers are going to be favorites here. In fact, if he’s able to get both wins and come into Detroit with a chance to go 10-6, it would be one of the more surprising things of the entire season if he didn’t help the Packers complete this comeback.

In his career, Rodgers is:

2-2 against the Panthers,

12-7 against the Vikings,

13-3 against the Lions.

If history is any indication, the greatest concern should come this upcoming week. Knowing what the Panthers possess this season, that’s true. But the Vikings are also much better this season than they’ve been in years past.

I will be one of the first to admit that when the Packers were 4-6 last season, I was counting them out. I’ll never do that again as long as Rodgers is taking snaps, and it doesn’t matter what his weapons are — I’ll still take him.

Last season in the six consecutive wins that the Packers peeled off, Rodgers was in a zone that has rarely been seen in NFL history. He completed 71 percent of his passes for 1,667 yards and 15 touchdowns with no interceptions.

The Packers have gone 3-5, including the game that Rodgers was hurt in, their past eight games. For that to be the standard for doing just enough to keep them alive for a playoff bid is remarkable. There aren’t many other quarterbacks you could say that about, and I would argue that he’s the one you’d want to complete such a comeback for your team.

We can pretty much lock the Vikings in for the NFC North title, so we can focus on the wild card spots for Green Bay. As of Sunday night, the Panthers and Falcons own the fifth and sixth spots at 9-4 and 8-5 respectively. In seventh are the Seahawks, and just above the Packers at No. 8 are the Lions.

The Packers need help in front of them to get into the postseason — aside from three consecutive wins. Assuming they win out, they’ll knock the Lions out of the picture. The Seahawks still have games against the Rams, and at Dallas, and neither of those is a guaranteed win. If they get at least one loss, the Packers would own a tiebreaker over them.

As far as the leads in the wild card spots go, the Packers would benefit the most from the Panthers losing out or a pair of Falcons losses. The Falcons would own a tiebreaker over the Packers after beating them earlier in the season but have games against the Saints in New Orleans and against the Panthers left on their schedule.

I say all of that to let you know — this is so much more possible than it seems. Rodgers is capable of the three consecutive wins the Packers need, but he can’t do it without help.