GREEN BAY, Wis. – To win a Super Bowl requires a really good quarterback, a head coach capable of calling the right plays and pushing the right buttons, and a general manager with an eye for talent and the guts to make tough decisions.
With Jordan Love, Matt LaFleur and Brian Gutekunst, the Green Bay Packers have all three, which is why they are set to embark on another extended run of being championship contenders.
The Packers rebounded from a 2-5 start and disappointing back-to-back losses in December to grab an unlikely spot in the playoffs. Not just content to be in the postseason, the Packers crushed the Cowboys in the wild-card round and were on the brink of an upset of the 49ers in the divisional round.
“As disappointing as the loss was, I still think the overall season was a success,” Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy said in his monthly Murphy Takes 5 column at Packers.com .
Murphy noted that Love, the first-year starting quarterback, was surrounded by the youngest roster in the NFL. After an inconsistent first half of the season, Love finished the year “playing at a very high level.” His eighth 100-plus passer rating performance in nine games against Dallas made the Packers the youngest team to win a playoff game since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.