Hello Wisconsin: Reliving Recent Games in the Ultra-Cold Weather

As of Wednesday, reports were that the temperature at kickoff for Packers/Vikings on Sunday evening would be four degrees. Fahrenheit. 

Yeah, glad I”ll be watching this one from the comfort of my rec room.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure the atmosphere at Lambeau is going to be absolutely electric. But four degrees!? Absolutely not.

Temperatures that cold mess with the minds of any player on the field. As much as football players try to act macho about the cold, nobody is having a good time at four degrees. It will be fascinating to see how the teams adjust their game plans. One has to think a good deal of running the ball will be in order, because teams are going to want to burn clock and get out of there before they freeze. But who knows–the Packers’ bread and butter is letting it fly, and Aaron Rodgers is going to want to add to his record touchdown total.

The news of the pending cold weather game had me reflecting on some of the other cold weather games in recent memory. Obviously the Packers and Lambeau FIeld hold the record for the coldest game in NFL history, the iconic Ice Bowl played exactly 54 years ago tomorrow at -13 degrees (48 below wind chill). 

There was also the 1996-1997 NFC Championship game, a balmy 3-degree affair in which the Packers beat the Carolina Panthers to advance to their first Super Bowl since the Lombardi era.

But there have been plenty of other more recent contests that stick out as being extremely cold matchups, and are quite memorable as well (for better or for worse).

Here’s a quick list to take you back to some of these cold weather battles.

• January 20, 2008: Giants 23, Packers 20. In the 2007-2008 NFC Championship game, the temperature was -1 at kickoff. It was a rough outing for the Packers, as Brett Favre’s final game in the green and gold ended in heartbreak on an interception. The Giants’ defense smothered the Packers, Favre looked miserable in the cold and a magical season ended in despair.

• January 5, 2014: 49ers 23, Packers 20: Another heartbreaking playoff loss for the Packers, and the second in a row at the hands of the 49ers. The Packers were a Micah Hyde interception away from advancing, but the ball flew off his fingertips and the Packers ended up losing late in a tough, tough contest. Temperature was 5 degrees at kickoff.

• December 8, 2013: Packers 22, Falcons 21. Matt Flynn and the Packers did just enough to move past the Falcons in a game that helped the Packers stay afloat in their pursuit of an NFC North championship that went right down to the wire in week 17 at Chicago. Temperature was 9 degrees at kickoff.

• December 7, 2008: Texans 24, Packers 21. In Aaron Rodgers’ first year as the starter, the Packers had quite a few games that ended with close scores that just got away from them. This was one of those. It was 3 degrees at kickoff, and unfortunately this one just didn’t turn out in Green Bay’s favor. 

• December 18, 2016: Packers 30, Bears 27: This game, played at Soldier Field, featured a game-time temperature of 11 degrees and wind chill of -4 degrees. The game came down to the wire, with Jordy Nelson keeping the Packers’ run-the-table stretch alive with a late deep reception to set up a Mason Crosby game winner.

Of the 15-coldest games ever played at Lambeau Field, the Packers have won only six. Those six victories came in 1993 against the Los Angeles Raiders (Lambeau Leap game), 1997 against the Panthers, 1992 against the Rams, 2013 against the Falcons, 1972 against the Lions and 1977 against the Lions.

Simply put, the Packers have historically not performed incredibly well in extreme cold. But this is a new team and a new circumstance. The weather is a great equalizer, in a sense, in that nobody enjoys playing football in weather that is this cold.

The Packers will need to take a mind-over-matter approach and find a way to win in adverse conditions.

Wisconsin Beer of the Week

Young Blood Beer Company is one of my favorite up-and-coming breweries in the state. It is relatively new to the scene but has already become my favorite Madison area brewery, beating out such stalwarts as Karben4, Vintage and Ale Asylum. I had the opportunity to visit the tap room near the capitol this summer and very much enjoyed it.

Young Blood does a variety of styles quite well, but where they really make their hay is with their sours. 

This particular beer, which they call Clarence Creedwater Revival, is a tropical sour with dragonfruit, tangerine and guava. Extremely pleasant and fruity, with a mild 6.5% ABV. A very refreshing beverage and one that paired perfectly with my Halo Infinity conquests of the past weekend.

Much like other favorite breweries of mine like 1840 Brewing Company, Eagle Park Brewing and Untitled Art, most of the releases from Young Blood are one-offs, so be sure to pick this one up before it’s gone. I found it at my local Woodman’s liquor store, and the brewery has pretty decent distribution throughout much of the state.

An updated look at the MVP race

I know there are going to be people in the comments who are like “I DON’T CARE ABOUT MVP I ONLY CARE ABOUT SUPER BOWL” but, like, deal with it.

Right now, the MVP race would pretty much have to be considered a two-horse race between Aaron Rodgers and Jonathan Taylor of the Colts. Kind of a good race for Wisconsin-based fans who loved watching Taylor with the Badgers.

Rodgers probably has the upper hand because it’s basically a quarterbacks-only award at this point. But Taylor still has a legitimate shot if the Colts win out, especially despite the fact that Carson Wentz is now on the COVID list for the next bunch of days. 

There’s still an outside shot that Tom Brady could worm his way back into the picture if Rodgers falters and Brady goes off the last two weeks of the season, but getting shut out by the Saints and losing to Taysom Hill will take a lot of the shine off of that resume.

This means despite all the talk on Pat McAfee weeks back about how “the media” would never give Rodgers another MVP after his COVID-related idiocy, Rodgers is still the betting favorite for the award and will likely be walking away with his fourth league MVP. 

Not bad for a guy with a “cancel culture mob” coming after him.

Aaron Rodgers not ruling anything out for his future

Speaking of Rodgers:

As you’ve no doubt heard by now, Rodgers didn’t rule out anything for his future during his media availability on Wednesday, including the possibility that he could retire after the season.

Rodgers spoke at length about how much he’s enjoyed himself this season and how much he enjoys being a part of the team. He praised everyone from his teammates and coaches to GM Brian Gutekunst. These are all consistent with things Rodgers has been saying throughout much of the season.

Nothing Rodgers has said during the regular season this year sounds like a man who wants to play for another team after this year. However, Rodgers said that all options are on table: playing in Green Bay, playing elsewhere or retiring.

He assured those listening that whatever happens, it will be decided quickly after the season is over. He doesn’t want to draw anything out.

At this point, it would sure seem as though the fences have been mended between Rodgers and the organization. It’s a credit to Gutekunst in particular for managing to make that happen, and taking the necessary steps to make Rodgers feel appreciated throughout this season so fra.

But I also would not at all be surprised to see Rodgers retire. We already know that it crossed his mind this offseason, and that he is very secure with his place in NFL and Packers history. He’s mentioned being excited to move into the next stage of his life, potentially starting a family and taking on other interests outside of the scope of football.

However, Rodgers is also still playing MVP caliber football, and has mentioned many times in the past about how he wants to continue playing so long as he feels he can do so as a high level.

If the Packers win the Super Bowl, it wouldn’t stun me to see Rodgers walk away comfortably from the game. But more than ever, it sure seems to be that he’s going to be back in a Packers uniform next season.

Whatever happens is going to do a lot to inform the other difficult decisions the Packers are going to have to make with their roster in the offseason.

But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Around the NFC North

Here we go once again around the NFC North leading into week 17.

-The CHICAGO BEARS are 3-2 in games when Justin Fields does not start, and 2-8 in games when he does. That’s saying quite a bit right there. Fields may well have a strong future ahead of him, but he clearly was not ready to be “the guy” this year, and the incompetence of Matt Nagy may have only hindered his development further. Nick Foles did what Nick Foles does and pulled a win out of his ass coming off the bench. Maybe two more victories will get the Bears seriously thinking about keeping Nagy around. One can hope…

-The DETROIT LIONS just couldn’t pull it out against the Falcons, who have quietly climbed back into the edge of the playoff hunt. The Lions have an absurd number of needs to address this offseason and it’s going to take some time for them to truly contend for anything, but at the very least it looks like Dan Campbell has the team playing hard week after week, and some might say over the ability level of its roster.

-The MINNESOTA VIKINGS desperately needed a victory in week 16 and couldn’t pull it off, and now could face elimination when they take on the Packers on Sunday evening. They’re going to pull out all the stops to stay competitive in this one, and with Dalvin Cook back they’re going to give themselves a fighting chance. But it’s looking very much like the end of the Mike Zimmer era in Minnesota. The only other questions are what other types of changes might occur.

The defensive trajectory is concerning

I won’t lie, I’m starting to get a little nervous about the trajectory of the Packers’ defense.

Yes, they won the game. Yes, they held the Browns to 22 points. Yes, they had four interceptions (mostly gifted by bad quarterback play). Yes, they’re taking the ball away with regularity this season, and yes they looked pretty good for a pretty extended stretch.

But something with this unit has seemed “off” since the bye. They made the Bears look competent. They got cooked by a backup quarterback and a very depleted squad with few receiving weapons against Baltimore. And they got absolutely gashed in the running game against Cleveland.

It’s not time to hit the panic button, not even close. But for as well as this defense had been playing for some time, suddenly we’re starting to see some old habits from defenses of years past, and even from earlier this season while the team was adjusting to Joe Barry’s defense.

The run defense is especially concerning considering some of the competition the Packers could run into in the playoffs, and considering how they’ve been eliminated from the playoffs the last couple years.

This is a unit that is absolutely not playing its best ball heading into the final couple games of the season. Yes, there have been crucial injuries, but this team had been overcoming them to this point.

Advanced metrics have not liked the Packers’ defense all year long, even when it was playing well based on standard metrics. We may be starting to see why.

Or, it could just be a blip and the Packers could come out and smother the Vikings on Sunday.

My book recommendations for the end of the year

Every year I set a pretty aggressive reading goal at the beginning of the year. I’m typically able to achieve it, but my reading goes in spurts as the busy-ness of my life ebbs and flows.

I read a pretty broad variety of stuff, including various genres of both fiction and nonfiction. Of what I read this year, here are my 10 favorites. Strongly consider looking into them and adding them to your shelves when you can.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Circe by Madeline Miller

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

The Nix by Nathan Hill

Civilized to Death: What Was Lost on the Way to Modernity by Christopher Ryan

The Institute by Stephen King

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

The Shadows by Alex North

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

The prediction

I won’t lie, this game makes me nervous. The Vikings are going to be desperate, and the Packers haven’t done particularly great against desperate teams the last couple weeks. The Vikings are also on a two-game winning streak against the Packers and are getting Dalvin Cook back, and the Packers are incapable of covering Justin Jefferson.

The weather is going to be a key factor here, though, as is the fact that Kirk Cousins can’t win a big game to save his life.

I think it’s going to be close and stressful, but the Packers pick up a victory and potentially eliminate the Vikings and gani the 1 seed.

Packers 27, Vikings 24