Packers barely escape with another win over the NFL's worst. Is it Rodgers' time now?

There is some “boasting” going on because Brett Hundley is now 2-0 in overtime games, compared to Aaron Rodgers’ 1-7. Maybe it has something to do with the fates, because the Packers are now 3-0 this season in overtime games (Rodgers was 0-7 heading into the season). But enough of that. For the second straight time the Packers played poorly for most of the game against a couple of really bad teams (Tampa Bay and Cleveland, who now have combined records of 4-22), and won mainly for the same reason the Packers blew a 19-7 lead with five minutes to play after Russell Wilson threw his fifth interception in the 2014 NFC championship game and still lost in overtime: because their opponents defense fell flat on their faces, and their offenses suddenly became paralytic at the most inopportune times. 

But then again, Tampa Bay and 0-13 Cleveland are pretty bad, and it took a while for that to be exposed. Give Hundley, or the play calling anyways, some credit for playing within his limitations, utilizing the pass game as a substitute for a running game that was not working particularly well. Without a couple of catch-and-runs, such as on the winning score in OT when the Browns’ defenders looked like stake poles as Davante Adams ran around them, Hundley would have been 31 of 42 for 182 yards. I just point this out because this is why the Packers actually trailed the worst team in the NFL 21-7 in the fourth quarter, before the Browns reverted to form with arguably the worst starting quarterback in the league, DeShone Kizer. One can only assume the Packers overall are not really a “bad” team without Rodgers; after all, they do still have an outstanding pass receiving corps, as badly used as it has been (particularly Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb).

All that said, the Packers have now done the absolute minimum they needed to do with Hundley at quarterback: they “beat” three of the worst teams in league that have a combined record of 8-31. If Rodgers had been quarterbacking, the Packers likely would have at least 2 more victories than those teams combined instead of one fewer. The question now is will it be worth bringing Rodgers back next week. It would certainly have been a moot point if the Packers had lost either of the previous two games. With three other second place teams above them in the win column, it still seems like a game of chance to do so.