Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers: Top five reasons the meltdown in Atlanta should be no surprise

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:42 p.m. ET

Fansided, Josh McPeak/FanSided via Lombardi Ave

Jan 22, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) stands along the sidelines in the final moments of a loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the 2017 NFC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Dan Powers/Appleton Post Crescent via USA TODAY NETWORK

The Green Bay Packers‘ meltdown in Atlanta last Sunday should really not come

as much of a surprise.

Mike McCarthy is now 1-3 in NFC Championship games. The one win was, of course that in Super Bowl 45. In that win, Aaron Rodgers was absolutely spectacular. It’s hard to watch such a talented player drop to 1-2 in the conference championship.

Most fans would agree, the thrashing in Atlanta is easier to accept than the absolute crazy unfortunate events which took place in Seattle three seasons ago. That was a game that saw many fans already making Super Bowl plans.

From 4-6 to the NFC Championship game can’t be overlooked as the Packers accomplished the nearly-impossible. In perspective, this past season was a great accomplishment for this franchise. Riddled with injuries, the Packers found themselves going to the well one more time and asking players to achieve more than would normally be required of them.

So what are the top five reasons the meltdown in Atlanta shouldn’t be a surprise?

Let’s take a closer look …

Jan 22, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) throws against Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Clay Matthews (52) during the second quarter in the 2017 NFC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

#5. Clay Matthews

A lot of heat is being removed from the staff and the roster for this season. Injuries have created an easy scapegoat for some very horrid performances during the season.

The average salary for Matthews is about $13.2 million per season. Overall, the contract was for five years at $66 million.

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I’m not going to crunch the numbers, but that seems steep for 24 tackles to go along with only five sacks. That was indeed the final stat sheet for the 2016 season of Clay Matthews. A season that saw Matthews move back to his home outside, for the majority of his snap count.

Clay performed in that NFC Championship Game like he did all season. In that game, Clay was credited for one total tackle, though he did hit Matt Ryan a team-high three times.

The void of huge plays from Matthews crippled an already-vulnerable defense. Time will tell if it was injuries. One thing is for certain, his contract isn’t going anywhere.

Should it?

Jan 22, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Green Bay Packers running back Ty Montgomery (88) heads to the locker room during the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons in the 2017 NFC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

#4. Ty Montgomery

Montgomery could easily be the team MVP, if not for Aaron Rodgers. Montgomery had 457 yards rushing to go along with three touchdowns during the 2016 NFL season. Not too shabby for a wide receiver.

Speaking of receiver, Montgomery also racked up 44 receptions for 348 yards.

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Due to the game quickly getting out of hand, Montgomery was a non-factor against Atlanta. Montgomery only picked up 17 yards on three rushing attempts. He also added two yards on one reception. Montgomery was also battling injuries.

With nothing really negative to say about Montgomery it seems hard to believe he would crack this list. It’s not necessarily the play of Montgomery that puts him here.

It’s the position he was playing that lands him here. No Eddie Lacy, James Starks and a limited selection of plays for Christine Michael. Michael was also battling a back injury. Aaron Rikowski stepped up to help, but his timely fumble helped swing the game in Atlanta’s favor.

In a nutshell, the Packers were relying on a second year wide receiver from Stanford to carry the load for the running game – a position Montgomery hadn’t played since high school.

Oct 30, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) react after the game at the Georgia Dome. The Falcons defeated the Packers 33-32. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

#3. Matt Ryan

Matt Ryan was on a streak like none other heading into the NFC Championship game. Well, outside of Aaron Rodgers that is. Unlike Green Bay, Atlanta had enjoyed some time to heal and get some key players healthy.

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As Aaron Rodgers stated, home field advantage is also very important.

Green Bay, basically run into a buzz saw in Ryan, with a vulnerable and depleted defensive unit.

Ryan scorched the Packers. He totaled 392 yards to go along with four touchdowns. What’s even more impressive is the fact Ryan tacked onto his record book performance for average yards-per-completion. The average completion against the Packers ended up as 10.4 yards.

Third down seemed to be easy for Ryan and the Falcons. It didn’t seem to matter what the yardage needed for a first down ended up being on the scoreboard. As a team, the Falcons ended 10-for-13 on third down attempts. This, to go along with 30 first downs and zero turnovers.

Green Bay also failed to sack Matt Ryan. Ryan ended the game with a rating of 139.4. Something Packer fans should have seen coming from miles away.

Jan 22, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) runs for a touchdown against Green Bay Packers cornerback Damarious Randall (23) during the third quarter in the 2017 NFC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

#2. The Secondary

Sam Shields was an absolute huge loss for this team. I don’t think many understood just how big a loss it would be.

Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins played most of their sophomore campaign injured. While both even missed stretches of the season due to injury, these two players could have a lot of their bad play erased by the very popular “injured” term.

LaDarius Gunter was often called upon to cover the opposing team’s number one receiver. In the playoffs that meant Odell Beckham Jr., Dez Bryant and Julio Jones. Seems like an extremely tough job for any corner, especially a corner playing well outside of his normal role.

Even the safety position entered Atlanta with questions. Morgan Burnett was questionable to play entering the game. Though Burnett suited up, his backup, Kentrell Brice, was injured early in the game.

It seemed like the Packers had a blowout at the corner position and had to spend the rest of the season driving on the “donut.” That’s something you don’t want to do for very long.

Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy needs a deeper roster, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

#1. They simply ran out of gas

From 4-6 to the NFC Championship game. Green Bay played in a playoff game for nine straight weeks.

The last two weeks of that stretch took them to Dallas and Atlanta. One simply can’t put into words how physically and mentally exhausting that must be.

A must-win game for nine straight weeks. That is just mind boggling. The fact they even reached the NFC Championship is an amazing accomplishment in itself.

The overall lack of talent on the roster required Aaron Rodgers to be Super,man. If Aaron Rodgers had a good day for most quarterbacks, it wouldn’t be enough for the Packers to win. He said the goal was to run the regular season table at 4-6. That goal was accomplished.

Nearly the entire secondary entered the game on the injury report. The primary back was a second-year wide receiver. Jordy Nelson was playing the game with two broken ribs, while wearing a Kevlar protector.

Uncharacteristic turnovers and it even appeared the MVP from the divisional round, Mason Crosby, had indeed run out of gas.

Every sign pointed to the Packers coming to the end of the journey and it took a superior team on a day when everything went in the home team’s favor for the Atlanta to make it happen. That team provided just too much at the wrong time.