When the Packers were undefeated, coach Mike McCarthy talked about not “playing scared” down the stretch.
Now that his team has a loss on the register -- and the No. 1 seed in the NFC -- McCarthy’s tone is changing.
“We do need to get healthy as a team,” said McCarthy after Sunday’s win via ESPN.com. “Every team in the league is probably saying that today. We’ll look at all our options.”
Aaron Rodgers made his preference pretty clear. The Packers have nothing to play for and he wants to make sure he’s healthy for the playoffs. After last night’s game, Rodgers spoke about the regular season in the past tense.
“I think as a close friend of Matt [Flynn] I wouldn’t mind seeing him get an opportunity to play a little bit, but I’ll definitely do whatever Mike says,” Rodgers said.
You’d think that Rodgers’ voice would carry a lot of weight. It will be a weird matchup because Detroit doesn’t have a ton to play for either.
Then again, the Lions could potentially avoid a trip to New Orleans in the first round and instead go to the NFC East winner’s home if Detroit wins the No. 5 seed.
McCarthy’s voice ultimately matters the most here. And it sounds like he’s not going to take a win at all costs philosophy.
“We’re going to play to win the game next week,” said McCarthy. “I’m not real excited about a division opponent coming in here and thinking we’re not going to do everything we can to get to 15-1.
“But health is an issue for us. I think that’s stating the obvious.”