This
year, not so much.
Fresh off
their rout of the previously unbeaten Texans, the Packers (3-3) head
to St. Louis looking to win consecutive games for the first time
this season.
"It's
just playing good football," offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga
said. "If we play the way we know we can play, which Sunday was
a good picture of that, we can stack these successes. Yeah, we had a
good game. But that game's over. Now it's time to go out this Sunday
and do it again. It's going to be important to do that, and it's
going to be a challenge."
Green Bay has
largely avoided long stretches of losses under coach Mike McCarthy.
Quite the opposite, in fact. The Packers' longest losing streak
since 2008 is two games, and it has happened only three times. (Four
if you count the loss to San Francisco in this year's season opener,
which followed a loss in the playoffs last year.)
The difference
this year, though, is that the Packers aren't putting together long
stretches of victories, either. No stretch, actually, as Green Bay
has alternated wins and losses each week.
Yes, one of
those losses was courtesy of the Inaccurate Reception in Seattle,
while another was on a last-minute score by Indianapolis. The
Packers have been hit hard by injuries, too; starting inside
linebacker D.J. Smith, who had already been ruled out for the rest
of the season with a knee injury, was placed on injured reserve
Wednesday.
But a loss is
a loss, no matter the circumstances.
"We
obviously haven't had two consecutive wins this season, and we want
to get back on that track," said defensive tackle B.J. Raji,
who missed Sunday's game with a sprained ankle. "Last week was
a great start, but it doesn't mean too much if you don't keep (it
up)."
The win over
the Texans could prove to be a turning point, though, with the
Packers showing the kind of dominance, on both sides of the ball,
that's been expected of them all season. Aaron Rodgers tied a
franchise record with six touchdown passes. He finished with a lofty
133.8 quarterback rating after going 24 of 37 for 338 yards passing
and no interceptions.
Alex Green
gave the Packers some balance, rushing for 65 yards on 22 carries.
The defense
sacked Matt Schaub on each of Houston's first two series, one fewer
sack than he'd taken in all of the first five games put together.
Rookie cornerback Casey Hayward had two picks, and Sam Shields also
had an interception.
"It's
about consistency," said Rodgers, whose performance earned him
NFC offensive player of the week honors. "That was a good game
for us offensively last week, but it doesn't really mean a whole lot
unless we can get on a roll here and put two, three, four, five
games in a row where you're playing like you want to on offense. So
it's going to be about doing the things that we've done here in the
past to be successful, to be consistent."
That's exactly
what McCarthy stressed last week following that disappointing loss
in Indianapolis.
With everyone
else in the country wondering what was wrong, the Packers insisted
there was no reason to panic. They weren't happy with how they were
playing, and even Rodgers said he had room for improvement. But
rather than make any big changes, McCarthy had them focus on the
details, little things that, taken together, can make a big
difference.
And did
against Houston.
"We just
played a good football game," Bulaga said. "I don't think
the confidence of this team was rattled before it. We just needed to
come out and play a good game, and we did."
Now it's
simply a matter of doing it all over again.
"There
isn't a secret formula for urgency," Bulaga said. "It's
not something you turn on and off. It has to be a mindset thing, and
I think this team has that mindset. It's just a matter of having a
great week of practice and going out there Sunday and playing."
Notes: Raji
did not practice Wednesday, but said he hopes to Thursday. ...
Rodgers was limited in practice because of a sore calf, but neither
he nor McCarthy are concerned about the injury. "I'm getting
older. Taking it smart," Rodgers said. ... Rookie outside
linebacker Nick Perry (knee) and Shields (shin) did not practice,
and McCarthy did not sound optimistic they'll be able to play
Sunday. "I think both those guys will be stretched to make it
this week," he said. ... Rodgers, the reigning NFL MVP, was
selected as player of the week for the second time in three weeks,
and seventh time in his career.
