Why Are the Giants and Jets Still Considered Underdogs?
As we enter the final weeks of the regular NFL season, we look back at the team that best exemplifies the underdog mentality in the NFL: the Green Bay Packers. As we look back upon the season that has been, Green Bay lost only to the Arizona Cardinals, and to a backup quarterback, a backup running back, and a backup wide receiver, which is to say, a backup to every position in the NFL.
However, as we know, all things considered, Green Bay still doesn’t look very good, even with their three game winning streak. Green Bay is now 1-3 through five home games, where they’ve won three, lost two and tied one, giving them a.500 winning percentage. This is just one week of games. The Packers will play an average of three home games in their final six, giving them an average home winning percentage of 9% in the season so far.
This means that the Packers have lost games in which they were favored by less than four points, and have won games in which they were also favored by less than four points, and have won games in which they were not favored at all.
These facts alone show that the Packers were always going to be a poor team this season, regardless of whether they were favored. They did not get lucky. Instead, they had a bunch of injuries that have been tough to figure out, but if any of these injuries were a big factor in their struggles, I would not be surprised if Green Bay lost two or three more games than last season.
However, Green Bay is not like other teams in that it has a quarterback controversy. It has a backup to every position on every team. Its leading receiver has dropped passes, its leading running back has been sidelined for four weeks, its leading slot receiver has missed three consecutive games, and its leading tight end has missed the last four weeks.
As we look at Green Bay, we have to remember that they have never been a favorite, and so I look at them with the same mentality that I look at any other team that I do not think deserves to be a favorite. What is it about Green Bay that makes it so difficult to like them