No NFL team had a worse Week 1 than the Green Bay Packers. Just about everything that could go wrong did in the team’s stunning 38-3 defeat to the New Orleans Saints.

It’s hard to pick the most embarrassing part of Green Bay’s loss.

Favored by more than a field goal, the Packers failed to cover the spread by 40 points, even though the contest was moved from New Orleans to Jacksonville. Aaron Rodgers was limited to 133 passing yards and a league-worst 13.4 QBR. Jameis Winston threw for five touchdown passes and the Saints ran for 171 yards.

“This is a good kick in the you-know-where to hopefully get us going in the right direction,” Rodgers said, via the team’s official website, indicating that the Packers might have overlooked the Saints.

“We probably felt like we were going to go up and down the field on whoever they had out there.”

The good news for the Packers is that they can’t possibly play any worse in Week 2. In fact, Green Bay should be much better when they host the Detroit Lions on Monday night.

Green Bay is still a top Super Bowl contender after going 13-3 and reaching the NFC Championship Game in back-to-back seasons. The Packers are 4-0 against the Lions since the start of the 2019 season.

The Lions might be the perfect opponent for the Packers to play following the Week 1 debacle. Detroit is expected to be the NFC’s worst team. Even though the Lions nearly made an improbable comeback against the San Francisco 49ers, Detroit trailed 41-17 at the two-minute warning, looking as bad as all the preseason projections suggested.

Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 314 yards and a 124.2 passer rating against the Lions in Week 1. In two victories over Detroit during last year’s MVP campaign, Rodgers completed 69.8% of his passes for 530 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions.

Rodgers’ Week 1 performance against the Saints was an anomaly. The quarterback was picked off twice after posting the NFL’s lowest interception rate in three straight seasons. Coming off his third MVP season, Rodgers is still among the league’s top passers, even if he doesn’t quite reach his 2020 peak.

Rodgers had one truly bad game in 2020. He completed fewer than half his passes and was picked off twice in a 38-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The following week, Rodgers posted a 132.4 passer rating with four touchdowns in a 35-20 victory over the Houston Texans.

Expect a similar response from Rodgers and the Packers in Week 2.

Aaron Rodgers Green Bay Packers
Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers is sacked by Lavonte David #54 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second quarter at Raymond James Stadium on October 18, 2020 in Tampa, Florida. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
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