The days of historic Lambeau Field providing a true home-field advantage for the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs have officially ended. Snow flurries and bone-chilling temperatures only served as a hindrance for them in a do-or-die setting on Saturday night.
In what might've been Aaron Rodgers' final game wearing green and gold, the reigning league MVP was rendered powerless. Although he completed 20 of 29 passes for 225 yards, he failed to record a single touchdown, and the top-seeded Packers suffered a stunning 13-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC divisional round. Rodgers is now the first quarterback in NFL history to lose four playoff starts to a single opponent.
"You and I can debate the merits of wins and losses, as far as a quarterback stat goes. But the bottom line is, he's the guy under center, and he's the guy who's orchestrating that offense," ESPN reporter Jen Lada told The DA Show on Monday. "He certainly deserves [blame] for this one. I'm not going to say, 'All of these other losses, these NFC title games, they went up against really good teams.' I don't think the 49ers are a really good team...
"I don't want to hear any more about the Lambeau Field mystique. I don't want to hear about Rodgers and this team being a cold-weather team... Rodgers is going to have two legacies. He's going to have the legacy of, 'He's one of the best to ever play the position. The things he can do with the ball -- the throws he can make -- very, very few can make.' But there's always going to be that asterisk of, 'But in the postseason, he couldn't get it done.'"
Green Bay's offense started the night on a fast pace, scoring a touchdown on its 10-play, 69-yard opening drive. But the unit stalled for the remainder of the first half, recording five more possessions that resulted in a lost fumble, three punts, and a blocked field goal attempt. That inefficiency carried over into the second half, as the Packers mustered three points on their final four drives.
The season-ending loss was capped off by a disastrous performance by the Packers' special teams unit. With 4:41 left in the fourth quarter, leading 10-3, Corey Bojorquez's punt was blocked by Niners defensive end Jordan Willis, and recovered by safety Talanoa Hufanga for a touchdown. On the ensuing possession, Green Bay went three-and-out, and this led to San Francisco's game-winning drive, crowned by a 45-yard field goal by Robbie Gould.
Rodgers owned up to his poor showing after the game, telling reporters that he felt a "little numb" by the loss. In 16 regular season games, the 38-year-old threw for 4,115 yards with 37 touchdowns and just four interceptions, and he's a top candidate for MVP honors yet again.
The entire Packers conversation between Lada and DA can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The DA Show on Twitter @DAonCBS and @CBSSportsRadio, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.