The Green Bay Packers were sportingly dead as a doornail at the end of November. Five weeks later, Aaron Rodgers are one win away from the playoffs. One important factor: the head.

Some things are not so easy to explain at first glance. Why, for example, do the dead sometimes live longer?

A phenomenon that – figuratively speaking, of course – can often be found in sport. Like in this NFL season – you can watch the Green Bay Packers survive. In a sporting resurrection.

It was November 27 when their playoff hopes dwindled to a minimum. 33:40 at the Philadelphia Eagles, a 4:8 record and a one percent (!) chance of making the postseason – at that time Aaron Rodgers and Co. were sportingly down. On top of that, the quarterback had a thumb injury that permanently affected him and actually required surgery. Plus a rib injury. There are certainly quarterbacks who then put the focus on their health and the upcoming season.

Not even five weeks later, the Packers are 8-8 and have one foot in the playoffs after their fourth straight win – a 41-17 over the Minnesota Vikings.

For that, Rodgers and Co. “only” need a win on the last game day against the Detroit Lions around German wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.

From one to 62 percent

The postseason odds? Currently sitting at 62 percent.

Luck? Skill? Effective failure analysis? Yes, but above all it shows: faith can sometimes move mountains. Because the mind plays a big role in sport. Mental strength is a key asset in the fight for points and titles, and it is often this that makes the decisive difference.

Tricks, tricks, training: The psychological component should not be underestimated, it can eliminate weaknesses, solve sporting problems, turn a team inside out, turn an unsettled squad into a winning team.

And resurrect the Packers athletically.

“I had confidence, similar to when I went 4-6 in ’16,” Rodgers said. “Sometimes you have to fool yourself into believing a little bit more. I believe in the power of manifestation and momentum, and I believe very strongly in mental power. And when you start believing strongly in something, some miraculous things can happen.

Miraculous it is, because the Packers would be the third team in NFL history to make the playoffs after going 4-8 or worse after 12 games. Although, of course, the seventh playoff spot helps.

Packers and the postseason: Relax!

Just like a quarterback who leads the way. What Rodgers was referring to was a 4-6 record in 2016 and his catch-up (“run the table”) approach. At the time, the Packers won six in a row. Many fans will also remember his “Relax” from the 2014 season, when he used the five letters to moderate away a 1-2 start to the season in a way that was as simple as it was effective.

In 2022/23, however, he will dispense with these pithy statements. The Packers let the actions speak for themselves, they are the statements.

In sporting terms, Rodgers is not even necessarily the one to pull the cart out of the mud on his own. His performances are not brilliant, but rather okay. But the defence, for example, is an important factor, allowing an average of only 17 points in the four victories. In the process, they won the ball twelve times. The performance of cornerback Jaire Alexander, who almost completely took Justin Jefferson out of the game against the Vikings receivers, is representative of this.

“We’re becoming a more dangerous team,” Rodgers knows: “It hasn’t always been my best football, but I’ve been challenged to lead the way and be someone guys can rely on.”

Aaron Rodgers: “What are they going to say now? “

The boys have relied on Rodgers to pull them along. As a team, the mountains you can move may be a little bigger. “You can sit there and preach all you want, but they have to believe it, and that’s a credit to the guys in our locker room,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “Everybody stuck together. I didn’t feel like there was any finger-pointing at any point. That’s a credit to everyone in our organisation.”

Rodgers can’t hide some satisfaction after a difficult season with plenty of criticism. “We all saw some of the comments from the outside when we went from 4-8 to 5-8 to 6-8 and nobody cared about the Packers and blah, blah, blah, blah,” Rodgers said.

And asked, “What are they going to say now?”

That sometimes the dead do indeed live longer, for example.