By Scott Siegler

Mike McCarthy had a good argument to win coach of the year heading into this post season. When you put it into perspective, leading an injury-plagued Green Bay Packers team into the play-offs with a 10-6 record is a heck of a season. After an impressive playoff run resulting in a 31-25 Super Bowl victory over the NFL’s latest dynasty in the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Packers have proven who the best team in the National Football League is, and Mike McCarthy has proven who the best coach is.

With a shaky 3-3 start to the season, it seemed as if the Packers would be mediocre at best in a season that they could write off due to bad luck. They were a one-dimensional team after star running back Ryan Grant (1253 yards rushing, 11 touchdowns last season) suffered a season-ending ankle injury during the first game of the season. Also, quarterback Aaron Rodgers began to face concussion issues toward the end of the season and after an embarrassing loss to the Detroit Lions, it was speculated that the 10-6 Packers would be a non factor this year as they tip-toed their way into the play-offs as a #6 seed.

This Green Bay team was overlooked by many. The facts are that this team never trailed by more than 7 points at any point in the season and that despite losing six games, the largest deficit they every lost by was a mere four points. What allowed them to accomplish a rare feat such as this with such major injury problems? It was the offense and defense of the Packers that worked in tandem, feeding off of each other’s energy and ultimately forming a dominant and collective unit that was tough to topple.

That overriding and cooperative unit is exactly what the world saw on Super Bowl Sunday this year. After forcing three-and-outs on consecutive drives to open the game, the Packers’ defense allowed the offense to get acclimated and score the first points of the game on a touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to wide receiver Jordy Nelson that put Green Bay up 7-0. The very next play from scrimmage, the Packers showed no signs of backing down as Safety Nick Collins intercepted a Ben Roethlisberger pass and ran it back for another Green Bay touchdown. Pittsburgh opened up the second quarter with a much-needed drive that resulted in a field goal for their first points. However, the 14-3 cushion that the Green Bay defense gave the offense allowed Rodgers to pass with poise and confidence. After another Ben Roethlisberger interception, Rodgers capitalized by finding Greg Jennings in the middle of the end zone, which put the Packers up 21-3. As expected, the Pittsburgh offense mounted a furious comeback in the second half that brought them to within a field goal of the Packers.

However, despite the troubles that the Packers’ defense was facing, it was the Packers’ offense that managed to crush the spirits of the Steelers. They seemed to counter every offensive success of Pittsburgh by putting up points of their own. The Packers never really looked back once they had built their early lead, and they crossed the finish line of the NFL season as number one. It was an impressive and improbable run made by the injury- plagued team as Aaron Rodgers and the Packers brought home a Super Bowl trophy for the first time in fourteen years.