Aaron Rodgers wasn’t great against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. The problem for the Green Bay Packers is that he needs to be about perfect.

The Packers had a great ride to the NFC championship game, then face-planted in Atlanta. The Falcons won 44-21, and that was after they took a 31-0 lead. A Falcons blowout against a flawed Packers team wasn’t all that unpredictable.

On Sunday the Packers looked like a barely average team with an all-time great quarterback. Some of Green Bay’s deficiencies are due to injuries. Some aren’t. The secondary was torched by Matt Ryan, just as it had been torched most of the previous five games. The Falcons had 493 yards of offense, and that included them throttling down a bit in the fourth quarter of a blowout. Green Bay’s inside linebackers are unproductive. Green Bay’s main running threats against Atlanta were a fullback and a receiver forced to play tailback. They had 19 yards on three carries in the first half. The offensive line struggled, and took on some injuries too – it was so bad that defensive tackle Letroy Guion was playing guard at the end. Even Mason Crosby, who had two great kicks last week, missed a field goal early in the game.

Rodgers wasn’t superhuman, and can you blame him? He didn’t have much help.

This was the Packers’ first drive of the third quarter, after they had already dug a 24-0 hole: On first down Jared Cook dropped a pass. On second down, the line barely blocked anyone and Rodgers had to throw it into the ground to avoid a sack. On third down, Cook had another drop. Then on the Packers’ next possession, running back Christine Michael dropped an easy pass in his hands.

The Packers’ season played out in three parts. At one point they were a 4-6 team that had very little going for them. Then they won eight in a row, including two playoff games. And at the end, they looked overmatched by the Falcons. Perhaps they look at the middle part of their season and figure they can run it back next season, and with better injury luck and a faster start they can compete for a Super Bowl. But they can also look at the film from Sunday’s NFC title game and realize they might need some big additions to get there.

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The issue isn’t new in Green Bay. General manager Ted Thompson is notoriously careful in free agency and usually doesn’t sign any. Cook worked out well this season, but it was a modest one-year, $2.75 million deal when he had no real market for his services. There’s no indication Thompson is planning to go after a huge free agent or two, although that would undeniably help Rodgers get back to the Super Bowl. Making another conference championship game might convince him to double down on his extreme draft-centric approach. We’ll see if there’s a philosophical shift in the offseason.

Whether it’s through the draft, free agency or just getting guys healthy, the Packers probably have to get better around Rodgers if they want to win another Super Bowl. Otherwise, they’ll bank again on their quarterback to be perfect and carry them there. And who knows, it almost happened this season. But Sunday should show there’s a big step the Packers need to take from conference championship participant to where they ultimately want to go.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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