Green Bay Packers: Brett Hundley can build off performance despite loss

The Green Bay Packers might have been defeated by the Pittsburgh Steelers, but everything wasn’t bad. Brett Hundley had a game he can build off of.

Aaron Rodgers isn’t back yet. He is, however, starting to look healthier. The quarterback was throwing before the Sunday night game, and is progressing faster than expected. This means the Packers could have him back before the end of the season.

With that in mind though, there’s no point in bringing Rodgers back if the Packers are out of the playoff race. This means Brett Hundley needs to lead Green Bay to a few victories.

At 5-6, the Packers aren’t in a great position, but their playoff hopes aren’t dead just yet. What needs to happen is for Hundley to find some consistency. If he can do that, Green Bay should be able to stay afloat until Rodgers can return.

On Sunday, Hundley put himself on the right track. After a miserable game the week before, the 24-year-old went 17-for-26 with a career-high 245 yards. Meanwhile, he posted his first multi-touchdown pass performance. In fact, he threw for three touchdowns compared to zero interceptions.

While the numbers were superb, there were still a few things Hundley could’ve improved upon. It wasn’t a perfect game. That being said, there are very few perfect games from any quarterbacks in the NFL. Therefore, it’s hard to complain about a fantastic performance from a struggling QB.

The good news for Hundley and the Packers is that the schedule is about to get a little easier. This week, they face off against a disappointing Tampa Bay Buccaneers team. After that, they have the 0-11 Cleveland Browns.

All of a sudden, they’re in “Rodgers returning” territory. This would be perfect timing, as the final three games are tough. The Carolina Panthers are followed up by the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions to end the year. While those will all be tough games, Aaron Rodgers makes them much more winnable.

In the meantime though, the Packers are rolling with Brett Hundley. This is much more encouraging news than it was just a week ago. Although you can’t expect him to go out and look that great each game, he’s now got that building block.

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This was Hundley’s first truly dominant game in the air. It was his right-of-passage. This could be the game that is looked back to when considering Hundley’s transition into a true NFL quarterback.