Rodgers, Packers can’t rally again as playoff hopes fade

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers couldn’t produce a second consecutive late comeback and didn’t get much help from a Green Bay defense that keeps underachieving.

Now the Packers head into Thanksgiving week with virtually no margin for error as the three-time defending NFC North champions’ playoff hopes continue to fade.

“Literally, it’s win or go home at this point,” cornerback Jaire Alexander said after the Packers’ 27-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night. “So every game is a playoff game. Every game is the Super Bowl for us. So that’s how we’ve got to attack it now.”

Green Bay (4-7) dropped two games behind San Francisco (5-4) in the race for the NFC’s final wild-card spot.

Next up for the Packers is a trip to Philadelphia to face the NFC East-leading Eagles (9-1).

“We’ve got to play up to our potential,” said Rodgers, who went 24 of 39 for 227 yards with two touchdowns. “If we play up to our potential, we can win our last six games. I’m confident in that. Obviously I’ve got to play up to my potential. Tonight wasn’t it.”

No, it wasn’t.

Green Bay’s dispiriting performance halted the momentum the Packers established four days earlier when they rallied from a two-touchdown, fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Dallas Cowboys 31-28 in overtime. That snapped a five-game losing streak, the Packers’ longest skid since 2008.