Forced to fight to the end, Packers found yet…

Those results have suddenly given the Packers, at 11-3, a one-game lead on the rest of the NFC in the race for the top spot, an advantage they were thisclose to failing to earn.

All that said, the Packers were also just one play away from burying the Ravens with about nine minutes left. After Green Bay’s defense got a turnover on downs in Baltimore territory, a 23-yard catch and run by tight end Marcedes Lewis gave the Packers a first-and-goal at the 6.

With a 28-17 lead, the Packers were in prime position to make it a three-score game and avoid all the drama. That goal-to-go series went south, though, and a field goal kept Baltimore in it. Which illustrates a couple of things.

One, how small the margin can be between winning comfortably and fighting for your life. And two, how any missed opportunity can turn into a major regret.

The Packers scored 30-plus points for the fourth game in a row, yet every week they’re talking afterward about a few points they left out there. Rodgers hasn’t practiced for over a month, but there’s still the sense the offense is working toward its peak.

“I feel like we’ve been trending for a while,” said the reigning MVP, who is putting himself in the conversation for his fourth such award. “It’s always one of those things where you talk about trending, you talk about playing your best football, you talk about playing a four-quarter game and you kind of have this ongoing dialogue about it.

“But I felt like the last two games, we’ve played some pretty damn good football on offense.”