The Packers won't have a long
playoff run if teams keep running all over them
[December 29, 2025]
By STEVE MEGARGEE
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — For the second straight year, the Green Bay
Packers are heading in the wrong direction as the playoffs approach.
They’ll be staring at the likelihood of a second straight
one-and-done postseason unless they shore up their run defense.
“Everybody has to acknowledge it and accept it and accept it for
what it is, and then you’ve got to learn from it,” Packers coach
Matt LaFleur said Sunday, a day after the Packers allowed Derrick
Henry to rush for 216 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-24 loss to
Baltimore. “We cannot put ourselves in that situation again.
Otherwise, it’s going to be the same song and dance.”
Green Bay (9-6-1) has dropped three straight games and will be the
NFC’s seventh and final playoff seed for a third straight season.
Last year, the Packers lost their final two regular-season games,
then were eliminated by the eventual Super Bowl champion
Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round.
Now the Packers must figure out how to stop the run, something that
hadn’t been a problem for much of the season. It’s become an issue
since defensive linemen Micah Parsons and Devonte Wyatt were lost
for the season to injuries.
Wyatt injured his ankle in a Thanksgiving Day win at Detroit and
Parsons tore an ACL in a Dec. 14 loss at Denver.
Green Bay was ranked eighth in the NFL in run defense heading into
its game at Chicago last weekend. The Packers gave up 150 yards on
26 carries as the Bears won 22-16 in overtime.
Then the Packers allowed Henry to rush for the most yards by
visiting player at Lambeau Field.
“There was way too many mistakes in regards to misalignments and
missed assignments, and when you do that against a good football
team, you see the results,” LaFleur said. “That was what was
probably the most disappointing thing after watching the tape is
just how many times we weren’t playing the right technique or just
in the right position to make a play.”
Green Bay hadn’t been making those types of errors for most of the
season. Before Saturday, the only player to run for as many as 100
yards against the Packers was Carolina’s Rico Dowdle.
“That’s what was so baffling, I would say, is sitting in there with
the defensive staff today,” LaFleur said. “That hasn’t been a trend,
that hasn’t been something that has really happened throughout the
course of the season. For it to show up in that game, it was really
bothersome.”
What’s working
Moving the ball. The Packers haven't punted in their last two games.
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Green Bay Packers head coach Matt Lafleur watches during the second
half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Saturday,
Dec. 27, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
What needs help
Until Baltimore took a knee to end Saturday's game, the Packers had
allowed seven touchdowns and four field goals while forcing just one
punt and no turnovers over their last 12 defensive series. ... Green
Bay has recorded just one sack during its three-game skid. ... The
Packers allowed 307 yards rushing, the most they had yielded since
giving up 363 in a 40-33 loss at Philadelphia in 2022.
Stock up
QB Malik Willis continues to make a case that he merits a chance to
earn a starting opportunity when he hits free agency in the
offseason. Willis went 18 of 21 for a career-high 288 yards with a
touchdown, and he rushed for 60 yards and two scores on nine carries
while starting in place of Jordan Love, who's in the concussion
protocol. ... Christian Watson had five catches for 113 yards, the
third-highest total of his career.
Stock down
CB Carrington Valentine struggled enough that he was losing playing
time before injuries to Nate Hobbs and Kamal Hadden left the Packers
with limited options. DL Rashan Gary has gone nine straight games
without a sack after collecting 7 1/2 in Green Bay's first seven
contests.
Injuries
Hadden (ankle), Hobbs (knee), S Zayne Anderson (ankle) and DL Jordon
Riley (Achilles tendon) and WR Dontayvion Wicks (concussion) all
left Saturday's game. RT Zach Tom (back/knee) and WR Savion Williams
(foot) didn't play.
LaFleur said Hadden and Riley will miss the rest of the season.
Key number
3 — The Packers have played three games this season in which they
haven't punted — and they've lost all of them.
Next steps
The Packers close the regular season next weekend at Minnesota while
they wait to learn where they'll be going for their playoff opener.
With Green Bay locked into the No. 7 seed, LaFleur said he hadn’t
yet decided on how or if he will play his starters.
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