Packers' inability to produce against the best teams results in an early playoff exit

 

[January 14, 2025]  By STEVE MEGARGEE

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — The Green Bay Packers had several opportunities to match up with the NFC’s top teams this season.

They couldn’t pass any of those tests.

Green Bay generally won the games it was supposed to win, but it lost all six times it faced a team that went 11-6 or better in the regular season. That included a 22-10 season-ending setback at Philadelphia in the wild-card round of the playoffs.

“Good teams beat good teams,” rookie safety Javon Bullard said Monday as Packers players emptied their lockers. “You can’t consider yourself to be one of those elite teams if you haven’t beaten them. You know what I mean? And I feel like we’re a good team in this league. And our record shows we’re a good team in this league. But to be an elite team, you have to beat an elite team, and we didn’t do that. Let’s just call a spade a spade.”

The Packers looked like Super Bowl contenders on Dec. 23 when they clinched a playoff berth with a 34-0 drubbing of the New Orleans Saints.

But they didn't win again.

Green Bay closed the regular season by losing at Minnesota and at home against Chicago before its early playoff exit.

“The whole last few games we played, you could kind of feel what was brewing for us,” tight end Tucker Kraft said. “We just didn’t finish.”

This season represented a learning experience for the Packers, who made the playoffs with the NFL’s youngest roster for a second straight season.

The Packers finished 11-7, but they lost twice each to the Eagles, the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings. They had a habit of falling behind early when they faced those teams.

“I think that’s going to be a great reflection point this offseason,” coach Matt LaFleur said Sunday about the slow starts against top teams. “Because obviously if we had the answers, it wouldn’t have been a problem. And for it to come up multiple times, it’s disappointing.”

Love’s inconsistent season
Jordan Love was one of the NFL’s hottest quarterbacks late last season, as he threw 21 touchdown passes with only one interception during a nine-game stretch that included Green Bay’s wild-card victory at Dallas. The performance earned him a four-year, $220 million contract extension.

While he didn’t necessarily take a step backward this season, he didn’t make the leap forward that many expected. He missed two games with a knee injury and completed 63.1% of his passes for 3,389 yards with 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

Love had three interceptions without a touchdown pass Sunday while throwing to a depleted receiving corps that was missing Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs because of injuries by the end of the game.

Who’s the top receiver?
Much of the preseason discussion regarding Green Bay’s offense involved which of the Packers’ talented young receivers would emerge as Love’s No. 1 target. That role remains up for grabs heading into the offseason.

Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nolan Smith Jr. (3) reacts after sacking Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

Reed caught 55 passes for 857 yards to lead the Packers in both categories, but he had just one game with at least 50 yards receiving after Nov. 3. Watson’s return date remains uncertain after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in Green Bay’s regular-season finale.

Nixon seeking role change?
Cornerback Keisean Nixon earned All-Pro honors as a kick returner in 2022 and 2023, but his expanded role on defense has him seeking a change next year.

When asked Monday about the impact of the new kickoff rules this season, Nixon replied that he’s “kind of through with that” while acknowledging he’d have to discuss it with the coaching staff. Nixon played a career-high 94% of defensive snaps this season and wants to concentrate on that part of his job.

“I want to be CB1,” Nixon said. “CB1 is not doing kick returns. That’s just what it is.”

Improving defense
Green Bay ranked fifth in total defense and eighth in scoring defense under first-year coordinator Jeff Hafley after finishing 10th in scoring defense and 17th in total defense last season.

The Packers believe they should be even better next season now that they’ve adjusted to Hafley, who changed the scheme from a 3-4 to a 4-3. Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, safety Evan Williams and Bullard all had promising rookie seasons.

“We’re going to be dangerous,” Bullard said. “And I’m not just saying that. We’re going to be a special group.”

Next steps
Before Green Bay hosts the 2025 draft, the Packers will try to have as much success in the free-agent market as they did last year by adding All-Pro safety Xavier McKinney and Pro Bowl running back Josh Jacobs.

Pending free agents for the Packers include center Josh Myers and linebacker Isaiah McDuffie, among others. Two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander remains under contract through 2026, but his future seems uncertain after injuries have limited him to 34 regular-season games over the past four seasons.

Ed Policy takes over for the retiring Mark Murphy as Green Bay’s president/CEO this summer.

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