The Green Bay Packers head into their Week 17 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings on a three-game losing streak. They’ve locked up the NFC’s 7th seed and will head to Chicago or Philadelphia chasing a first-round upset.
When Jordan Love and company take the field in the Wild Card round, odds are they will be limping in as losers of four in a row, since it’s likely most starters will be rested this coming Sunday. The Packers would be wise to also rest Malik Willis for multiple reasons, including playing a significant role during the postseason.
This team has zero momentum, with Love returning from a concussion and the defense coming off a flat-out, putrid performance against Baltimore. The past few weeks have been painful and gut-wrenching, and they have shown how these losses have affected this team. Though they have not shown any sign of life since the second half of the Broncos game, there are still a few ways this Packers team can go on a run.
Packers Underdog Mentality
Dating as far back as their last Super Bowl run, the Packers have always seemed to embrace being the underdog. From the Aaron Rodgers “R-E-L-A-X” and “Run the Table” quotes to Jordan Love balling out in Dallas two years back, the team turns all of us into Michael Corleone. “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!”
Green Bay was a Super Bowl favorite when the season kicked off. That ship has sailed, and the locker room is full of underdogs again. Take the last four weeks and don’t let it bury you. Show everyone you’re made of something and can go on a run; it all starts now.
Malik Willis Package
I wrote about this concept just a few weeks ago. There is no denying that Malik Willis will be a starting quarterback next season. Since Love went down with an injury, he has stepped in and performed beautifully; the team as a whole has just let him down. This is all the more reason for the Packers to utilize him now while they still have him.
This isn’t about replacing Jordan Love. But what the Packers can do is inject a few well-crafted plays each game, designed specifically around Malik Willis’s unique skill set, giving opposing defenses an unexpected look they haven’t prepared for.
Think of it as a changeup in a fastball-heavy playbook.
How Packers Can Make It Work
Defenses preparing for Jordan Love are expecting structure — a timing-based passing game, quick reads, and run concepts designed to stay ahead of the chains. That’s the look opponents spend all week drilling for.
Putting Malik Willis on the field, even for a snap or two, disrupts that preparation. It forces defensive coordinators to account for a different skill set and adjust on the fly, often with limited live reps to pull from. Those moments matter.
A defender hesitating on the edge, a linebacker late to fill a gap, or a coverage that rotates a step too slowly can be the difference between a stalled drive and a chunk play. In the postseason, where mistakes are magnified and possessions are limited, that margin is everything.
For a Packers offense still searching for consistency, this isn’t about trick plays. It’s about forcing defenses out of their comfort zone — and sometimes, that’s all it takes to swing a game.
One Spark Is All It Takes
A single inspired drive, one clutch 4th‑down conversion, can snap a slumping team out of its malaise.
This Packers roster still has explosive ability, impactful leaders, and room for tactical creativity. Instead of seeing this losing streak as a scar, see it as a launchpad.
This team could walk into the playoffs fired up, unpredictable, and ready to prove the doubters wrong; that’s the kind of team you want in January.
The Packers, at the very least, need to walk away from this season learning that just because you are built for it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. You have to make it happen. Now let’s go.
