The playoffs are finally here. The Clayton Tune era is finally over with (hopefully). And round one of the playoffs has the Packers facing their oldest foe. The Packers are coming off a four game losing streak, and while there are plenty of reasons to not worry too much about those results, Green Bay is definitely a team under a lot of pressure. There will be plenty of pieces this week that get into the x’s and o’s of the game, so lets take a look at which players and coaches have the most at stake Saturday Night
Jordan Love
From a statistical standpoint, and when you consider the performance of the offensive line this year, Jordan Love has shown just about everything you could ask for in his third year as a starter.
Love has been top ten in just about every advanced metric, and he’s done it with subpar blocking and without his top two pass catchers for all but one game. That game? Against the Pittsburgh Steelers and not coincidentally his best game of the season.
This bodes extremely well for his outlook moving forward. However, that doesn’t matter to a portion of fans that are dead set in rooting against him. Love is currently 1-2 in the playoffs with both losses ending with tough interceptions.
The NFL is a team sport, and while wins are not inherently a QB stat, at the end of the day those two things have become linked to the average fan.
All of that is to say that a win against the two seed Chicago Bears, in Chicago, in the longest rivalry in football would go a long way for Loves perception in the league and amongst fans.
Rashan Gary
Before I get into this, I think that Gary has likely played himself off this team for next season, or at best into a significantly reworked contract. When Green Bay brought in Micah Parsons, the expectation was that with reduced focus and another year to recover from a torn ACL that Gary would take a step forward as a pass rusher.
And to start the season that seemed to be the case. Then, even before losing Parsons for the season, the production dried up. It’s hard to look at a more damning comparison than the one below:
Like I mentioned at the top, I think Gary has likely played himself off the team already. But showing up on Saturday and bringing down Caleb Williams a few times could go a long way in giving him a chance to stick around in 2026.
Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur
Like Rashan Gary I think LaFleur’s fate for next season has already been decided. I fully expect him to be back next year barring some dramatic happening on Saturday. That being said, I am a little less certain after news broke yesterday that the Ravens had fired John Harbaugh. I’m not saying that was the right or wrong move for that franchise, but it does give a reminder that the NFL is a what you’ve done recently league.
The Packers have been the 7th seed three years in a row now. Another one and done loss could have new Packers president considering a change. Especially if the team gets run over like they did against Baltimore. Win on Saturday and I think this discussion ends pretty quickly, but a loss, especially a bad one could have LaFleur on the hot seat.
Ultimately though the biggest obstacle I see is the question of a replacement. Making the Micah Parsons trade tells us that Green Bay thinks this a Super Bowl caliber roster. If you fire LaFleur, who are you aiming for to step in to a roster with championship aspirations? A second or third time retread with “experience”? Or a hot name that hasn’t been a head coach before? Additionally, if the guy you fire would immediately be one of the top names available, you should probably reconsider that choice.
I think LaFleur gets his extension, I also think the leash is definitely shorter in years past and that he can’t afford many more short playoff runs. The Parsons injury, and bevy other injuries likely buys LaFleur at least one more season though.
