Remember a week ago, when the Packers were undefeated, the vibes were high, and everything felt in reach?
Remember all the hopes you had for a dominant season?
That being said, is it time to panic? Absolutely not!
Is there cause for concern? ABSOLUTELY!
Week 1 is not a defining game that determines the trajectory of the season. The concerns are, that it’s the SAME issues from last season still persisting. LaFleur and company knew all off season who they were going up against with the Vikings, and seemingly showed up to U.S. Bank Stadium unprepared.
There’s A LOT of football left, it’s a long season, but this trend of blowing it late in the game needs to die faster than Tide pods if there’s going to be any hopes of a deep playoff run.
Packers Showing The Same Old Same Old
The Packers treated us to a vintage 2025 performance carrying a lead right up until the 4th quarter in Minnesota last Sunday. The Packers collectively spent the last week doing pressers talking about how “finishing” was the theme of training camp. Apparently the regular season didn’t get the memo.
The game started out with electricity. The Packers offense seemed to have Flores’ pressures under control while Jordan made them pay with returning weapons Tucker Kraft, Matthew Golden, and Christian Watson. In fact, Love finished out the game with 387 passing yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. To say this man tried to put this team on his back is an understatement. However as the game went on, the old familiar sting came back.
The Winds Begins To Shift
The defense was getting after Kyler Murray and the secondary was firing on all cylinders with Keisean Nixon even getting into the mix early. Then the everything started to change after Kyler went down.
When I saw Carson Wentz come on the field, I like many others thought that was game, set, and match. The one “X” factor coming into the game on most minds was how Kyler Murray would look. With him sidelined and Jordan cooking on Flores 78% blitz defense, it seemed like it was going to be a statement game.
Unfortunately, that statement would read something like…
The Blame Goes All Around
In many folks minds, the blame is being placed on the individuals pictured above. I personally would pretty stronlgy disagree.
Could Matt have called a better game and put a different line up out there? Yes
Was there some suspect calls from Hochuli’s garbage officiating crew? 1,000%
I will give you all that, but I will raise you a squad with sloppy fundamentals and an inability to rise to the occasion.
Also, in my eyes, there’s one coach who deserves the bulk of the blame here. That’s Packers offensive line coach, Luke Butkus.
I watched Jordan scramble for his life while the Vikings defense embarassed the Packers starting offensive line. While I can appreciate Micah Parsons saying that the line needs grace, there’s no excuse for how that unit operated on Sunday.
According to PFF, the Packers O-Line came in ranked at 29th overall after their performance in Week 1. They came in dead last at 32nd with their 9% pass block win rate, leading the NFL with 17 total pressures. In fact, 4 out of 5 starters graded out under 50.0, and not a single starter reached a 60.0 pass-blocking grade.
With no blocking and an offense that could not sustain drives as I said they would need to in my article last week, they never stood a chance against the Vikings. Which ended up leading to a defensive front that was worn out and unable to counter act the Vikings offense.
Let’s Talk About The Points Coming Off The Board
In real time, I was pretty upset that Matt had taken points off the board. However, again, this is a picture perfect example of being hated when it falls apart and being praised when it works.
More importantly, that QB sneak wasn’t Matt’s call…
I know I know, it’s me talking out of both sides of my mouth when I say Jordan was balling out, only to toss the blame on him for the botched play. However, I am merely trying to convey that piling onto Matt for this call isn’t the move.
Also, while I’m not trying to manufacture even more excuses, Trey Smack missing that extra point gave the Packers the 8 point lead this decision would end up blowing. However, had Smack kicked that through the goal posts, the Packers would have been up by 9, the math changes, and this call likely isn’t there.
In conclusion, would I have taken the points off the board? No
However, hanging this all on Matt who was just trying to be aggressive I don’t feel is 100% merited.
Don’t Let The Game Be Dictated By The Refs
I would firmly be in the camp of saying that Shawn Hochuli is just as bad if not worse than his dad at officiating. However, I will not place the blame all on the refs calls either.
Yes that drive after the botched 4th & 1 was filled with gifts for the Vikings, however the Packers had 53 minutes and change outside outside of that drive to put this game away and couldn’t get the job done. Not to mention Vikings fans were equally pissed with the Aaron Jones down by contact call.
Again, not obsolving poor officiating, but also not going to deflect blame away from where it belongs, squarely on the shoulders of the Packers and their inability to meet the moment.
Penalties from steadfast players like Javon Bullard and just all over the board sloppy fundamentals lead to the same fate as the previous 5 games.
Time To Right The Ship With A Decisive Win
The Packers will hit the road this week to battle the New York Jets. Hopefully some time to lick their wounds and a bit of perspective shifting will allow the Packers a chance to right the ship.
While most would normally write this opponent off as a “gimme”, New York opened the season with a 23-10 victory over Tennessee, so this isn’t a matchup Green Bay can simply sleepwalk through.
The Packers need to protect Love, establish the run game (I would like to see Kaleb Johnson on the field), have Watson and Golden create problems downfield, let Kraft dominate the middle & redzone, and make the kind of plays that put an opponent away instead of keeping the door open. Most importantly, this cannot be a close game, or one that the Packers come back and squeak out in the end. The squad needs to come out and land a decisive “W”.
Still A Lot Of Ballgame Left
Again, there is no reason to call this season a wash and surrender to defeat like many Packer fans across the social media platforms would have you believe. This is certainly not the first opening weekend that the Packers have been punched in the mouth. There’s plenty of time to fix things up, and there’s still the pending return of Parsons on the defensive front. The team needs to find a way to clean up their play and make sure it’s an all 11 man effort and dictate the tempo and ending to this game.
If the Packers can find a way to keep Jordan’s pocket clean, I see no reason why the Packers won’t leave MetLife Stadium with a 24-10 victory.
Watch the Packers in person this season by getting your tickets from Ticket King. Click the image below and avoid using those national chains like Seat Geek and StubHub. Use a Wisconsin based business for all your Packers ticket needs!
