Almost anyone who covers the NFL will say that week 1 is a liar. Many more would extend that to week 2, and some even say real football starts after Thanksgiving. Regardless of where you think football starts, a team can be fairly evaluated by their first month’s performance. The 2026 Green Bay Packers’ September does not paint a pretty picture.

Week 1 – Meltdown at Minnesota

At the end of three quarters, the Packers’ September opener was on track to be a hard-fought victory. Jordan Love was playing well, despite his offensive line. Kyler Murray had been literally knocked out of the game, and the Carson Wentz-led offense had been held to under 200 yards of offense.

The dam broke loose in the 4th quarter.

The offensive line cratered as Love was sacked 3 times in quarter, causing one fumble and the pressure also led to an interception. With easy field position, the Vikings scored 14 points in under one minute of game time. When the dust settled, the Vikings had scored 22 unanswered points in the 4th quarter resulting in a 39-22 loss for the Green and Gold.

This being the first game after the Packers’ wildcard meltdown against the Chicago Bears, fans immediately hit the panic button. The offensive line was a massive liability, and the running backs looked like JV players.

Jordan Love was hit 14 times, the receivers dropped 1 pass, and the Packers were penalized 12 times for 98 yards.

Week 2 – Working overtime in New York

The feeling going into the second game of the Packers’ September schedule was dismay at another 4th quarter collapse. Winning against the constantly struggling New York Jets did not build optimism.

Overtime victories can be exhilarating as long as the other team is favored or given equal odds. Otherwise, as it was with the Packers during week 2, overtime is brutally anxiety-inducing.

The sun did shine through the rain at times. New free agent Skyy Moore racked up over 200 yards on kick and punt returns. Rookie kicker Trey Smack hit his first walk off field goal to end overtime with a 20-17 victory.

Any optimism created by the victory was overshadowed by the loss of 2 important offensive players. Zach Bako-Bewele, still rehabbing from a partially torn patellar tendon, fully tore the same ligament on the Meadowlands’ infamous field, an injury that threatens his football career. Jayden Reed was taken from the field on a backboard after being hit in the head, and will miss the rest of the season.

Jordan Love was hit 4 times, the receivers dropped 6 passes, and the Packers were penalized 14 times for 133 yards.

Week 3 – Dirty Birds, Boo Birds

Before week 3, the Atlanta Falcons had zero snaps within the 20 yard line. They were 0-2 and Michael Penix Jr. would be making his first start of the season. For the first time, even on a short Thursday night week, the Packers’ September schedule had a clear get-right game.

After the first 4 drives, it seemed like the Packers had finally reached their expected performance. The defense had held the Falcons to 30 total yards and picked a Penix pass on the first drive. The offense had a 9 play 87 yard touchdown drive, and the home Packers’ crowd finally had something to cheer for.

Then Bijan Robinson ripped off a 55 yard run to set up a touchdown 2 plays later. The Packers defense spent the rest of the night watching the back of #7’s jersey.

Robinson ended the night with 194 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns, which while good for my fantasy team, was not good for my mental health. He was matched by his teammate, Drake London who also tallied 194 yards as a receiver. In total, the Packers’ defense gave up 498 yards, nearly doubling the amount given to the Vikings and Jets combined.

With Robinson running free, the offense needed to score quickly and often. Unfortunately, another offensive line shuffle following Bako-Bewele’s injury ended any hope of offensive efficiency. While Matthew Golden had his best game as a professional with 100 yards and a touchdown, it wasn’t enough to keep pace with the Falcons.

A rare sound was heard in Lambeau that night: the home crowd booing its own team. While disappointed, most players admitted it was deserved as they lost 35-14. Falling back below .500, the Packers needed to fix a laundry list of problems over their extended week off.

Jordan Love was hit 10 times, the receivers dropped 4 passes, and the Packers were penalized 6 times for 83 yards.

Week 4 – Temp check in Tampa

Although not technically part of the Packers’ September to forget, week 4 marked the first full month of football. The game was played in Tampa against the winless Buccaneers.

The Packers traveled to Tampa with plenty of reasons to win. The offensive line had been reinforced by veteran guards Laken Tomlinson and Wisconsin’s own Kevin Zeitler. The Buccaneers would be led by Jalon Daniels, a rookie UDFA quarterback, after the injury to Baker Mayfield the week prior. The Packers were given one more chance to even their record and get their season back on track.

A win is a check in the good column, and that’s the best that can be said about the Packers victory over the Buccaneers. Despite the reasons for optimism, the Packers were saved from overtime by Trey Smack’s 58 yard field goal at the end of the first half.

In the redzone, Jordan Love threw a pick and Kaleb Johnson, although having the longest run of the Packers season, fumbled a ball on the goal line. These two plays kept the Packers below 20 points for the second week in a row.

The defense stopped the run much better than the previous week, but still suffered a massive loss. Edgerrin Cooper tore his achilles tendon and will miss the rest of the season, and will likely take longer to return to his previous level of play. In his absence, Evan Williams stepped up with an interception of Daniels and pressured an incompletion on the Buccaneers final offensive play.

The Packers were penalized 10 times for 68 yards.

Outlook

The obvious conclusion from recapping the Packers’ September performances is disappointingly simple: the Green Bay Packers are not a very good football team. They certainly aren’t without impressive individual performances, but as a whole are not playing well.

The question of who is at fault for this poor start is up for debate. Injuries to key players are already piling up, Josh Jacobs’ current discipline is clearly hurting the Packers run offense, and while not the most disappointing unit, the defense could really use another playmaker like Micah Parsons.

On the field, the Packers have been penalized an inexcusable number of times. Jordan Love has been hit far too many times, and his receivers have dropped far too many passes. These execution mistakes need to be corrected by Matt LaFleur and his coaching staff immediately.

Going forward, the Packers should not be expected to be a highly competitive team. Another 9 win season is the best possible outcome I can reasonably predict. More likely, the Packers will be very sad to watch the Jets use their 1st round pick on a higher pick than anyone expected.