The 2027 Green Bay Packers season is already a quarter of the way finished. The team is currently sitting at .500 despite some real bumps in the road. So how should fans feel after an uneven start to the season with a tough stretch of games coming up? First lets look at the ups and downs of the start to the season.
The Good
4th time is the charm? It took a while, but it does appear that coach Matt LaFleur has finally hit on a special teams coordinator. Cam Achord didn’t have the type of resume that immediately made you feel like he was the solution, but so far the results have been evident:
8th! If you told fans before the season that the special teams would be just middle of the pack they would’ve been overjoyed. This version of the Packers special teams probably swings two or three games last year.
Speaking of special teams, GM Brian Gutekunst seems to have found Green Bay’s kicker for the next decade. Trey Smack has missed only two kicks this year (one as a result of a block) and has made multiple 50+ yard kicks including a 58 yarder that proved the difference in the win against Tampa Bay.
The Packers also seemed to have finally found a solution at returner as well
The Packers defense also got a new coach this offseason, and while the results haven’t been quite a striking, there are some positives. Lukas Van Ness and Evan Williams both look like they’ve taken a step this offseason. Williams was the best player on the field for Green Bay on Sunday, racking up 7 tackles, a sack and a pick.
Van Ness has finally taken the step he’s been flashing for a season plus now
The Bad
The Packers offensive line is worse than most could imagine. Going into the season there was real skepticism about this years Packers team, and uncertainty around the offensive line was at the root of it. So far its been worse than I think even the biggest skeptics could anticipate. So bad that Gutekunst went out and signed three vets within a few days of each other.
The good news is that for a least a week the line seems to have stabilized. Laken Tomlinson came in at left guard and long time Packers backup Travis Glover played his first meaningful minutes in almost two years. The results were meh. But meh is a massive upgrade to the garbage fire that we saw in week one against the Vikings. There’s reason to believe too that further improvements could be coming when the team gets Kevin Zeitler up to speed on the offense.
It’s not just the line that’s torpedoed the offense either though – the Packers collection of misfit running backs hasn’t done the team any favors either.
The Ugly
The Green Bay Packers have had some of the worst injury luck in the NFL that fans aren’t trying to tie directly to a giant electrical substation. A year after losing franchise cornerstones Tucker Kraft, Micah Parsons and Zach Bako-Bewele to season ending injuries, the Packers have lost Jayden Reed, Zach Bako-Bewele and now Edgerrin Cooper to season ending injuries. On top of that, Micah Parsons has yet to resume practicing.
Brian Gutekunst made the Micah Parsons trade because he felt this roster was on the verge of competing for Super Bowls. Since then it’s been nothing but bad luck and bad injuries.
None of this however excuses some of the coaching we’ve seen this season. Mistakes with who starts on the line, one of the highest penalty rates in the league, refusing to adapt the offense to the personnel you have are all things that fall back on head coach Matt LaFleur.
It’s not too late to turn this season around – the offensive line should get a little better, micha Parsons will be back at some point, and you still have a great quarterback and a solid group of pass catchers. But make no mistake, LaFleur is on the hot seat right now, and I expect it to get a lot hotter if the Packers get embarrassed by a Bears team with a backup QB at Lambeau field. Especially with how last season ended.
