Yes, Packers Are Close to Being Super Bowl Contenders
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers went from nine wins to 11 in 2024 but, after a one-and-done season devoid of signature wins, are they close to being a Super Bowl contender?
“I think, at the moment, you don’t feel it,” coach Matt LaFleur said during his season-ending news conference on Tuesday, two days after a 22-10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in a wild-card playoff game.
“But we won 11 games. It was good for third place in our division. It’s one of those crazy years, man. I just think we have to be a little bit more consistent, especially in those big-time games. You can’t turn the ball over. You got to find ways to move the ball. You got to maximize your opportunities.”
The failure to maximize opportunities will haunt LaFleur throughout the offseason because it was the story of the 128 days spanning the losses to the Eagles in Week 1 and again in the playoffs.
The Packers went 0-2 against the Detroit Lions, who were the No. 1 seed, the Eagles, who were the No. 2 seed, and the Minnesota Vikings, who were in contention for the No. 1 seed until the final game of the season.
The combined 0-6 record in those games would suggest the Packers are a couple sizable steps away from being considered legitimate championship contenders in 2025.
However, the Packers took the lead at Detroit in the fourth quarter in Week 14, were one stop away from having a chance to win the game in the final moments at Minnesota in Week 17 and trailed the Eagles only 16-10 in the fourth quarter on Sunday despite their abundant issues on offense and special teams.
“I still feel the same disappointment I feel like that I felt postgame,” LaFleur said. “Somebody’s going to win, somebody’s going to lose, good teams, but you just want to go out in those moments and play your best and let the chips fall where they may.”
Only one side of the ball showed up.
Offensively, the Packers had 101 yards and zero points in the first half, when Jordan Love threw two of his three interceptions.
On special teams, two-time All-Pro Keisean Nixon fumbled away the opening kickoff – and perhaps recovered it – and reliable Brandon McManus missed a short field goal.
“Everybody has got to play their best – especially your best players got to play their best – in the big games,” LaFleur said.
Jeff Hafley’s defense, which played without Jaire Alexander for most of the season and again on Sunday, gave up a short-field touchdown after Nixon’s fumble and a field goal late in the first quarter, but allowed just one first down on the next four possessions to give the Packers a fighting chance to rally.
“I thought we had a strong defensive performance, and we just didn’t get it done offensively,” LaFleur said. “Had a really hard time blocking their front, so it’s hard to really get anything going in that regard.
“And then the turnovers were just the absolute killer. It started with the opening kick, and then having three picks, that was it right there. You’re not going to go on the road and win a playoff game when you’re minus-4 in the turnover battle. It’s not going to happen. So, the fact that we were 16-10 in the fourth quarter, that shows you how well we played on defense to even be in that position.”
In going 0-6 against the NFC’s best teams in the regular season, the Packers generally were in position to win.
They just didn’t win.
That made Sunday’s game the equivalent of Groundhog Day. A slow start put the Packers in a hole, plenty of fight allowed them to dig their way out to some extent and too many mistakes meant the whole thing eventually caved in.
After all those big-game losses, the Packers said they beat themselves. Love said it again on Sunday.
“Small as hell,” Nixon said on Monday of the gap between the Packers and the NFC’s best. “It’s the details. Lost to the Vikings by two both times. Lost to Detroit (by a) field goal at the end of the game.
“It’s not like we’re out here getting the sh-- beat out us. We’re in every game no matter how much we mess up or mistakes we have, how slow we start. We be in every game by the end of the game, and that’s not ideal. We just got to learn how to start fast as a team – not just on offense or defense (but) as a team. That’s just what it is.”
Running back Josh Jacobs had the same message in the postgame locker room.
“All those games, we were right there,” he said. “My biggest message this offseason – from the coaches to the players – is how do we take that step. We figure out how to take that step, ain’t nobody gonna be able to f--- with us in this league.”
With that, a long, cold offseason started prematurely for the Packers.
A season filled with Super Bowl aspirations, beginning with offseason workouts in May through training camp in August, ended with yet another loss in which the Packers showed they were good enough to beat a really good team but weren’t actually good enough to get it done.
“We got to learn how to get over the hump,” Nixon said. “The hump is the details. It be little sh--, you know what I’m saying? It be the smallest details.”
The Packers will have money to spend in free agency after general manager Brian Gutekunst hit a pair of grand slams with Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney last year. The Green Bay-hosted draft will provide more opportunities to add talent.
More than anything, though, it will be up to LaFleur to figure out how to get his team ready to compete for a full 60 minutes, to hone in on those “smallest details,” because he said he “absolutely” believes the Packers have the talent to compete for a Super Bowl championship.
“I think we got a ton of talent,” he said. “Can you always add to that? No doubt about it. I think when you look at just going against Philly, I think that’s one of, arguably, maybe, the most talented roster in the league. They’re pretty darn good. It just is what it is.”
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