The Green Bay Packers ended 2024-25 on a sour note, losing a big game to Minnesota in Week 17 and receiver Christian Watson in a Week 18 defeat against the Bears. Dropping to the 7-seed in the NFC, Green Bay fell 22-10 to Philadelphia in the Wild Card Round in a game that started off all wrong with what was questionably ruled a Packers fumble on the opening kickoff.
The last offensive snap of the season resulted in a Jordan Love interception in the end zone with 2:35 to go.
Love and Matt LaFleur are taking heat for the Packers’ postseason flop. With Watson likely out for a chunk of next season, the team is in need of a replacement. The fanbase is understandably disgruntled.
But while 2025 went out with a whimper, it’s off to next year for everyone except the Chiefs, Bills, Eagles and Commanders. Teams’ scheduled opponents came out two weeks ago–still waiting on the dates–and now seems like the right time, following a grieving period for the playoff loss, to take a look.
Jordan Love and Matt LaFleur Need To Start Beating Good Teams
One of the disappointments this year was Green Bay’s performance against top-notch competition. Against playoff teams in the regular season,, they went just 2-5, including 0-4 against the Lions and Vikings. Beating the Seahawks bumped their record against above-.500 opponents to 3-5.
Many of those L’s were close games. All except a 24-14 loss to Detroit were decided within a 5-point margin. In the playoffs, the Packers had a chance to prove that those tight losses indicated a team right there with the best.
Instead, although they outgained the Eagles 302 yards to 290, they never had control of the game despite a subpar performance from Philly. The kickoff fumble–”fumble”–didn’t help, but Green Bay had a full 58:21 of clock-time to get back in it. The Eagles certainly left the door open.
Based on their scheduled competition in 2025, the Packers will likely have to step up their play versus superior foes.
At home – Vikings (14-3), Lions (15-2), Eagles (14-3), Bears (5-12), Commanders (12-5), Panthers (5-12), Ravens (12-5), Bengals (9-8)
On the road – Vikings (14-3), Lions (15-2), Cowboys (7-10), Bears (5-12), Giants (3-14), Cardinals (8-9), Steelers (10-7), Browns (3-14), Broncos (10-7)
For Green Bay Packers, Road to Postseason Success Won’t Get Any Smoother
Each season brings substantial change, but reviewing the collective record of the teams Green Bay will face forecasts an uptick in difficulty. Overall, those teams went 161-128 last year, good for a winning percentage of 55.7% (division rivals are counted twice, once for each time they played the Packers).
For comparison, this year’s slate was 144-145 (49.8%). Again double-counting division rivals, the Packers will play a playoff team in 9 games, versus 7 this season.
In addition to teams that bested them in the NFC North, Green Bay will face both conference title participants.
The good news is that away games will likely feature easier opposition. At the very least, the Giants and Browns should still be awful. The Panthers will win a few more games if Bryce Young looks like the guy he was down the stretch, but they probably won’t be very good, either.
If anything, however, a majority of Green Bay’s opponents should be better, not worse, in ’25-26.
Although the 15-2 Lions and the 14-3 Vikings seemed poised to regress (at least a little, maybe a lot given Minnesota’s quarterback uncertainty), the Commanders, Bengals and Broncos all should make a leap. Yes, Cincinnati WR Tee Higgins is a free agent (and intriguing Packers trade target), and the defense was atrocious. By the same token, it is hard to imagine that defensive upgrades will not be a focus this offseason, and the Bengals finished 2024 on a 5-0 tear to nearly steal a playoff spot.
In Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix, Washington and Denver sport ROY-candidates number one and number two, both of whom led their teams to the postseason.
The Cowboys are a mess, but with a healthy Dak Prescott and the right coach, they could improve on last season (7-10).
So could the Bears, if Ben Johnson works out and Caleb Williams plays like he did in the second half of the season, when he went an NFL-rookie-record 326 consecutive passes without an interception.
What does all of this mean for the Packers? In two seasons of the Love era, they have gone 9-8 and 11-6 (0-1 in the playoffs). If they want to reclaim the NFC North, they will have to iron out some roster questions and likely, against tough opposition, improve their record for the fourth straight campaign.
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