After going 1-5 in the division last year, the Green Bay Packers needed to re-establish themselves among their NFC North foes as a force to be feared. They kicked off the season by manhandling the Lions, then, in a backloaded schedule, didn’t play another division game until Week 12. A home matchup with Minnesota went the way of 23-6 in the Packers’ favor, which the followed up by dominating Detroit on the road, 31-24, four days later on Thanksgiving.
The Packers still have work to do with five games to go and three in the division, but a strong start against their geographic rivals is just what the doctor ordered. In fact, they haven’t started 3-0 in-division since 2019, Matt LaFleur’s rookie season as a head coach.
Green Bay has re-asserted division dominance with strong start in NFC North play
Back then, Aaron Rodgers was still the quarterback, Davante Adams hadn’t peaked yet, and Aaron Jones put together his first season of 1,000 rushing yards. The Packers dominated the NFC North and went 6-0 in the division.
A 21-year-old Jordan Love was still under center for Utah State.
Now, Rodgers and Adams are on their respective second teams since leaving Green Bay. Rodgers is banged up and on the brink of retirement. Adams has 12 touchdowns as Matthew Stafford’s top red zone target in Los Angeles. Jones is amid his second season as a Viking.
Love, meanwhile, just threw four touchdowns in Detroit and is having a career year in every sense of the word in his third season as a starter. LaFleur has gone from answering questions about his job security to having his team in prime position to win its first NFC North crown since 2021.
That division title four years ago was the last in a string of three straight that began with the 2019 campaign. The Packers went 13-3 that year – also their first of three straight 13-win seasons – and lost to San Francisco in the conference championship game.
The 2025 team hasn’t been a juggernaut, but they have shown flashes of dominance – including in both games against the Lions, returning the favor of the season sweep Detroit handed the Packers last season. At 8-3-1, Green Bay has the best chance of any NFC North team to win the division (69%). Two matchups versus the first-place Bears are still on the table. The Packers have control of their own destiny.
With a Micah Parsons-led defense and a mature Jordan Love, they’re looking to do more than just improve on 2024’s first-round exit. This Green Bay roster has its eyes set on getting further than another NFC Championship loss, a ceiling they haven’t been able to break since the organization’s last Super Bowl berth following the 2010 season.
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