The season ended far sooner than many anticipated. Green Bay picked a poor time to play their worst game of the season – not that it is a choice. The Eagles ultimately proved to be the most complete team in the NFL with their dismantling of the 2-time defending NFL Champion Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX this past Sunday.
My Predictions for 2024 vs. What Happened
I predicted Green Bay to finish 12-5 (one off their actual record), earning the 2-seed. I did not see Detroit ‘nor Minnesota having as strong as regular seasons as they ended up having. Guessing correctly on 4 NFC playoff teams and 4 AFC playoff teams brining the correct guess total of 8 of 14 (57%) which isn’t bad. The prediction of the Buffalo Bills winning their first Super Bowl over the Green Bay Packers wasn’t terribly far off, but off nonetheless. Picking Philadelphia to finish as the 7-seed losing to the 2nd-seeded Packers in the Wild Card was just a reverse of what happened. All in all, fairly happy with the predictions.
What Actually Happened…
Eagles 22, Packers 10
This game was a microcosm of the entire Packers’ season. Inconsistency on offense, poor special teams, and a defense that kept them in it until the damn burst. The one bright spot, also consistent all season, is this team never gave up. They fought for all 60 minutes. Not every team does this, and there is no guarantee Green Bay will do it next year, but it’s likely they will. The main difference – if you boil it down to one item – Philadelphia was far tougher, physically. They punched Green Bay in the mouth (literally) on the opening kick off which set the tone for the entire game. Should it have been a penalty? Yes. Did Nixon recover? Yes. Would that have changed the outcome of the game? Not likely. Even taking into account momentum (which is impossible to chart), the Eagles battered Green Bay in all 3 phases for 60 minutes and it showed. There were 2 Packers that strapped up the helmet and came to play: Josh Jacobs; Edgerrin Cooper. Other than those two, the teams were vastly different.
The good news? After seeing what Philadelphia did to Los Angeles, Washington, and ultimately Kansas City, the Packers are right there in terms of talent. The key is execution. Entering 2025 the “youngest team in the league” will no longer be an excuse as they’ve now had 2 full seasons with 3 playoff games worth of experience. This is GO time for the Green Bay Packers and anything short of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy should be deemed a failed season.
Just How Close Are the Packers?
As stated above, Green Bay is right in the mix with the top teams. Likely coming in that 2nd tier, just behind Philadelphia, Detroit, Kansas City, and Buffalo. They’re in the mix with Baltimore, Washington (although I believe they’re better than the “Commanders”), Houston, and Los Angeles (both Chargers and Rams).
The Packers were the epitome of their record is what you are. In terms of point differential (the best indicator of a team’s true strength), Green Bay ranked 5th in the NFL in that category. Their record against teams that ranked worse? 11-3. Their record against teams that ranked better? 0-4 (2 losses each against Detroit and Philadelphia). Should Green Bay improve, other than organically – which is very possible and by design – they will need to find a pass rush, add depth on the offensive line and defensive backfield. Whether that’s banking on Jaire Alexander being healthy for a full season (dangerous), or adding through free agency, the Packers are in a position to be a bit aggressive in the “going for it” department.
Should Green Bay target Myles Garrett, Maxx Crosby, or Micah Parsons? Without a doubt. Will they be able to give up enough to match other contenders in that race? Likely not, but there’s a chance. Parsons is the intriguing one as Dallas has an owner who is borderline delusional, then again so is the entire Cleveland franchise, so there’s hope. The good news is there’s a chance all 3 could realistically move on from their current employers, creating triple the opportunity to add a need. The question is what to give up?
What Other Needs?
Josh Jacobs made headlines, locally, with his comments during media week in New Orleans leading up the Super Bowl, stating something to the effect of “needing a true #1 wide receiver.” Current Packers wideout, Dontayvion Wicks took offense to that posting something on his social media. I, for one, don’t believe the Packers need a true #1 wideout, but rather having depth and having Love throw to the open guy is the best remedy for success. Health is a huge factor in that, as by the end of the Wild Card game at Lincoln Financial Field the Packers were without their top 3 wide receivers…that’s an issue for any team.
With rookie Cooper DeJean making one of the biggest impact plays of Super Bowl LIX (pick-6 to put Philadelphia up 17-0), many (me included) wanted to draft DeJean with the Packers’ first selection. However, not having DeJean wasn’t the reason Green Bay fell to the eventual Super Bowl champs. Offensive line depth came back to bite them in a huge way. With Elgton Jenkins getting knocked out of the game, then starting Center Josh Myers busting up his leg, the Packers’ OL quickly went downhill and made an already near impossible task of keeping Philly’s pass rush at bay that much harder. Rookie Jordan Morgan missed most of the season and wasn’t available for the postseason…having him could’ve changed the game, but we’ll never know. Just goes to show, even when you have a very good offensive line – which Green Bay typically does, and did this year – you can never have enough good o-linemen. Hell, drafting another OL in the 1st round in 2025 shouldn’t be met with scrutiny, even though it will.
The true need for this roster is depth. Sure, adding an All-Pro pass rusher like Garrett, Crosby, or Parsons would absolutely help, but in terms of true “need,” Green Bay just needs depth. As LaFleur said after the playoff exit, the defense played winning football, the offense and special teams did not. He is right. Nixon and Valentine played very well, well enough to win with an offense putting out a B- production. Should the Packers move on from Jaire Alexander, cornerback will be a definite priority, as well as adding offensive line, depending on whether they bring Josh Myers back…then again, with WR Christian Watson missing likely the entire next season, another WR wouldn’t hurt either.
Green Bay is in position to literally take the best player available in the draft at their spot and it’ll help them, possibly even immediately. It would be great to add a proven pass rusher and even another along the defensive line to help. Hell, even having Lukas Van Ness step up and produce to what he is capable of would be tremendous. However, we’re past the point of expecting him to be anything more than he is…
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