It was another trip to the playoffs last season for the Green Bay Packers, but as it happens for 31 teams in the NFL, the Packers ended its season short of winning a Super Bowl.
In the two years under Jordan Love’s leadership, the Green Bay Packers have snuck into the playoffs, picking up a dominant win over the Dallas Cowboys. Last season in the playoffs, Green Bay got overpowered by the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
While expectations were high last season after coming off that divisional playoff game loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the loss to the Eagles last season did not hurt as much as previous playoff losses. That is because even though the team went 11-6, it entered the playoffs coming off losses to the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears.
With eyes set on this season, the Green Bay Packers are certainly in a spot where it has sky-high expectations again. After signing Aaron Banks from the San Francisco 49ers, drafting Matthew Golden and trading for Micah Parsons, it is no secret that Green Bay is looking to get over that hump in the playoffs.
“I think for me, the thing that’s been on my mind as we’ve concluded this season is we need to continue to ramp up our sense of urgency,” said Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst in January after the Packers season ended. “These opportunities don’t come (very often). The life of a player in the NFL is not very long. We’ve got a bunch of good guys in that locker room, got a bunch of talented guys in that locker room, and yeah, I think it’s time we start competing for championships, right?”
While he didn’t know it yet, Gutekunst seemed to foreshadow making that big move and going all-in back in January, as just over six months later, he traded for three-time All-Pro linebacker and one of the best players in the game – Parsons. While players like Parsons are rarely available, Gutekunst jumped on that idea of urgency to bring the Lombardi Trophy by bringing in one of the better defensive players in the game today.
It is no secret that the NFC North is one of, if not, the best divisions in football. Going 1-5 in the division last year was not ideal, especially as the only win came by way of a blocked field goal. While 0-6 and 1-5 are probably in the rearview mirror, the NFC North is set for another tough season. Green Bay opens its season with Detroit, so it gets that test immediately. With Parsons, though, the Packers should be viewed atop this division, as the pass rush and run defense has just taken that strong a step forward.
That Lions game and then playing the Washington Commanders four days after in Week 2 is an interesting test for the Packers to start the season. Even with 15 games to play after, the first two weeks of the regular season have major playoff implications. The Lions are going to compete for the division, and the Commanders are going to compete for a wildcard spot.
Starting 2-0 would work wonders for this team as both Detroit and Washington are great teams. Getting off to a hot start is paramount for this Packers team to show that it can compete with the big dogs in the NFC this season.
“It is almost like a preseason game – I think Week 1 is always like that, whether new coordinator or not, you know, teams might have some new wrinkles in their schemes so you always have to be ready for the unexpected,” said Love, on the unknowns surrounding the Lions prior to the Week 1 game.
For the Packers to reach and exceed expectations, it needs to go 1-0 every week and that started Week 1 with its divisional rival Detroit Lions.
