The Green Bay Packers could be set for one of their worst seasons
By Andy Davies
The Green Bay Packers have gotten off to a terrible start to the 2026 NFL season.
They currently stand at 1-2, after defeats to the Minnesota Vikings in Week One and the Atlanta Falcons in Week Three. Both of their losses have been by 17 or more points, something they last did in 2017. However, this was over the course of a whole season, not in two of the opening three games. Even their one victory, was hard fought and could have very easily been a defeat.
Their most recent loss, to the Falcons on Thursday Night Football, saw fans boo the team. With how the previous season ended, losing their final four regular season games along with their collapse against the Chicago Bears in the Divisional Round, the pressure is starting to mount on head coach Matt LaFleur.
For a team that many had as Super Bowl contenders 12 months ago following their trade with the Dallas Cowboys for Micah Parsons, the team look as far away as possible from being championship contenders.
Could this be a season to forget for the Packers?
Struggles on offense and an inability to stop the run
Their offensive line has been a major concern, currently possessing an 18% pass block win rate, a number significantly less than the lowest total across the 2025 season when the Los Angeles Chargers recorded 53.9%.
Their passing offense actually ranks fourth in the NFL for total yards, with Jordan Love sixth in the league for this metric.
However, their ranking of 22nd for total points shows their inability to convert in the end zone, despite only nine quarterbacks having recorded more passing touchdowns than Love.
The offense around Love has also been subpar, with Christian Watson the only shining light.
Green Bay’s run game is clearly affected by the absence of Josh Jacobs, who is currently suspended for off the field related reasons. They rank dead last in the league for rushing yards, with just a mere total of 146, 48 less than the 194 put up by Bijan Robinson on Thursday Night.
They also rank 28th against the run, and only the Indianapolis Colts, Washington Commanders and Detroit Lions have allowed more total points so far this season.
Could the schedule haunt the Packers?
There are a lot of problems right now in Green Bay, and the rest of season looks very bleak given the future opponents they have to face.
Against a Vikings team who lost QB1 Kyler Murray early on in the game in Week One, before a clash with the Atlanta Falcons who had just suffered one of their worst losses in recent history, these are two games you would have expected the Packers to win.
However, this was not the case as they suffered those aforementioned 17+ point defeats.
It does not get any easier moving forward for Matt LaFleur’s team. Whilst their Week Four clash with the Baker Mayfield-less Tampa Bay Buccaneers offers some rest bite; this is as good as it gets. The Bears may have quarterback Caleb Williams for their matchup seven days later.
All three in the Cowboys (Week Six), Lions (Week Seven) and Carolina Panther (Week Eight) have excited on offense, and have all the potential to punish this Packers defense.
Against the New England Patriots, a week later, this could be an opportunity to grab a win. There is also the chance that the Patriots could have gotten their act together by this point. Of course, the same can be said about the Packers. It makes this (along with their matchup with the Miami Dolphins in December) one of the best chances of victory on paper throughout the rest of the season.
Repeat games against division opponents in the Vikings (Week 10), Bears (Week 16) and Lions (Week 18) also offer the possibility of victory. Form goes out of the window for division games. This is along with the famous three words, “Any Given Sunday”, but plenty of teams still go 0-6 or 2-4 in their division.
The Packers will also have to face two Super Bowl favourites in the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills.
Whilst the Rams have started 1-2, it is often how you finish, not how you start. Noone hoists the Lombardi Trophy in Week Three and there is a reason Sean McVay’s team were so many people’s pick to win it all in February. They also meet in late November. With Myles Garrett, Aaron Donald and Puka Nacua likely to have overcome their early season injury issues, they will be a different team come the time they meet in Week 12.
The Packers’ worst record in the 21st century was when they went 4-12 in 2005. Their next worst were in 2008 when they recorded a 6-10 record. With only a handful of winnable games on paper, there is a good chance they get more than four but also less than six, even with Parsons back.
ANDY DAVIES
NFL ANALYST
ANDY IS A SPORTS JOURNALISM GRADUATE WITH OVER SIX YEARS EXPERIENCE OF NFL WRITING AND PODCASTING. ANDY HAS BEEN TO EVERY NFL STADIUM AND IS THE HOST OF THE ACROSS THE POD PODCAST. HE HAS PRESS PASS EXPERIENCE AT THE LONDON GAMES AND MANY OTHER NFL BASED EVENTS SUCH AS SUPER BOWL LIX AND LX, HAVING INTERVIEWED THE LIKES OF AARON RODGERS, JUSTIN JEFFERSON, JASON BELL, OSI UMENYIORA, PATRICK MAHOMES, TRAVIS KELCE, DERRICK HENRY, SAQUON BARKLEY AND JALEN HURTS.
