by Tim Froberg
The Green Bay Packers were both exciting and exasperating in 2024.
The Packers cracked the playoffs for the fifth time in the last six years and won more games (11) than 24 of the league’s 32 teams.
Still, the season didn’t feel like a success. Matt LaFleur’s team was a bit of a fraud. The Packers finished an unacceptable 1-5 in the NFC North and were smacked around by the league’s finer teams, finishing a hideous 0-6 against the Eagles, Lions and Vikings.
That’s why Green Bay faces a pivotal 2025-26 season. The team is either going to take a step forward and become a championship contender or the questions about LaFleur, Jordan Love and, perhaps even, Brian Gutekunst will multiply.
Standards are always steep in Titletown and it’s time for the Packers to hit a higher level. This is a deep, balanced squad with enough talent on both sides of the ball to compete with the big boys for the Lombardi Trophy.
It all starts with Love, who put up OK numbers, but didn’t play to his massive contract in an injury-plagued season. Love has already shown he has the secret sauce to become an elite QB, but needs to sharpen his overall game, particularly his accuracy, to get the Packers within sniffing distance of Levi’s Stadium.
Yes, there are 52 more names on the Green Bay roster that also need to deliver, but the NFL remains a quarterback-driven league where a stud QB like Jayden Daniels can camouflage weak spots and take a team deep into the postseason. Love should be well protected by a sturdy offensive line and has a top-tier running back (Josh Jacobs) to keep defenses honest. Intriguing rookie, Matthew Golden, adds another playmaker to a well-stocked receiving corps where Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs and Tucker Kraft are skilled pass-catchers and Dontayvion Wicks and Luke Musgrave are potential breakout candidates.
Defensively, it was a huge offseason win for the Packers to retain well-regarded coordinator, Jeff Hafley, whose aggressive style helped Green Bay construct a top-10 defense. The Packers need better play from overpaid Kenny Clark and signs of life from Lukas Van Ness, but the ‘D’ is stacked with first- and second-round picks that give Hafley sufficient talent to play his high-pressure schemes found nowhere in Joe Barry’s playbook.
Green Bay even has a kicker (Brandon McManus) who can consistently split the uprights with an extra point. Anders Carlson and Brayden Narveson were the Phil Collins—I Missed Again—of NFL kickers and I’m still baffled why the Packers gave both such a long leash.
As for LaFleur, he’s been wildly successful (67-33) during the regular season and is regarded as a solid head coach. Still, he’s 3-5 in the postseason with no Super Bowl appearances and his Packers crashed and burned late last season when they needed to play their best football. Two years remain on his contract and he may be sitting on a hot seat if this team continues to get bullied by the NFL elite.
Love, LaFleur, and the Packers need to get their mojo back. Can this team make the jump from good to great? That’s what we’re about to find out . . . and right away with powerhouses, Detroit and Washington, visiting Lambeau the first two weeks.
My guess is the Packers will remain a playoff team that will hit double-digit wins. I see them going 10-7 due to a brutally tough schedule. I’m not going to be a homer and forecast a Super Bowl run because so much—injuries, officiating and flat-out luck—has to go right. But I expect this team to be better than last year and capable of challenging for the NFC championship.
Predictions aside, the time has come for the Packers to stop navigating NFL waters like a dolphin and evolve into a great white shark.
This article was originally published in the September 2025 issue of Appleton Monthly Magazine.
