The Green Bay Packers were able to ride an end-of-season surge that allowed them to make the playoffs after playing indifferent football for much of the season.

The Packers were just 6-8 when they lost back-t0-back games in Weeks 14 and 15 to the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While the Packers looked inept in both games, the loss to the Giants was particularly egregious because New York was playing with its No. 3 quarterback in the lineup, and the Packers helped Tommy DeVito look like a superstar.

Few would have thought the Packers would have had any chance to make the playoffs at that point, but they closed the regular season with victories over the Panthers, Vikings and Bears. They struggled against the lowly Panthers before emerging with a 33-30 victory over the team with the worst record in the NFL, but they outclassed the Vikings and stifled the Bears.

Those two wins gave head coach Matt LaFleur's team quite a bit of confidence prior to their Wild Card meeting with the NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys. While they were major underdogs in that game, there was significant confidence inside the Green Bay locker room.

Jordan Love turns out to be major strength for Packers

The idea that the Packers could go to AT&T Stadium and beat the Cowboys seemed ludicrous. The Cowboys had been the only team in the league to have an undefeated home record, and nearly all of their victories had been blowouts.

However, the Packers were a different team in that Wild Card game than they had been all season. They dominated on offense with Jordan Love completing 16 of 21 passes for 272 yards with 3 touchdowns, and the defense containing Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott. The Packers rolled to a 48-32 triumph. Only a couple of late Dallas touchdowns allowed the final score to be as close as it was.

The Packers rode the momentum they took from the win over the Cowboys into their divisional playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Once again, the offense and Love played well, and the defense did a solid job against San Francisco's explosive offense that included Christian McCaffrey. However, the 49ers scratched and clawed and outlasted the Packers in a 24-21 triumph.

Packers weaknesses throughout the season

While the Packers could not make it to the NFC Championship game, they did well enough in the postseason to indicate that this team could be a serious contender in 2024.

While the offense looks like it should be able to compete with many of the best teams in the league as a result of Love's improvement and confidence, a solid running game and a crew of dangerous receivers, the defense needs to improve.

The Packers started to address their defensive issues days after their loss to the Niners. Defensive coordinator Joe Barry was dismissed from his position, largely because of the inconsistency the Packers demonstrated when their opponents had the ball.

Green Bay ranked 17th in yards allowed during the regular season, and the Packers fell beneath NFC North rivals Chicago and Minnesota in that category. The Packers had their biggest struggles against the run, as they ranked 28th in that category.

Personnel-wise, the Packers have major issues in the secondary. They feel they have adequate strength to pressure opposing quarterbacks with Rashan Gary and Kenny Clark. Gary led the team with 9.0 sacks, while Clark contributed 7.5.

A look at the Packers roster reveals that safeties Jonathan Owens, Rudy Ford and Darnell Savage are just adequate. The best NFL safeties are instinctive playmakers, while Owens, Ford and Savage are reactive and rarely produce big plays.

The Packers have confidence in cornerback Jaire Alexander when he is healthy and in the lineup, but he was limited to seven regular-season games in 2023. Eric Stokes is quite ordinary at this point in his career — just a guy, in scouting parlance — and the Packers have to pick up both aspects of their secondary play.

Addressing Packers' weakness in the defensive backfield

The Packers should spend some of their resources on both a safety and a cornerback during free agency. Safety Antoine Winfield of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is scheduled to be a free agent shortly, and the same is true for cornerback Jaylon Johnson of the Chicago Bears.

If they could pick up both of these players, it would go along way towards upgrading the Green Bay defense and the Packers becoming a much more well-rounded team.

The Lions are looked at as a team that could dominate the NFC North for several seasons, but upgrading the secondary may help the Packers wrestle control away from their resurgent rivals.