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It was a tough way to end the 2024-25 campaign for the Green Bay Packers, but in a way, it felt inevitable. The Packers lost the first game of their season to the Philadelphia Eagles in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and they lost the last game of their season against the very same team — except this way at “The Linc.”
It was a full circle moment, and for Packers fans who watched the entirety of the 2024-25 season, the Wild Card loss to the Eagles felt a bit like Groundhog Day.
The Packers beat themselves to the tune of four turnovers. That included three interceptions from supposed franchise quarterback Jordan Love, who has now thrown an interception on his last play of the playoffs two seasons in a row. The Packers also hurt themselves with eight penalties for -85 yards.
If there was one consistent complaint in Green Bay this season, it was that the Packers were consistently shooting themselves in the foot. They were the proverbial “one step forward, two steps back” team, and being young and inexperienced only counts for so long. It's also a little bit of a lie about this Packers team.
Yes, they're young and NFL inexperienced compared to the Eagles team they just played, but Love technically just finished his fourth season in head coach Matt LaFleur's system, and there were no rookies — on offense, at least — that played a significant role this season. Defensively, youth has been on display in the presence of rookie defenders Edgerrin Cooper (who is becoming an ascending superstar), Evan Williams, and Javon Bullard, but all three of those players were major assets for the Packers in 2024 and incredible bright spots for the future.
So no, youth can't be an excuse for the self-inflicted wounds. Kenny Clark, Rashan Gary, Xavier McKinney, and Keisean Nixon are all veterans on the defensive side of the ball, and Love, Josh Jacobs, and the entirety of the offensive were more than experienced heading into 2024 as well.
When it comes down to turnovers, undisciplined play, and penalties, that's usually a coaching thing, and LaFleur has a lot to answer for heading into his sixth offseason in Green Bay. He's undoubtedly a solid coach, and he's known as one of the better play-callers in the league, but his teams have been consistently characterized as soft and undisciplined since he took over for Mike McCarthy in 2019, and now he's seemingly lost some of his touch as a play caller.
Outside of Jacobs, one of the NFL's toughest runners not named Derrick Henry, LaFleur's offense looked uninspiring and rather stuck in the muck during the three-game losing streak that concluded Green Bay's season.
For his part, LaFleur said after the loss to the Eagles that he hopes his team uses this disappointment to fuel a good offseason.
“We have a really tough division, and you know, I’m hoping our guys use that for fuel this offseason to dig a little bit deeper and come back a little bit better, each individually, because collectively, that’ll make a huge difference,” LaFleur said, according to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. “Obviously, we’ll comb through everything. I think it was, you know, we still have a young football team. I’m not making excuses or anything like that. We have a young football team that, unfortunately, this is a tough lesson along the way. Hopefully, we can use this as fuel to get better and learn and be a better team come next year.”
LaFleur is looking for development within the organization, but frankly, the youth and need for development are not the flaws that ruined this 2024-25 season for the Packers.
The Packers' lack of a true WR1 needs to be fixed this offseason
Christian Watson tore his ACL in Green Bay's Week 18 loss to the Chicago Bears, and he's likely to miss most of next season. He won't be able to be relied on in 2025 for anything, perhaps a late-season spark, and even then, he's never been consistent. A deep threat? Yes. Consistent? No.
Romeo Doubs has been the closest thing the Packers have had to a true No. 1 receiver since Love took over at quarterback, but he also lacks consistency. He caught 41 passes for 601 yards and four touchdowns this season despite missing a few games. He's sure handed, but do those numbers sound like a superstar wideout who Love can chuck it to when the Packers have “got to have it?” Absolutely not.
Then there's Jayden Reed. He led the Packers with 46 passes that he turned into 857 yards and six touchdowns, but he disappeared for large chunks of the season. Reed had a drop and fumble problem, and LaFleur seemingly phased him out of the offense at times.
That leaves Dontayvion Wicks who is great at getting separation but also struggled with drops. He caught 39 passes for 415 yards and five touchdowns but left much more out there on the field this season. Bo Melton and Malik Heath are depth receivers, but if you're relying on either of those two outside of some spot plays, you're asking for trouble. The Packers found that out against the Eagles.
Tight end Tucker Kraft is the best and most consistent receiving threat the Packers have heading into 2025, but if defenses can key in on him, stuffing Jacobs and the run and forcing Love into pressure situations — 2025 is going to be a long season.
Ultimately, whether it's Tee Higgins, Davante Adams, or several high picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, General Manager Brian Gutekunst has to give Love and LaFleur a true WR1 they can trust when these moments and games get big. If the Packers can do that, the 2025-26 season could end on a much better note for the Packers.
