The good news and the bad news sounds the same for the Packers

There’s good news and bad news following the Packers’ playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

The good news is cold comfort, but consider this: it wasn’t just one thing that sunk the Packers. It wasn’t just Keisean Nixon’s game-opening fumble or any one of Jordan Love’s three interceptions or Elgton Jenkins’ injury, or Romeo Doubs’ injury, or Jayden Reed’s injury, or even the combined impact of those injuries. It wasn’t the lack of a takeaway from the Packers’ defense or the generally punchless pass rush. It wasn’t Brandon McManus’ missed kick. There isn’t just one thing for us to fixate on over the next few months, wondering “what if” about a play that was a fingertip or an odd bounce from being different.

The bad news, though? It’s the same as the good news. It wasn’t just one thing that derailed the Packers’ season. It was a bunch of things, and it points to some ongoing concerns the Packers are going to have to wrestle with over the next few months.

It starts with the Packers’ offense. Matt LaFleur’s signature unit looked punchless against the Eagles, and Jordan Love looked closer to the listless project he was early in 2023 than the more polished passer he was through the middle portions of 2024. And worse than that, it’s been this way for a while. The Packers’ offense came apart down the stretch, especially after Christian Watson’s injury. One player should not doom an offense to the extent that Watson’s did.

And maybe it wasn’t just Watson, either. The Packers’ entire receiving corps seems to have failed to thrive this year. It wasn’t that they took a step back (though I think you could argue Dontayvion Wicks certainly did), but outside of Watson settling into a more consistent role, I think it’s fair to say that most of the receiving room ended 2024 in the same place they were at the end of 2023. A fine enough unit as a whole, to be sure, but one lacking a dependable, week-in, week-out performer.

Speaking of dependability, I don’t think Love is there right now. He’s a better player than he showed against the Eagles, and we should grade his 2024 on a bit of a curve given how badly his receivers played at times, but at no point this year did it feel like Love was the central part of the Packers’ offense. An important participant, to be sure, but definitely a supporting role. Maybe that’s just who Love is as a player. I don’t know yet, and I don’t think it’s a death knell for his career or anything if “experienced, important participant” is his ceiling as a player. But he’s making elite money. It’s not unreasonable to want him to be a little more central to what’s going on with the offense.

And what of the offensive line? Jenkins’ injury was a huge part of the game, without a doubt, as were the struggles of his two replacements. In an ideal world, Jordan Morgan would have been waiting in the wings, ready to step in for Jenkins. But Morgan was saddled with shoulder injuries all season long, and when Jenkins went down, there was, evidently, nobody who could replace him at even a passable level. Despite having four of their five Week 1 starters on the field for every bit of the game that mattered, the Packers were hamstrung by one guy going down, two if you group Morgan with Jenkins, since he’d have been the preferred replacement. An offensive line for a team that considers itself a contender should surely be more than two injuries away from utter ruin,

Then there’s the defense, which certainly wasn’t the main culprit for the season-ending loss, but was a key feature in most of the other losses this year. The overall weakness of the pass rush and the lack of depth on the defensive line were season-long issues, ones that have been well-known and well-documented. Packers’ general manager Brian Gutekunst has seemed steadfastly averse to adding quality depth to his interior defensive line, with Devonte Wyatt being the only significant addition of his tenure. Between the lack of investment and Kenny Clark’s apparent age-related regression, it’s no wonder the defensive line struggled this year. I wish the edge rushers had the same excuse, though they improved over the course of the season,

The good news and bad news ultimately end up sounding basically the same, then. It wasn’t one thing that ended the Packers’ postseason journey, but a host of them, many of which have been problems since Week 1. We may not have one play to dwell on for the next few months, but the Packers are going to have plenty to think about before they’re playing games that count again.