The 2024 season is done for the Green Bay Packers. After starting 11-4 and positioning themselves as a potential contender in the NFC, the Packers lost three straight games to end the year, including back-to-back divisional games in the regular season and Sunday’s playoff showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles.
It’d be hard to say anything was truly “learned” about the Packers during the 22-10 loss in Philadelphia. But a lot seemed to be “confirmed” about the 2024 team during a frustrating defeat that followed the script of so many others before it this season.
Here are four things confirmed about the Packers in Sunday’s playoff loss to the Eagles:
Good but not great
“Good but not great” could sum up the entire season. The Packers won games against the Los Angeles Rams and Houston Texans — two playoff teams — during the first half of the season, but Matt LaFleur’s team also finished 0-6 against the Eagles, Vikings and Lions, three teams with 14 or more regular-season wins. Overall, the Packers were 9-1 against non-playoff teams and swept both the NFC West and AFC South, powering another playoff appearance. But given six chances to beat one of the best teams, the Packers failed each time — often following a similar, self-destructive script in the losses. Green Bay just wasn’t on the same tier as the best in the NFC this season. The difference between good (Packers) and great (Eagles) was crystal clear on Sunday — Philadelphia had no turnovers and did little to hurt themselves despite an up-and-down performance offensively.
Self-sabotage prevents shot at being great
One of the hardest jumps in sports is going from good to great, and the Packers consistently made too many stupid mistakes to be great in 2024. The pattern continued Sunday, starting with the opening kickoff and ending with a pair of 15-yard penalties on the Eagles’ final two drives. By game’s end on Sunday, the Packers had four turnovers and eight penalties. Turnovers, penalties, drops — the Packers were the kings of beating themselves this season. Matt LaFleur’s team just never learned how to get out of their own way in big games and were rightfully sent home during the first round of the postseason. LaFleur has won a ton of football games as Packers coach, but Green Bay’s repetitive self-sabotage in 2024 puts pressure on him to fix the problem in 2025.
Defense took a big jump
Jeff Hafley’s first season as defensive coordinator has to be seen as a huge success. Not only did the defense keep the Packers in the game Sunday, but Green Bay made significant strides in just about every defensive category this season overall, including points per game and yards per play allowed. By points per game, the Packers improved from 10th to sixth. By yards per play allowed, the Packers improved from 20th to fifth. By DVOA, the Packers improved from 27th to seventh. By EPA/play, the Packers improved from 24th to fourth. By yards per game allowed, the Packers improved from 17th to fifth. By takeaways, the Packers improved from 23rd to fourth. On Sunday, the Eagles finished with 290 yards, 5.1 yards per play, only two third-down conversions and just one touchdown on four red zone trips. The overall performance added legitimacy to the Packers’ obvious statistical improvement in Hafley’s first season — especially considering the defense didn’t have Jaire Alexander for most of the year. Building on the leap forward may require another addition or two (edge rusher, cornerback?) from Brian Gutekunst.
Injuries stunt disappointing passing game
It’s so hard to know what to take from the Packers’ passing game in 2024. Jordan Love tore a ligament in his knee in Week 1 and injured his groin a month after returning. Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs were in and out of the lineup. Jayden Reed went through a second-half slump. Luke Musgrave missed most of the season. On Sunday, the Packers didn’t have Watson, and then left guard Elgton Jenkins, Doubs and Reed all exited with injuries. After struggling to end the regular season, Love threw three picks and never looked comfortable throwing downfield against an elite passing defense. It was a fitting end to a disjointed and mostly disappointing season from the Packers passing game. Love played a near-historic level to end the 2023 season but never reached that level over any span of games in 2024. None of the young receivers took a meaningful developmental step, and drops were a big issue. Can Love stay healthy and take a meaningful step forward in his third year as a starter and third year with his young receiver group in 2025? The answer to that question will determine the Packers’ status as a Super Bowl contender next season.