With another season in the books, Packers fans have been alternating between consoling themselves to the fact that they lost out to the eventual Super Bowl champs and feeling good about the team’s prospects in 2025. There seems to be a little hesitancy about predicting a Super Bowl win though – and that feels about right at the current time.
Hopes were high going into the 2024 season. Losing to the 49ers in the Divisional Playoff round was a blow but expectations had been exceeded. Packers fans were looking at 2024 as the chance for a new team to come through. Some may even have used their best sportsbook bonuses to back the Packers to go all the way.
With hindsight, the Packers did as well as could be expected last season and did not have the luck or talent to beat the likes of the Eagles on the way to a Super Bowl triumph. We may only be at the beginning of the offseason, but what can we expect from 2025? Can this Packers team continue to improve and go deep into the playoffs (at least)? What should be our realistic hopes for Green Bay this year?
Improvement Again
We have already said it a few times but that “I” word is all-important for the Packers this year. After the last string of NFC North titles in 2021, the Packers have made the playoffs on two occasions and have upped the win total every year since the 8-9 record of 2022. Improving on that again should be the first priority.
That improvement relates to regular season wins, obviously. Last year saw the Packers exit at the first postseason hurdle, rather than making it to the Divisional Playoff round. But improving the regular season will mean a better draw in the playoffs – and avoiding the top teams in the NFC is what will help this team.
Beat the Division
Gone are the days when the Packers could rely on at least one or two of their divisional rivals to be outright terrible. We didn’t really have to worry about the Lions and even the Bears in the past – with the Vikings lurching from good to bad every other season. Now the NFC North is considered one of the best – if not the best – division in the league.
That is why it is so important to beat our closest rivals. The Packers have shown that a path to the playoffs is still possible but winning just one game against the Lions, Vikings, and Lions is not good enough. Even just a few more wins last year could have altered the playoff picture in our favor.
Play All Season Long
This point neatly dovetails with the previous one, but only because of the way the schedule fell in 2024. In 2023, the Packers won its final three games of the regular season to end on 9-8 and claimed a playoff spot. That momentum took them through the Wild Card game and gave us an unexpected extension to our season.
Last year, on the other hand, the Packers followed a blowout win over the Saints with losses to both the Vikings and the Bears. The Chicago defeat was even at home. That kind of form at the end of the regular season can set the tone for how the playoffs go, so playing all the way to week 18 has to be something the team understands – no matter what the record is at the time.
Hometown Draft
As good as the Packers were at times last season, there is no doubt that there is the need for additions to the roster. There is work to be done on both sides of the ball – and that can begin with the NFL Draft in April. The much-needed wide receiver may not materialize there but what better way to make a statement than at the draft in our home town?
Green Bay has been doing a great job over the last few years of assembling a fine roster of young players and that work can be continued in 2025. The Packers are already benefiting from some clever drafts in the last few years and if there are more impressive rookies recruited this year, the chance to do well in 2025 increases.
Tough Schedule
Jordan Love is turning into the franchise quarterback that everyone hoped he would be when he came to Green Bay a few years ago. If he stays fit and healthy – and is given the right players to work with – the Packers can do great things. But it is the look of the 2025 schedule that could ultimately wreck any realistic Super Bowl dreams.
Forget about the fact that the division is the toughest in the NFL. The whole schedule for next season looks incredibly difficult. Having to face the AFC North teams as interconference opponents, alongside the Eagles and Commanders as conference opponents will severely affect the chance of a high win total. The Packers will have to be focused from the very first snap.
Super Bowl LX?
So, can we realistically expect – or even hope – for a Super Bowl appearance next season? The jury is out but it might be the case that the Packers are still a few years away from seriously challenging for another championship. The good news, however, is that there is definitely a route to that position in place.
Continued improvement and clever recruitment can boost an already impressive roster. Being able to take games away from divisional rivals and beat other top teams should put the Packers in a good position for a deep run in the playoffs. With home advantage, that could even bring another Super Bowl appearance. Things are looking up for the Packers.
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