The 2024 season was a mixed bag of progression and disappointment for the offense of the Green Bay Packers. In so many ways, the offense made considerable progress in Year 2 with Jordan Love as the starting quarterback, mostly due to the arrival of Pro Bowl running back Josh Jacobs. But the struggles to end the season — particularly over the final three games — tarnished the end product and eliminated any sense of building optimism entering the offseason.
Improvement isn’t always linear, but the Packers must build off their strengths and get better in a few key areas to take another meaningful step in 2025.
Here’s where the Packers offense shined or struggled during the 2024 season:
Shine: Explosive plays
The Packers ranked fourth in the NFL in explosive plays (as defined by a run of at least 12 yards or a completion of at least 16 yards) and finished in the top five for total plays of at least 20 yards, runs of at least 10 yards and completions of at least 20 yards. And only one team had more passing plays of 50 or more yards than Green Bay’s seven. When at its best, the Packers were an explosive offense that used big plays to set up scoring opportunities. The step forward will likely depend on Jordan Love balancing his hunt of big plays with his desire to protect the football. When Love is hitting big plays down the field, this offense is hard to stop.
Struggle: Run blocking
The Packers rushed for almost 2,500 yards in 2024, but terrific run blocking wasn’t the primary reason why. In fact, one could argue Pro Bowler Josh Jacobs often overcame subpar blocking. Green Bay ranked 23rd in ESPN’s run block win rate and 22nd in PFF’s run block grade, and Jacobs averaged only 2.0 yards before first contact, ranking 51st among all rushers. Matt LaFleur and Adam Stenavich were able to scheme open some explosive runs, and Jacobs was an elite running talent — finishing second in broken tackles forced, per Pro Football Reference and third in yards after contact, per PFF. The Packers became a run-first team behind an offensive line built for pass blocking.
Shine: Breaking tackles
This is where “Feed the Psychos” first originated. According to Pro Football Reference, the Packers led the NFL in broken tackles forced in both the run game (58) and passing game (34). Josh Jacobs finished second in broken tackles as a runner (35) and first in broken tackles as a receiver (13). According to Pro Football Focus, Jacobs led all running backs in missed tackles forced as a receiver (23) and Tucker Kraft led all tight ends in missed tackles forced (15) and average yards after the catch (9.0). Backup running back Emanuel Wilson forced 28 missed tackles on just 106 rushing attempts. Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks combined for 19 missed tackles forced as receivers, and Reed and Bo Melton combined for 10 more misses forced in the run game. Across the board, the Packers were slippery and physical with the football in their hands in 2024.
Struggle: Drops
Drops are subjective, but by almost any stat tracker, the Packers ranked among the NFL’s worst in drops. Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks were the primary offenders — PFF tracked Reed with 10 drops, tied for the third most, while Wicks finished with the worst drop rate in the NFL. The Packers were surprisingly good in contested catch situations (save for Wicks, who was 3-for-15), but finishing the must-have catches was a consistent problem. There were far too many drops in big spots and in big games.
Shine: Avoiding sacks
The Packers allowed only 22 sacks, which ranked as the second fewest in the NFL in 2024. Eight of the 22 sacks were taken by inexperienced backup quarterback Malik Willis, who has a history of holding the ball and converting pressure into sacks. The starter was terrific at avoiding the negative play. Despite battling through two different lower body injuries, Jordan Love was still well-protected in the pocket and consistent in getting the ball out of his hands. Love’s pressure-to-sack percentage of 8.9 was the third best in football, and he didn’t even throw the ball away (15 times) or scramble (7 times) at a high rate. Offensive tackles Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom were one of the best pass-blocking duos in the NFL by PFF grade, and the Packers ended up finishing seventh in pass-block win rate.
Struggle: Third down
The Packers took a surprise step back on third down compared to 2023. The offense converted only 39.6 percent of third downs, and Jordan Love completed only 52.7 percent of his passes and averaged 6.5 yards per attempt on third down. Early in the season, the Packers committed too many early-down penalties and had to attempt to dig out of big holes on third down. Green Bay ended up in (or near) the middle of the pack on third down, on fourth down and in the red zone, so performance in situational football must become more consistent next year.
Shine: Josh Jacobs inside the 10-yard line
The Packers’ early struggles in the red zone were mostly eliminated by Jacobs’ ability to convert touchdowns from inside the 10-yard line. He ended up leading the NFL in both rushing attempts (40) and touchdowns (14) from inside 10 yards, and 11 of his touchdowns came from inside the five. Jacobs finished the season with touchdown runs in eight straight games, setting a new team record. He added another 1-yard touchdown in the postseason. Having a finisher in the red zone was huge down the stretch.
Struggle: Turnovers in big games
The Packers turned the ball over 14 times in their seven losses and only eight times in their 11 wins. Turnovers were especially big in the big games. The Packers turned it over four times in a home loss to the Vikings in Week 4 and four more times in the season-ending loss to the Eagles in the NFC Wild Card Round. Of Jordan Love’s 14 interceptions, eight were thrown in the six losses to the Eagles, Vikings and Lions. The Packers committed back-breaking turnovers in several losses, including two crucial turnovers in the fourth quarter in the home loss to the Vikings, a pick-six to Kerby Joseph in the home loss to the Lions, a Josh Jacobs fumble to open the road loss to the Vikings and a lost fumble by Keisean Nixon to open the postseason. Overall, the Packers took decent care of the ball in 2024, but the turnovers came at terrible times and often in the biggest of games.
Shine: Surviving and thriving with a backup QB
Jordan Love missed two games with a knee injury, exited another in the second half and missed the final 2.5 quarters in the season finale. Incredibly, the Packers went 3-1 in those games — and they had a lead during the final minute of the loss. Backup Malik Willis, who was acquired in late August, was a revelation for Matt LaFleur. The former Titan completed 74.5 percent of his passes, averaged 10.2 yards per attempt, didn’t throw an interception and rushed for 138 yards while leading the Packers to wins over the Colts, Titans and Jaguars. LaFleur didn’t ask him to do much, but Willis consistently executed. The performance of the backup quarterback was the difference between 8-9 and 11-6 for the Packers in 2024.