NFL Playoff Preview Countdown: No. 10 Green Bay Packers

This is an excerpt from this week’s edition of Mike Tanier’s NFL Walkthrough, available every Monday at The Messenger…

2023 Season in a Nutshell

The Packers started the season 2–5, with losses to the lowly Falcons, Broncos and Raiders. Just when it looked like it was time to give up on the Jordan Love experiment, however, Love stopped playing like a schoolyard quarterback and began connecting with the many playmakers the Packers have drafted over the last two seasons. Green Bay’s defense, bad but not disastrous, did just enough to hold off the Chargers, Lions and, um, Panthers (again, we said “bad but not disastrous”) in late-season wins, then held the Bears to just 192 net yards in a 17–9, Week 18 win to earn a Wild-Card berth.

Quarterback Jordan Love

Love started the season with the footwork, mechanics and decision-making process of a talented relief pitcher or point guard who wandered onto the football field and was handed a starting job. He settled down as the year progressed, looking more and more like someone who had spent three seasons watching Aaron Rodgers and learning Matt LaFleur’s playbook. Love is still somewhat erratic, but he’s less likely to push the panic button on a blitz, or point his feet in two different directions while throwing in a third, than he was in September.

Offense

LaFleur likes to use quick passes into the flats to create space for deep shots. About 100 different rookie and second-year receivers and tight ends (Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Luke Musgrave, Tucker Kraft, etc.) share the load in the passing game, depending on who is healthy and matches up well with the opposing defense. Christian Watson, nominally the Packers’ top receiver, has missed five straight games with a hamstring injury but may be back for the playoffs.

Aaron Jones missed several games this season with various injuries but has been his usual effective self down the stretch. The offensive line, a sore spot early in the season, stabilized as Love grew into his role and Rasheed Walker became more comfortable as David Bakhtiari’s replacement.

Defense

Coordinator Joe Barry is the least popular person in Green Bay since Mike Pettine, the man he replaced. Barry may never be confused with Bill Belichick, but the Packers were without cornerback Jaire Alexander and safety Darnell Savage for much of the year, traded cornerback Rasul Douglas at the deadline, and lack depth along the defensive front. Alexander, Savage and linebacker De’Vondre Campbell (who played with a neck injury for several weeks before missing a few games) were all back in Week 18, which certainly helped the Packers shut down the Bears.

While Barry doesn’t use nickel personnel in his base package as much as he used to, the Packers run defense still gets gouged far too often.

Special Teams

Rookie kicker Anders Carlson has missed four field goals from 40-49 yards and five extra points. Keisean Nixon returns more kickoffs than anyone else in the league (most teams are content with touchbacks or fair catches these days) but has not been as successful doing so as he was in 2022.

Bottom Line

The Packers, like the Rams and Buccaneers, are supposed to be rebuilding and performing credit repair, not preparing for a playoff game. Unlike the Rams and Bucs, the Packers appear to have found their quarterback of the future and his offensive supporting cast, making them the NFC’s team to watch in 2024.

The Cowboys should make short work of Green Bay. That doesn’t change what an exciting, encouraging season the Packers have enjoyed, particularly since Week 11 or so, in stark contrast to the team who did them a favor by taking a certain legendary quarterback off their hands and minds.