Packers’ fatal flaw that will doom them in 2025 NFL Playoffs

Originally posted on NFL on ClutchPoints

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated Jan 8, 2025 9:20 PM ET

The Green Bay Packers are in the playoffs, and that’s half the battle. They ended their season on a tough note, with two-straight losses to NFC North opponents, but at 11-6, that afforded them the opportunity to hold on to the NFC’s seventh seed. That also affords them a date with the second-seeded Philadelphia Eagles (14-3) in a Sunday afternoon road game on Wild Card weekend.

Just being there is a big deal for head coach Matt LaFleur and the Packers, if you really think about it. Two years ago, they traded away four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers, who himself was replacing a multi-time MVP in Brett Favre. The end of the Rodgers era was supposed to be the end of good football in Green Bay, because who else outside of the San Francisco 49ers luck out at quarterback like the Packers have?

The Packers have had some luck, but what they’ve truly had is love, Jordan Love, to be specific. They traded up to snag Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, and even though the decision upset Rodgers and ultimately led to a divorce between the two parties, somehow and someway, general manager Brian Gutekunst has ushered in another era of good football in Green Bay.

Now can the Packers be great? That question is still elusive in the LaFleur era.

Mike Holmgren won a Super Bowl with Favre, and Mike McCarthy won it with Rodgers. LaFleur took the Packers to two straight NFC Championship games with Rodgers, but he’s yet to sniff the Super Bowl as a head coach.

Last season’s appearance in the Divisional Round against the San Francisco 49ers was a big deal because he had a young team, and it was in Love’s first season as a starter. Expectations after that run have gotten a bit higher in Green Bay, though, especially after the Packers went into Dallas and blew the doors off the Cowboys in that Wild Card round.

They’ll have to win again on the road in this season’s Wild Card, and the Eagles are no joke. In fact, the Eagles already beat the Packers in the season’s first game, 34-29. Winners of the NFC East, they have an explosive offense (as long as Jalen Hurts is cleared to play after spending the past few weeks in concussion protocol), and their defense is ranked No. 1 in the NFL in yards given up per game at just 278.4.

The Packers will have to be on their A-game against the Eagles to get a win, and a blowout like what we saw last season in Dallas is highly unlikely. As mentioned, Green Bay is limping into this game on a two-game losing streak, and the vibes are pretty bad surrounding the team, considering the Packers’ 1-5 record against NFC North opponents this season. They were swept by the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings and ended the season with a terrible loss to the Bears.

One would think that LaFleur’s biggest problem heading into the Wild Card is simply fielding a team that plays up to its talent level and expectations. That’s certainly been the case over the past two weeks.

Injuries have also become a big weakness for the Packers. Star cornerback Jaire Alexander has barely played this season and is now on the IR for the playoffs. Wideout Christian Watson has been lost for the rest of this campaign and most of next season with a torn ACL. He was Love’s best deep threat and LaFleur’s biggest weapon when it came to creating the big play.

These are weaknesses and problems that the Packers are going to have to address heading into Philly, but it’s actually not the fatal flaw that will doom Green Bay in the Wild Card.

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) scrambles away from pressure applied by Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness (90) during the first quarter at Lambeau Field. Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The Packers’ lack of a consistent pass rush is their fatal flaw 

The Packers pass rush has been abysmal in 2024. They’ve had moments when explosive pass-rush performances have masked that fact, but those moments have been few and far in between, with many coming against bad teams. For instance, the Packers sacked Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis eight times in Week 2. They sacked Tua Tagovailoa of the Miami Dolphins five times on Thanksgiving.

Neither of those teams are in the playoffs.

Conversely, the Packers sacked Jared Goff just twice combined in their two losses against the Lions. In Week 18 against the Bears, they sacked rookie quarterback Caleb Williams — the most sacked quarterback in the NFL — just once.

Rashan Gary is being paid like a star but he only has 7.5 sacks on the season. Lukas Van Ness was a first round draft pick in 2023 but he only has three sacks to his name.

It’s just not good enough, and it’s certainly not consistent enough when it’s good. The Packers’ lack of a consistent pass rush will likely get them against the Eagles, whether it’s Hurts, Kenny Pickett, or even Tanner McKee in at quarterback.

This article first appeared on NFL on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.