Bizarre Feat Gets Historically Bizarre in Packers’ Loss to Ravens

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Entering Week 17, 12 teams had not punted in a game this season. Those teams went 10-2, with the two losses belonging to the Green Bay Packers.

Make it three.

A week after not punting in a 22-16 overtime loss at the Chicago Bears, the Packers didn’t punt in a 41-24 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Matt LaFleur’s Packers are 0-3 in zero-punt games, which is a rather amazing feat.

Packers are first team in Super Bowl era to lose 3 games in a season when they didn't punt. The 2024 Bengals and 2021 Chargers each had 2 losses in games without a punt
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) December 28, 2025

And if you think that’s amazing, keep reading.

Green Bay got the ball nine times against the Ravens. The results:

Two plays, 69 yards for a touchdown: LaFleur let Malik Willis come out slinging it, with a first-play deep shot to Romeo Doubs gaining 40. After two 5-yard penalties, Willis hit Christian Watson for a 39-yard touchdown.

“I thought it was cool that he trusted me enough to give me an opp,” Willis said. “Obviously, you don’t predetermine, so we could’ve went a multitude of places, but they gave us the look for it. I thought it was awesome, and Rome went out and made a great catch.”

On the touchdown, Watson said: “We were running four verticals, safeties got a lot of width and the mike (linebacker) ran to the opposite side of the field. So, for me, it was just playing backyard football, taking that space and Malik making a good read.”

Four plays, 9 yards, turnover on downs: On third-and-1, the Ravens plugged the middle and stuffed Willis on a sneak. On fourth-and-1, Josh Jacobs got the ball on a shotgun run and didn’t have a prayer.

“I think you could feel what type of game it was going to be and I just felt like we were going to have to score a lot of points and, unfortunately, didn’t score enough points,” LaFleur said of the fourth-down decision.

“Just sick about those two first-quarter turnovers in the plus territory there. Obviously, the fourth down not converting that, shoot, we had third-and-a-half-a-yard and couldn’t get it with a sneak and then we ran the downhill run, we missed the run-through linebacker and you get stuffed there. So, that was disappointing.”

Two plays, 3 yards, fumble: The second turnover was Sean Rhyan’s shotgun snap drilling Willis in the face.

“He was canning to another play, and we hadn’t even started the cadence yet and we snapped the ball so, obviously, that’s just operation error,” LaFleur said. “Unfortunately, that sometimes happens when you’re in there with a new quarterback and especially not getting all the reps throughout the course of the week. That’s not an excuse, it just happened.”

Five plays, 76 yards, touchdown: Trailing 20-7 after the back-to-back failures, Willis scored on a 22-yard, zone-read keeper.

“Just a good opportunity to get out on the edge and have a one-on-one. It was fun,” Willis said.

One play, minus-1 yard, end of half: The Packers were booed off the field after giving up a touchdown before halftime to trail 27-14.

11 plays, 68 yards, field goal: The Packers needed a touchdown to start the second half but settled for Brandon McManus’ 24-yard field goal. On third-and-18, Willis found Jayden Reed downfield for 30. On the next play, he hit Watson for a juggling 31-yard catch. Later, on third-and-9, Willis avoided a tackle behind the line of scrimmage and spun around another defender to gain 12.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson (9) catches a pass during the third quarter against the Baltimore Ravens. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The drive stalled when Willis couldn’t get past Trenton Simpson on a third-and-goal run from the 7.

Seven plays, 86 yards, touchdown: The Packers forced a punt and Willis drove the Packers to a touchdown to claw within 27-24. Willis, who dominated on downfield throws, hit Watson for 23 and Bo Melton for 34 before taking another zone-read keeper 11 yards for a touchdown.

“We knew we had ways to exploit them and the way that they played their defense,” Watson said. “That was definitely the plan. Whether I thought it was going to be that much of it, I can’t really say but we had a good plan for them.”

Seven plays, 37 yards, interception: With the Packers trailing 34-24, Willis drove the Packers into scoring position but his shoulder gave way when he muscled a pass to the sideline to Watson. One play later, Clayton Tune’s pass went through Melton’s hands for an interception.

“I just think that speaks to the type of competitor Malik Willis is,” LaFleur said. “He’s as tough as anybody. He made play after play after play out there. He was one of the few bright spots on the night in regards to what he was able to do. He made plays, he threw the ball accurately. It was kind of a crazy week in regards to him not getting really any reps, missed a day being sick, came back. He was dialed in, man, and I thought he played outstanding.”

Six plays, 15 yards, turnover on downs: With the Ravens tacking on a touchdown to put the Packers out of their misery, Tune was sacked on first down and threw incomplete to former college teammate Matthew Golden on fourth down.

And with that, the Packers trudged off the field with a third consecutive loss. They punted once in those games.

In the Super Bowl era, the previous record for fewest punts during a three-game losing streak was five by the Lions in 1996, according to Stathead.

“I think we all got to look in the mirror – from the top down, coaches included,” Jacobs said. “I think we got to look in the mirror and have a reality check on what we need to do to even give more or to do more for this team. I think collectively as a team, once we do that, figure out what we want and what direction we want to go, the things that we need to fix, and go ahead and correct them. I think if we do that we'll be OK.”

During the LaFleur era, NFL teams that haven’t punted are 45-17. He had been 2-0 until this season.

The Packers are 2-5 in their last seven no-punt games dating to a 2014 loss at New Orleans, when the Saints won 44-23 in a game in which neither team punted.

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