Five Days Until Week 1: Five Reasons Why Packers Could Win Super Bowl

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers haven’t won the Super Bowl since 2010. It’s not quite the drought that Brett Favre, Reggie White and LeRoy Butler snapped in 1996, but it’s been practically an eternity since the title returned to Titletown.

Could this be the year?

Even after three consecutive playoff appearances, expectations are down entering the season. Really, the chances of the season being a dumpster fire are about the same as the Packers making a run at their 14th NFL championship.

With five days until the season kicks off at the Vikings, here are five reasons why the Packers could defy the oddsmakers – they are barely in the top half of the league in the championship odds at FanDuel Sportsbook – and win the Super Bowl this year.

1. Soft Opening Schedule

The Packers, as everyone knows, will start the season without Micah Parsons. Those season-opening games might be the most important games of the season. Every win will be like finding a $100 bill on the ground when you go to pump your gas.

Fortunately for Green Bay, it will face a soft start to the season. None of its first four opponents qualified for the playoffs due in large part to their feeble offenses.

Week 1: at the Vikings. Minnesota (9-8) was 26th in points scored last season, though it has a new starting quarterback with Kyler Murray.

Week 2: at the Jets. New York (3-14) was 29th in points scored, though it has a new starting quarterback with Geno Smith.

Week 3: home vs. Falcons: Atlanta (8-9) was 24th in points scored, though it has a new starting quarterback with Tua Tagovailoa.

Week 4: at Buccaneers: Tampa Bay (8-9) was 18th in points scored behind established starter Baker Mayfield.

Much bigger challenges follow, with Week 5 at home against Chicago (ninth in scoring), Week 6 at home against Dallas (seventh in scoring) and Week 7 at Detroit (fourth in scoring). Still, for a defense facing significant challenges without Parsons to start the season, the opening four-game slate will give the Packers a chance to steal a couple wins that could loom large in January.

2. New Coordinators

Jeff Hafley parlayed his two years as Green Bay’s defensive coordinator into becoming head coach of the Dolphins.

The reality is there was regression last year. The Packers without Parsons allowed 20.0 points per game in 2024. The Packers with Parsons for most of the season allowed 21.2 points per game in 2025. Even with one of the game’s great closers, the Packers were 25th in fourth-quarter scoring defense. Of course, they didn’t win a game after Parsons went down, including blowing leads at Chicago late in the season and in the playoffs.

Rich Bisaccia was brought aboard to be the savior of Green Bay’s long-downtrodden special teams. For all the bluster, the special teams were as bad as the day he arrived. There were good moments, to be sure, including Keisean Nixon’s All-Pro seasons as a returner and last year’s kick coverage. But, for the most part, Green Bay’s special teams were like a dilapidated dam with more holes than fingers to plug them.

On defense, enter former Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon, who as defensive coordinator of the Eagles helped Philadelphia get to the Super Bowl. His defense mostly dominated training camp. He will benefit from the return of Parsons and the season-long growth of rookies Brandon Cisse, Chris McClellan and Dani Dennis-Sutton.

On special teams, enter Cam Achord, who was gifted with mostly the same group of core players as last year and was handed Skyy Moore to return kicks. Having a rookie kicker puts a big unknown into the equation, but Achord might have answers everywhere else so that the special teams might be more than not bad but an actual asset.

With six days until the Packers kick things off at the Vikings, here are six reasons why this could be a dumpster fire of a season.

(I will have reasons for a championship tomorrow.) ⬇️https://t.co/KxQNnYURwM
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 7, 2026

3. New Passing Game

The Packers are betting on a less-is-more passing game after jettisoning Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks and leaning into the returning trio of Christian Watson, Matthew Golden and Jayden Reed.

Health is going to be a big deal. Less might actually be less if Savion Williams has to replace Christian Watson for a month or Skyy Moore has to replace Jayden Reed for the stretch run.

However, general manager Brian Gutekunst picked the right trio to build around. Since entering the NFL in 2022, Watson is second in the NFL with 17.0 yards per catch. Since entering the NFL in 2023, Reed is first with a passer rating when targeted of 126.8. Golden had a quiet rookie season, but the former first-round pick was consistently productive throughout training camp.

They aren’t just talented. They’re tight, having spent more time together off the field.

“I think it just brings the group together even more,” Golden said. “We’re just sitting at the table and we’re just talking about everything – life. You know how guys are when they get together; we’re just talking. Last year, we didn’t do that as much, but we’re doing a lot more this year. We just connecting more. And I feel like it’s going to play a big factor in the success we have in that room.”

Along with indomitable tight end Tucker Kraft, a heart-and-soul player with a dominant skill-set, this passing game could be one of the best in the NFL.

4. Whole Lotta Love

Led Zeppelin was most certainly not singing about football with its hit Whole Lotta Love, nor was it foreshadowing a big season by quarterback Jordan Love when Robert Plant sang, “Wanna whole lotta love.”

There could be a whole lot of Love this season, though. Love is coming off the best season of his career, ranking sixth in passer rating and second in EPA per dropback. He cranked up the completion percentage and dialed back the turnovers. It’s not quite to Aaron Rodgers-level dominance, but Love seems to have figured out the winning equation of making big plays while avoiding big mistakes.

“That 6-5 frame, he can throw over anybody,” Parsons said. “He’s super-elusive in the pocket. He can really just make any throw. Watching him from the sidelines and the film, I don’t think people grasp how good he is against the blitz. He has that ability to look over and still find guys that he needs to.”

With a suspect running game to start the season, Love seems ready, willing and able to carry a heavier load on offense. It’s not just time to take the training wheels off the bike, so to speak, by operating a run-first attack. It’s time to hand him the keys to the car.

5. Young (Potential) Stars

The Packers are a good team. Three consecutive playoff appearances are proof of that. They aren’t a great team. Back-to-back one-and-dones is proof of that.

However, this is a young and talented core. Established players who are 26 or younger include Tucker Kraft and Jayden Reed entering Year 4 and Edgerrin Cooper and Javon Bullard and Evan Williams in Year 3. If they continue to grow and former first-round picks Devonte Wyatt (Year 5), Lukas Van Ness (Year 4), Jordan Morgan (Year 3) and Matthew Golden (Year 2) have breakthrough seasons, the sky could be the limit.

As Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer wrote, “If its young guys can take the step from good to great, a la Seattle last year, then the Packers will be a true Super Bowl contender.”

He’s right. The NFL’s great teams are defined by their great players. The Packers have some very good players. If enough of those players become great, if Parsons returns with a vengeance, MarShawn Lloyd rewards the Packers for their faith and Smack is clutch, this could be a championship team.

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