Former NFL Scout: Super Bowl Window ‘Open’ for Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Last offseason, the Green Bay Packers were coming off an 8-9 season and facing the great unknown of a massive quarterbacking change. With that, their Super Bowl window appeared slammed shut for the 2023 season.

With the Packers finishing 9-8 and reaching the playoffs following the seismic shift from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love, the Super Bowl window is open again.

NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks, a former NFL player and scout, recently picked eight teams whose Super Bowl windows are open “right now.” Seventh on the list is Green Bay, which trounced Dallas in the playoffs and had a chance to upset San Francisco.

“The presence of Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave as interchangeable playmakers has made Green Bay's offense extremely difficult to defend with a pinpoint passer as the trigger man,” Brooks wrote. “With a rock-solid offensive line jelling at the point of attack, Matt LaFleur has diversified the Packers' playbook to create problems for opponents.”

That trigger man was exceptional down the stretch with a 116.6 passer rating during the final eight regular-season games and the wild-card win over the Cowboys. He finished the year ranked fourth with 36 total touchdowns, and he had a league-high nine games of two-plus touchdown passes and zero interceptions.

“I think just the way he led our football team through the tough times, through the success, all the challenges that a season kind of brings you, he did a really good job leading those guys,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said at the end of the season. “I think for a young player in his first year that’s trying to figure it all out, I think that was exceptional.”

Can the Packers take the next step? More than Love showing he’s just a half-year wonder, the key will be the defense directed by new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. Can Hafley do what Joe Barry couldn’t and make the whole greater than the sum of all its first-round parts.

The Chiefs are the perfect example of what the Packers are striving to be. No, Love almost certainly isn’t going to supplant Patrick Mahomes as the best quarterback in the NFL, but the Chiefs won this year’s Super Bowl not because of Mahomes – who finished 14th in passer rating, three spots behind Love – but because of a defense that finished second in points and yards allowed.

Said Brooks: “Given how the best NFL teams can take multiple paths to victory, the Packers' talent and tactics make them viable candidates to win Super Bowl LIX.”

The betting public supports Brooks’ viewpoint. The Packers opened the offseason at +2500 to win the Super Bowl at FanDuel Sportsbook. That moved to +2300 this week, with Love among the MVP favorites.

Brooks’ list of eight teams includes this year’s Super Bowl teams, the Chiefs and 49ers, though not necessarily claiming the top two spots. The Detroit Lions are on the list, as are the Aaron Rodgers-led New York Jets.

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