NFL.com’s Season Prediction for Packers? Well, It’s Not Super

The Green Bay Packers under Jordan Love have three consecutive winning seasons leading to three consecutive playoff berths.

One of those streaks will end this season, according to NFL.com.

Ali Bhanpuri and Tom Blair joined the legion of writers who picked every game on the schedule. For both, the Packers finished with winning records.

They also missed the playoffs.

Both had them winning against the Chicago Bears in Week 5 to improve to 3-2. Through Week 8, the Thursday night home game against the Panthers, Blair had the Packers at 5-3 and Bhanpuri had them at 3-5. Blair and Bhanpuri had the Packers winning at New England and at home against Minnesota before the make-believe Week 11 bye.

That set the stage for the challenging final stretch of games. Both had them losing on Thanksgiving Eve at the Rams. That sent Green Bay to 7-4 for Blair and 5-6 for Bhanpuri.

Bhanpuri had Green Bay winning five of its final six games, with the lone loss at Chicago on Christmas to finish 10-7. Blair had the Packers losing their final three games to the Bears, Texans and Lions to finish 9-8.

“I want to apologize to Packers fans, who should know I didn't set out to predict a second consecutive late-season collapse. It just sort of lined up like that,” Blair wrote.

Blair had Green Bay in last place in the NFC North.

“Playing the Rams in Los Angeles is a tough way to spend Thanksgiving Eve,” he continued, “and the assignments don't really get much easier thereafter, aside from a chance to reaffirm their spot in the NFC hierarchy above the Saints in Week 13 and remind Malik Willis, Jeff Hafley and Jon-Eric Sullivan of how much work they have to do to get the Dolphins to Green Bay's level in Week 15.”

It’s easy to be skeptical of the Packers. Their lasting impression from last season was their five-game losing streak to end the season, which included fall-from-ahead losses to Chicago in Week 16 and again in the playoffs.

However, they were 9-3-1 headed into Denver, a decisive game that the Packers blew following season-ending injuries to Micah Parsons and Zach Tom.

“We need to stay healthy. But that’s every team in the National Football League,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said after the draft.

For what it’s worth, the Packers are favored to qualify for the playoffs at FanDuel Sportsbook. They have the sixth-shortest odds in the NFC behind the Rams, Seahawks, Lions, 49ers and Eagles and ahead of the Cowboys, Bears, Buccaneers and Vikings.

In what is expected to be a jumbled NFC North once again, the Lions are favored for a worst-to-first rebound at +160. Green Bay (+230), Chicago (+320) and Minnesota (+500) are on their heels. Only the NFC South, in which no team finished with a winning record last year, is more tightly grouped than the NFC North.

If Jordan Love takes another step forward after setting career highs in completion percentage and passer rating, if the new starting offensive line gels, if the less-is-more approach at receiver takes off with Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Matthew Golden, if Jonathan Gannon is a hit at defensive coordinator, the new cornerback corps provides more than one interception – that was last year’s total – and, of course, Micah Parsons and Tucker Kraft don’t just return to the lineup but return with a vengeance, then the Packers could be really good.

That’s a lot of things that have to work out. But, remember, they were 9-3-1 and leading the powerhouse Broncos with a so-so offensive line, a defense that struggled to produce takeaways and an inept special teams.

“We talked earlier before this thing got going about how we’d like to add to our corner room; we were able to do that. I’m very excited about the kind of athletes we put into that room,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said after drafting cornerbacks Brandon Cisse and Domani Jackson and defensive linemen Chris McClellan and Dani Dennis-Sutton.

“And then to get two guys in the front with that kind of size and explosiveness, guys that can play the run and rush the passer, I feel really good sitting here right now that the depth that we have and, quite frankly, the versatility that both those guys bring.”

Also at NFL.com, they fell short of being considered a top-10 roster. Only Detroit at No. 6 made the list.

“The Lions fell out of the playoffs last season, but they still went 9-8 in the NFL’s most balanced division while posting a plus-68 point differential,” wrote Eric Edholm. “This team might not boast quite as much firepower as it did a few years ago, but it remains a top-tier roster.”

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