SI Predicts Packers Will Win 10 But Path Seems Impossible

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Is Jordan Love a top-10 quarterback.?

Yes, according to The Athletic’s annual Quarterback Tiers.

With Love having a “borderline MVP” type of season, the Green Bay Packers will win 10 games in 2026, SI.com’s Conor Orr wrote in his annual game-by-game predictions for every team.

“I am turning something of a blind eye to the Packers, a team that I feel like I should relentlessly punish for having a below-average offensive line and below-average defensive line (outside of Micah Parsons). This is a maddening team …”

Packers fans will sign off on the maddening part after two consecutive one-and-done postseasons, three consecutive seasons of finishing as the No. 7 seed and four consecutive seasons of not winning the NFC North.

The Packers, Orr continued, feature “an ascending star quarterback, a solid play-caller and a generational pass rusher on defense, but a roster that will not be able to control the trenches at any point dependably.”

Can the Packers Really Win 10?

Yes, of course, the Packers can be a 10-win team, but Orr’s predictions have completely whitewashed the absence of Micah Parsons.

Week 1 at the Vikings: Win

Week 2 at the Jets: Win

Week 3 vs. the Falcons: Win

Week 4 at the Buccaneers: Win

Week 5 vs. the Bears: Win

Week 6 vs the Cowboys: Win

Can the Packers win each of those games without Parsons? Absolutely. Can the Packers win all of those games if Parsons misses most or all of them?

That seems impossible to believe considering they went 0-5 without him last year.

As noted in our pre-training camp season prediction, how are the Packers going to stop any of those quarterbacks without Parsons? The Packers will start the season with a suspect pass rush, to be charitable. Plus, they’ll have suspect cornerbacks, to state the obvious.

Defensive coordinators dream of the combination of rush and coverage making life miserable for quarterbacks. In his debut season, Jonathan Gannon might have neither unless he creates it through blitzing.

How will the Packers be able to beat the Vikings, who feature the premier receiver trio of Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Jauan Jennings? How will the Packers beat the Falcons if they can’t pressure Tua Tagovailoa, who ranks second in NFL history in completion percentage? How will the Packers beat the Bucs’ prolific Baker Mayfield?

How will the Packers beat their archnemesis, Caleb Williams, in Week 5? Williams rallied the Bears in both games against the Packers without Parsons last season. He should be better in Year 2 with coach Ben Johnson.

“I have the Packers winning the games they should win,” Orr wrote. “While the Packers have one of the harder adjusted strength of schedules, I don’t see a game over the first eight weeks—Vikings, Jets, Falcons, Buccaneers, Bears, Cowboys, Lions, Panthers—that screams no shot.”

That’s true. But none of those games scream slam dunk, either.

But They Have Jordan Love

Jordan Love to Tucker Kraft in the end zone. pic.twitter.com/ViDEZiZetH
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 3, 2026

In Mike Sando’s quarterback tiers, he asked 50 executives and coaches to rank the league’s 35 veteran quarterbacks. Love checked in at No. 10.

Love is considered a Tier 2 quarterback, meaning he can “sometimes” carry the team but “has a hole or two in his game.” The second tier started with the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson at No. 5 and continued through the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts at No. 17.

Love received 37 votes for Tier 2, 11 votes for Tier 3 and two votes for Tier 1.

“Smart, can do things at the line, has the arm talent, the mobility when he needs it, but knows how to sit in and deliver,” a defensive coordinator told Sando. “Not a consistent killer yet, but if he plays good ball, you can win a Super Bowl with him.”

Said another coach: “He needs more consistency, week-in and week-out. He has some WTF plays and throws, like, ‘Why are you doing this?’”

Love had one of those at Monday’s practice, when he double-clutched and threw a pass right to Xavier McKinney for an interception.

The numbers love Love. He finished sixth in the NFL in passer rating and second in EPA per passing attempt. He had his best season in terms of completion percentage and interception percentage, and he finished in the top 10 in yards per attempt for a second consecutive season.

“I just think every player can improve in some facet,” coach Matt LaFleur said at the start of training camp. “I think one of the things he’s been really focused and conscious of throughout the course of the offseason and on his own in the summer is just trying to play with as much balance in the pocket as he can, knowing that there’s going to be times you get moved off the spot.

“But when you can, can you maintain that balance, because I think one thing you see from I’d say a majority of quarterbacks in the league when they are balanced in the pocket, they’re going to be more consistent and more accurate over time.”

Fast Start, Flop of Finish

Back to Orr’s predictions, he has the Packers with a 7-3 record at the bye and improving to 9-4 with a home win against the Bills. They’ll falter late, though, just like last year, with a three-game skid including a loss at the Bears in Week 16, before recovering to beat the Lions in the finale.

“I imagine Love to be on something of a heater and build the Packers enough wiggle room to struggle against the end-of-season divisional slate and dates with Super Bowl favorites like the Texans,” Orr wrote.

Orr has the Packers finishing second in the NFC North. There won’t be much wiggle room, though, with all four division teams finishing with winning records.

A 10-win season, based on Orr’s projections, would make Green Bay either the No. 6 or No. 7 seed.

Five winners and five losers from the first day in pads at Packers training camp. ⬇️https://t.co/aRLKhA1spV
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 4, 2026

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