Six Days Until Week 1: Six Reasons Why Packers Could Have Dumpster Fire Season

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers are built to win. After three consecutive playoff appearances, it’s time for them to take the next step.

However, after settling for nine wins last season and flaming out in the first round of the playoffs again, there are reasons to believe this season could be a step backward instead of a giant leap forward.

With six days until the season-opening game at the Minnesota Vikings, here are six reasons why this season could be a dumpster fire. (Note: On Tuesday, when there are five days until the regular season, we will present five reasons why the Packers could win the Super Bowl.)

1. Lack of Depth at Key Positions

Injuries are going to happen. Really, the Packers weren’t especially injured last season; they just endured a few worst-case-scenario injuries at the end of the season to torpedo their chances of making a playoff run.

No team had it as good at quarterback as the Packers the last two seasons with Malik Willis behind Jordan Love. Love isn’t an injury-prone quarterback, but he hasn’t been impervious to injuries, either. It would be a huge step back from Willis to Tyrod Taylor if the Packers need to go to the bullpen.

A slimmer-and-trimmer receiver corps will be great if Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Matthew Golden stay healthy. However, all three players have injury histories and there’s no proven depth. Tucker Kraft is a one-of-one player at tight end.

The offensive line is problematic, as is the case for just about every team. The Packers went 8-2 when Zach Bako-Bewele played 30-plus snaps last season but 1-5-1 in the other seven games.

There is a serious lack of depth on the edge without Micah Parsons. Staying with the defensive line, the only real impact player is defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt, who hasn’t played 50 percent of the snaps in any season in his career.

2. Rookie Kicker

The Packers have a new kicker, sixth-round rookie Trey Smack. He missed a bunch of kicks on the practice field during OTAs and training camp but was a perfect 16-of-16 on extra points and field goals during the three-game preseason.

If that version of Smack is Green Bay’s kicker this season, it’s going to have a real X-factor considering close games are a way of life in the NFL. However, over the last decade, 28 rookie kickers have attempted at least 20 field goals. The median mark is 82.8 percent, which is just a bit better than Anders Carlson’s 81.8 percent as the team’s sixth-round pick in 2023.

The overall median is 85.4 percent, which is not a big difference, but the Packers know all too well how an unreliable kicker can doom the season with the playoff misadventures of Carlson in 2023 and Brandon McManus in 2025. Given the team’s limited margin for error, especially to start the season, the Packers need Smack to be at his best.

3. Offensive Line

Green Bay’s offensive line is filled with question marks that could capsize the season.

Is new starting left tackle Jordan Morgan at least as good as Rasheed Walker? Can megabucks left guard Aaron Banks stay healthy and be a positive factor? Can Sean Rhyan take a step forward in his first full season at center? (That question will be especially important for Week 1 against the blitz-happy Vikings.) Can Jacob Monk, with one career start under his belt, be a positive factor as the new starting right guard? Can Bako-Bewele regain his premier form after offseason knee surgery?

Don’t forget, Jordan Love is a completely different quarterback when he has time vs. when he is pressured. Love finished sixth in the league overall with a 101.2 passer rating.

When pressured, though, Love completed 43.1 percent of his passes, averaged 4.97 yards per attempt and had a 52.5 passer rating, according to Sumer Sports. Of 37 quarterbacks who started at least eight games, he ranked 27th in completion percentage, 34th in yards per attempt and 33rd in passer rating. Oddly, despite all those poor results, his EPA per dropback of minus-0.242 ranked eighth because he at least avoided an abundance of turnovers.

Moving back to the line, that group must protect Love and power a new-look running game. Will that group be up to the challenge, especially with the few reps it played together during training camp and the lack of depth behind them?

4. No Josh Jacobs

This is a big one. Jacobs is one of the better running backs in the NFL, especially with his ability to turn nothing into at least something and his three-down production.

Now, the Packers will be entering the great unknown with MarShawn Lloyd, Chris Brooks and Kaleb Johnson. Combined, Brooks (who entered the NFL in 2023), Lloyd (2024) and Johnson (2025) have carried the ball 116 times in their careers. Jacobs, even while limited during the second half of the season by injuries, had 234 last season.

Inexperienced doesn’t mean bad, obviously. Jacobs was inexperienced at one point, too. So was Aaron Jones. But, other than Brooks’ ability to pick up third-down blitzers, there’s really no way of knowing what this group can do to start the season.

LaFleur wants to run the offense through the running game. Having gone from Jones to Jacobs, for the first time during his tenure in Green Bay, he might have to switch gears and let Love cook.

5. No Micah Parsons

This is the big one, obviously. Parsons had 12.5 sacks in 14 games last season. The edge group on the 53-man roster – Lukas Van Ness, Barryn Sorrell, Brenton Cox and Dani-Dennis Sutton – had four sacks last season and 15 for their careers.

Van Ness’ pressure numbers, at least, were solid last season, Cox had four sacks during the second half of the 2024 season and Sorrell and the rookie Dennis-Sutton had some encouraging moments during training camp. But, really, there’s nobody causing Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips to lose any sleep this week as he puts the finishing touches on his game plan.

If the Packers can’t get after the quarterback, their secondary could be easy pickings for Minnesota’s Kyler Murray, the Jets’ Geno Smith, the Falcons’ Tua Tagovailoa and the Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield to start the season, let alone the Bears’ Caleb Williams and the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott if Parsons’ absence lingers a bit deeper into the season.

Jonathan Gannon might have to be the X-factor. The problem is the other coaches and quarterbacks get paid, too, and they will be prepared for the tricks up Gannon’s sleeve.

6. Buried Early

Green Bay is fortunate to face a winnable stretch of games to start the season. However, the Packers can’t consider any opponent a layup without Parsons.

Of 42 quarterbacks who threw at least 150 passes last season, Murray was fifth in completion percentage, Smith was 12th and Tagovailoa was ninth. They are good enough to pick apart Green Bay’s secondary if given time. Mayfield is as good as any quarterback in the league once he’s rolling.

After that, the Packers will host the Bears in Week 5 and the Cowboys in Week 6 and play at the Lions in Week 7.

Let’s say Parsons makes his debut against Dallas in Week 6. What will Green Bay’s record be through Week 7? You don’t need to have a sky-is-falling outlook to envision the Packers starting 3-4.

To get to the playoffs in the powerful NFC, are there seven (or maybe even wins) in the final 10 games of home against the Panthers, at the Patriots, home against the Vikings, at the Rams and Saints, home against the Bills and Dolphins, at the Bears and home against the Texans and Lions?

The NFC West is loaded and could take three teams into the playoffs. The other three divisions will each get one. That might mean there’s only one more wild-card spot available if Green Bay falls too far off the pace in the NFC North and has to rally to get into the playoff chase.

A 9-8 finish isn’t a dumpster fire. But in a place called Titletown and with a built-to-win roster filled with high-priced players, missing the playoffs would be an epic failure.

One week from today, the Packers will kick off their season at the Vikings. Here are the pivotal questions on offense: ⬇️https://t.co/UwASuQNcOg

And defense: ⬇️https://t.co/kkPKIt6zk7
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 6, 2026

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