Three Reasons Why 2025 Packers Will Be Dumpster Fire

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers looked like a team going nowhere fast. Trapped in the powerful NFC North, they perhaps were closer to the last-place Bears than the first-place Lions before general manager Brian Gutekunst made the type of transaction that fans had been begging for for years.

In one of the biggest trades in NFL history, the Packers acquired Micah Parsons last week. With a true game-changing player, they look like a team ready to compete for a Super Bowl championship after years of near-misses.

It’s possible the Packers will end the season covered in confetti at the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, Calif. It’s also possible the Packers will be the biggest disappointment in the league as also-rans in the standings with no salary-cap space and no first-round picks to improve.

Here are three reasons why this season will be a dumpster fire. (The rosier outlook will be published later in the day.)

1. Jordan Love Isn’t Good Enough

The Packers are convinced that Jordan Love is the franchise quarterback that is necessary to win a Super Bowl.

But what if he’s not?

Love’s projection as the team’s next great quarterback is built entirely on the second half of his debut season as the starter in 2023. Love was exceptional down the stretch in rallying the Packers to the playoffs with a 6-2 finish.

In those eight games, he threw 18 touchdown passes and one interception. He added three touchdowns, zero interceptions and the highest passer rating in a road playoff game in NFL history in torching the Cowboys in the wild-card round.

It wasn’t quite Aaron Rodgers running the table in 2016, but it wasn’t far off, either.

Love never looked like that player in 2024. Yes, of course, he was injured. A Week 1 knee injury and a Week 8 groin injury didn’t just rob him of his mobility. It cost him precious practice time.

Love finished his second season as the starter with a 63.1 completion percentage and 11 interceptions. Of 27 qualifying quarterbacks, Love was 23rd in completion percentage and 21st in interception percentage. Sure, drops were a factor, but he would have ranked 18th if no quarterback in the league had a pass dropped. Love threw exactly as many interceptions as in 2023 while throwing 155 fewer passes.

Love clearly is not a bad quarterback. The question is whether Love will ever be consistently good enough to be a Super Bowl quarterback. This is Titletown after all, and the goal should be Lombardi Trophies rather than wild-card appearances and occasional playoff victories.

The worst-case scenario for this season is that Love, who remains No. 2 in the league in annual pay, will show he’s the same mistake-plagued, inaccurate and inconsistent quarterback as he was the first two seasons.

Given the strength of schedule, the power of the NFC North and the depth of the NFC – Seattle went 10-7 last year and didn’t make the playoffs – Love is going to have to be a much better quarterback for there to be meaningful January football.

2. Defense Gets Run Over

The Micah Parsons trade fixed the pass rush at the expense of leaving a hole in the run defense.

As part of the trade, the Cowboys wanted Kenny Clark. To get a game-changing weapon like Parsons, the Packers were in no position to say no.

The question moving into the season is whether the Packers will be capable of forcing opponents into third-and-long so they can unleash the pass rush.

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) rushes the ball against the Green Bay Packers during their playofff game. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Clark was old – at least by NFL standards – expensive and coming off a down season. But he was still the unit’s best run defender. The Packers were last in the NFL in yards allowed per carry during the first five seasons of Matt LaFleur’s tenure. In 2024, they were third. Now, the top defensive tackles, Clark and TJ Slaton, are no longer with the team.

The team’s best defensive tackle, Devonte Wyatt, was drafted in the first round in 2022 to rush the passer. The rest of the unit consists of Colby Wooden, Karl Brooks and rookies Warren Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse. Those five players have combined to start six games in the NFL – five by Wyatt in 2023 and one by Wooden in 2024.

“I just felt that they probably needed more reps and deserved more reps,” Brian Gutekunst said of Wyatt, Wooden and Brooks. “Obviously, they had two really good players in front of them. So, I’m excited with those guys that have been here and I’m interested to see what Stackhouse and Brinson will bring to the table, as well.”

If Gutekunst is wrong, the Eagles will run the ball straight up the gut 40 times for 225 yards in Week 10 and the Ravens will follow suit in eliminating the Packers from playoff contention in Week 17.

3. Secondary Gets Picked Apart

The combination of Micah Parsons and Rashan Gary could create a race to the quarterback. It’s the other race that could doom the season.

Will Parsons or Gary (or Devonte Wyatt or Lukas Van Ness) get to the quarterback before the quarterback gets the ball to his receiver?

Green Bay last season ranked 25th in opponent completion percentage. This offseason, the Packers signed Nate Hobbs – who started one game for the Raiders last season – and dumped Jaire Alexander. So, on paper, the secondary should be at least a little better with the addition of Hobbs and the growth of second-year safeties Javon Bullard and Evan Williams.

However, the gauntlet of quarterbacks and receivers on the schedule is daunting. Last season, six receivers caught more than 100 passes. The Packers will play them all, including two matchups against Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson and Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown. Eight receivers had more than 1,150 receiving yards. The Packers will play six. Seven receivers had at least 10 touchdown catches. The Packers will play five.

Everyone knows that a cornerback’s best friend is a strong pass rush. There will be times when Parsons and Co. get home before the quarterback has a prayer. There also will be times when the quarterback will have time to survey the defense.

Will Green Bay’s cornerbacks, which include Hobbs, Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine, a former receiver (Bo Melton) and a former practice-squad player (Kamal Hadden), be able to stop St. Brown and Jameson Williams in Week 1, Washington’s Terry McLaurin in Week 2, Cleveland’s Jerry Jeudy in Week 3, Dallas’ CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens in Week 4 and Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins immediately after the Week 5 bye?

It's hardly hyperbole to say the season will depend on that answer. On paper, it doesn’t seem likely.

More Green Bay Packers News

In acquiring and extending Micah Parsons, how did the #Packers keep the salary-cap cost relatively low for three years?

And, related, what is an option bonus? Thanks to @KenIngalls for the explainer.https://t.co/IFRyTE5ojD
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 3, 2025