Victory Monday Fact or Fiction: Packers’ Season Is Lost Despite Beating Bucs

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The old ABC Wide World of Sports slogan was, “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”

There was no thrill of victory for the Green Bay Packers after edging the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Only the muted feeling of another lackluster performance, the agony felt by linebacker Edgerrin Cooper following his torn Achilles and the anguish felt by teammates knowing what that injury meant to the rest of the team.

How will the Packers pick up the pieces without their star linebacker?

“Yeah, I don’t know, Pete,” coach Matt LaFleur said to Pete Dougherty of The Green Bay Press-Gazette after the game. It was an atypically short answer, a combination of equal parts frustration over the way his team played and honesty in knowing there’s no way to replace Cooper.

At least he didn’t utter the next-man-up nonsense. No offense to Isaiah McDuffie, who probably is one of the better backup linebackers in the NFL. There’s just no way any player can replace Cooper, a chess-piece defender for coordinator Jonathan Gannon.

The reality, of course, is there’s no next man up for Cooper. It’s going to take the other 52 players on the roster, all playing harder and better, to pick up the slack.

Let's take a closer look at the Packers' predicament in this week's Fact or Fiction.

The Problem on Defense

Cooper was Gannon’s best option in replacing Micah Parsons to start the season. He leads the team with three sacks and six tackles for losses. He’s second with 30 tackles. In just more than one half of work against the Buccaneers, he had one sack on the opening possession and an interception to end the half. He had a team-high nine tackles while playing barely more than 50 percent of the snaps.

That dynamic skill-set was a reason why the defense was able to adapt as well as it did without Parsons.

On Saturday, NFL insider Tom Pelissero reported that Parsons probably won’t play in a game until November. A peek at the schedule shows there are four games between now and November. Those games are against:

The Chicago Bears, who have won back-to-back games with backup quarterbacks. They are first in the NFL in total offense and ninth in scoring.

The Dallas Cowboys, who are tied for second in the NFL in scoring and are fifth on third down behind the high-flying combination of Dak Prescott throwing to George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb.

The Detroit Lions, who are fifth in the NFL in scoring and sixth in total offense behind the elite combination of quarterback Jared Goff, running back Jahmyr Gibbs and receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams.

The Carolina Panthers, who are fourth in the NFL in scoring and total offense with rising quarterback Bryce Young and big-time receiver Tetairoa McMillan.

Can Green Bay’s defense, which has played well enough for the team to be 3-1, somehow stop those offenses without one of the best pass rushers in football and one of the game’s top linebackers?

That seems like almost an impossible mission. Cooper is ninth in the NFL in sacks. Of the eight players ahead of him, he’s No. 1 with 30 tackles and one of only two players with an interception. He is a field-tilting player, whether it’s stopping the run, dropping into coverage or rushing off the edge.

Can Offense Pick Up the Slack?

Green Bay Packers running back Kaleb Johnson (26) is tackled by Buccaneers linebacker Alex Anzalone (34) and defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson (91). | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

If the defense is going to suffer without Cooper, which would be the predictable result, then it will be up to the offense to pick up the slack.

Is it capable?

Matt LaFleur is the offensive mastermind given a new contract. Jordan Love is one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL.

And yet, the offense, in a word, stinks.

The Packers are 27th with 18.3 points per game. They entered the week ranked last in the NFL in third-down conversions at about 27 percent. They actually performed worse on Sunday at 20.0 percent.

After their best day of the season, the Packers are still last in the NFL with 58.0 rushing yards per game and 31st with 3.2 rushing yards per attempt.

The Packers are last in the NFL with 2.5 fumbles per game. Jordan Love has been victimized by the most drops and the highest drop percentage. They have been guilty of the second-most holding penalties and the fifth-most pre-snap penalties on offense.

“There was some positive things, but we’re never going to be satisfied with scoring 17 points in the game,” LaFleur said. “That’s just not to our standard and we’ve got to find ways when we have opportunities in the red area to convert. We can’t be turning the ball over, can’t have penalties.

“That is a stingy defense … but I also think that we also have to clean up a lot of stuff. Like, too many penalties (and) turnovers. Ball-carriers have got to hold onto the ball. We put the ball on the ground way too much. And this stuff’s got to get fixed, and it’s got to get fixed now.

Now, with the rival Bears next on the schedule, would be good timing.

If the blockers learn how to block without holding, if the linemen can learn the snap count, if the backs can hold onto the ball, if the receivers can catch the ball then, yes, the Packers have a chance. A real chance.

The addition of Laken Tomlinson at left guard paid dividends against the Bucs, and the addition of Kevin Zeitler at right guard should do the same. This could quickly become a decent offensive line, which might not sound like a tremendous compliment until you remember Love getting knocked into the middle of next week by unblocked defenders the first few games.

Love has shown he can be a high-level quarterback. Christian Watson, Matthew Golden and Tucker Kraft are legit weapons. Maybe the line will rescue the running game.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) throws the ball against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

So, Is It Fact or Fiction That Season Is Lost?

There’s just too many “maybes” and “ifs” to believe the Packers can save their season. Sure, they could wind up being playoff contenders heading into January, but nobody should be satisfied with another nine-win season and one-and-done playoffs.

This is Titletown, after all. It’s not Seventh Seed City or Playoff Bubble Boulevard.

“We won, but it’s the same thing I said after the Jets game,” said tight end Tucker Kraft, who dropped what should have been an easy touchdown catch. “We’re still out there making [mistakes]. We’re excited, we’re happy, winning on the road is hard. But we’re still beating ourselves up.”

Between Cooper’s torn Achilles and the self-inflicted black eyes, the Packers look like a team that’s on the ropes.

For the coaches and high-priced players who remain healthy, it’s time to put up or shut up. Learn the snap count. Hang onto the ball. If they can’t do the simple things, how on earth are they going to do the hard things necessary to beat the really good teams coming up on the schedule?

Verdict: Fact, unless the Packers really can get things “fixed now.”

Pain.

And slop.

Here are our weekly Packers Overreactions. ⬇️https://t.co/Zx0fLlSa82
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 5, 2026

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