So what’s next for the Green Bay Packers in 2024?
It was supposedly a transition year for this franchise. That certainly seemed accurate when the Green Bay Packers got off to 3-6 start. Would head coach Matt LaFleur, owner of a 39-10 regular-season mark during his first three years with the club, be looking at a second straight losing campaign?
When it was all set and done, the Packers won six of their last eight games and took a head of steam into the playoffs. They embarrassed the Dallas Cowboys in the wild card round, snapping that franchise’s record 16 game home winning streak. The Pack was highly competitive in the divisional round at San Francisco but came up short, 24-21.
What’s Next for the Green Bay Packers?
The future looks bright for the Packers’ newest starting signal-caller. Green Bay’s offense was humming late in the season and was impressive in the playoffs. In his first full season as a starter, quarterback Jordan Love seemingly went through three phases in 2023. His first two game saw him throw six touchdown passes without an interception in the split with the Bears and Falcons.
In his next seven outings, the Packers not only posted a 2-5 record, LaFleur’s team was limited to 20 or fewer points in each contest. Love completed just 59.3 percent of his throws and served up more picks (10) than scoring passes (8).
Then came the stretch run. In his final eight regular-season games, he hit on a blistering 70.3 of his passes for 2,150 yards, 18 touchdowns and one interception. He threw for three scores in the 48-32 playoff win at Dallas. However, he served up two TD passes and was picked off twice in the divisional playoff loss at San Francisco, 24-21.
Perhaps the real question should be what’s next for Love? The sky may be the limit for a player that like his predecessor Aaron Rodgers, waited for his turn. Now he and a very talented young pass-catching corps, aided by running back Aaron Jones, must build on his impressive 2023.
Biggest Offseason Concern?
On Wednesday morning, Joe Barry was relieved of his defensive coordinator duties. The organization has gone through its share of hirings when it comes to this position on the coaching staff in recent years. However, the club just can’t seem to get things right on this side of the ball. Once again, the Packers finished 17th in the league in total defense and this season, slipped from 26th to 28th in the league against the run – allowing 128.3 yards per game on the ground.
Only the Tennessee Titans (6) finished with fewer interceptions than Green Bay (7), which forced only 18 turnovers in 17 regular-season contests. Fortunately for the Packers, the defense was ninth in the league in red zone touchdown percentage allowed. Unfortunately, the negatives outweighed the positives and change appeared inevitable. Finding the right person for the job is a major priority for general manager Brian Gutekunst.