The Green Bay Packers head into the 2026 offseason with a clear objective-and it’s not just about retooling the roster. It’s about learning how to finish.
General manager Brian Gutekunst didn’t mince words when he addressed the media for the first time since the Packers’ season came to a crashing halt. While the main topic was his own contract extension, Gutekunst used the moment to reflect on what’s become a troubling pattern for Green Bay: the inability to close out games when it matters most.
“Finishing games is certainly something that we've got to concentrate on as we head into 2026,” Gutekunst said.
That’s not just a throwaway line. It’s a direct acknowledgment of a trend that’s haunted the Packers over the past two seasons-and one that came to a head in their wild card loss to the Chicago Bears.
Green Bay led that game 21-3 at halftime. At Lambeau.
In the playoffs. And still, they walked off the field on the wrong side of a 31-27 final score.
It wasn’t an isolated collapse, either. Just a few weeks earlier, the Packers were up 16-6 in the fourth quarter-again against the Bears-and let that one slip away too. Two chances to put away a division rival, and both ended in heartbreak.
For a team that once prided itself on peaking in December and January, the shift has been dramatic. Gutekunst laid it out plainly: “In Matt's first five years, we were 25-8 in December and January. I think we're 3-9 the last two years.”
That’s not just a stat-it’s a red flag. And it’s one Gutekunst is clearly focused on as the organization charts its path forward.
Now, to be clear, Gutekunst wasn’t throwing head coach Matt LaFleur under the bus. If anything, he doubled down on his belief in LaFleur, who’s entering his eighth season at the helm. But the numbers don’t lie, and the recent trend has turned what used to be a strength into a liability.
“We’ve got to win the games that matter the most,” Gutekunst said. “That was a strength of ours prior to these last couple of years, was how we finished.
We were playing our best football at the end of the season. We haven’t done that the last two years.”
That shift in performance has been hard to ignore. The 2025 season started with promise-Green Bay opened 9-3-1, and there was real buzz about a potential run at the NFC’s top seed. But then came the Week 15 matchup with Denver, a game that marked the turning point.
Up 23-14 early in the third quarter, the Packers looked in control. Then linebacker Micah Parsons went down with a torn ACL, and the defense never recovered.
Green Bay lost that game 34-26, and it was all downhill from there. They didn’t win another game, finishing the season at 9-7-1 and backing into the playoffs before their early exit.
The question now is whether LaFleur can adjust. Can he develop that killer instinct-the ability to put teams away and close out games with authority?
It’s a fair question for a coach entering Year 8. At 46, LaFleur is still relatively young in coaching terms, but the habits are well-established.
The Packers have often been the more talented team, and LaFleur is widely respected as a play-caller. But too often, they’ve let lesser teams hang around.
And in the NFL, that’s a recipe for heartbreak.
It’s not about effort. It’s about execution. And when the lights get brighter in December and January, that margin for error shrinks fast.
Still, Gutekunst made it clear-he believes LaFleur is the right man to lead the charge.
“He’s an excellent football coach,” Gutekunst said. “To get where we’re going, he’s the guy we need. I think he’s as eager as anybody to get back at it.”
So here we are. The Packers have the pieces.
They’ve got a GM who’s locked in, a head coach who’s proven he can win, and a roster that’s shown flashes of real potential. But until they solve their late-game woes, that next step will remain just out of reach.
The mission for 2026 is clear: finish strong.