Packers' Pain is Self-Inflicted - Again: A Familiar Collapse Raises Familiar Questions
Another game. Another collapse. Another haunting reminder that when the Packers lose, they often do it to themselves.
Sunday’s overtime loss to the Bears wasn’t just a gut punch - it was déjà vu. A deep crossing route, tight coverage, and DJ Moore somehow comes down with the game-winner.
Sound familiar? Packers fans have seen this movie before, and the ending never changes.
It echoed the heartbreak of the 2014 NFC Championship against Seattle - a game that still lives in infamy in Green Bay. The common thread?
A series of self-inflicted wounds that turned a winnable game into a crushing defeat.
Let’s walk through the unraveling.
It started with Romeo Doubs failing to recover an onside kick - a play that’s as much about will as it is about execution. Then came a blown coverage on fourth down, a miscommunication between Nate Hobbs and Keisean Nixon that left the secondary exposed. And finally, a fumbled snap by Malik Willis on a crucial fourth down, setting the table for Chicago’s walk-off touchdown.
It was a collapse that felt all too familiar - not just because of the opponent, but because of the pattern. The Packers didn’t just lose to the Bears. They lost in a way that’s become all too routine: a cascade of errors in key moments that erase everything they did right for the first three quarters.
Special Teams, Special Problems
Special teams have been a recurring nightmare in Green Bay. Missed field goals.
Blocked punts. Botched onside kicks.
It's been a revolving door of miscues - and Sunday was just another chapter. The Doubs onside kick blunder was just the latest example of a unit that hasn’t held up its end of the bargain.
Defense That Can't Close
Defensively, the Packers have had their moments. But when it’s time to get off the field - when the game is on the line - they haven’t delivered.
Dropped interceptions. Missed tackles.
Blown assignments. The inability to generate a timely turnover or make a game-sealing play has cost them repeatedly.
The Hobbs-Nixon miscue on fourth down was emblematic of a defense that too often cracks under pressure.
Offense That Stalls in the Clutch
Then there’s the offense. Capable of building leads, sure.
But finishing drives? That’s been a different story.
In crunch time, the rhythm disappears. The pass protection breaks down.
Drives fizzle. And when momentum swings the other way - like after a turnover - the unit hasn’t shown the resilience to punch back.
A Season of Missed Opportunities
Look at Green Bay’s losses this season, and a trend emerges: they’ve had control, and then they’ve let it slip.
- Up 10-0 on the Browns with six minutes left - only to throw an interception and get a field goal blocked.
- Tied with Carolina late - only to give up a walk-off field goal.
- Shut out for three quarters against a struggling Eagles offense that only scored 10 points themselves.
- Up nine in the third quarter against Denver - and still lost.
- And of course, the 10-point lead against Chicago that vanished in the final two minutes and overtime.
These aren’t just losses. They’re collapses. And they’re happening too often to chalk up to bad luck.
Injuries Add to the Chaos
Now, to be fair, the injury bug hasn’t been kind to Green Bay this year. And while every team deals with injuries, the Packers have lost some irreplaceable pieces.
Guys like Micah Parsons, Tucker Kraft, Devonte Wyatt, Jayden Reed, and Elton Jenkins - their absences have been felt in all three phases. When you lose that kind of talent, it’s not just about plugging in the next man up.
It changes the entire identity of the team.
Still, even with the injuries, the way these games have unraveled points back to execution - or lack thereof.
A Team That Can Beat Anyone - Or Lose to Anyone
Here’s the paradox: Green Bay is talented enough to beat anyone. But they’re also volatile enough to lose to anyone.
That’s the story of their 2025 season. And now, as they head into the playoffs likely as the 7-seed for the third straight year, they’re once again the wild card in every sense of the word.
There’s almost a strange sense of freedom in that. No one’s picking them to make a deep run.
Expectations are low. But that also means the pressure’s off - at least a little.
This team has shown it can hang with anyone when it’s clicking. The question is: can they finish?
Because if they can’t, the ghosts of collapses past will be waiting.
Same Film, Different Year
Packers fans have every right to feel like they’ve seen this before. Because they have.
The heartbreaks blur together. The details change, but the endings don’t.
And that’s what makes this season so maddening - it’s not just the losses. It’s the way they happen.
But maybe - just maybe - all this adversity is forging something tougher. A team that’s been through it all. A team that knows what failure tastes like and is finally ready to change the script.
The playoffs are coming. The stage is set. And if the Packers can finally get out of their own way, they might just surprise us all.