The Green Bay Packers walked out of U.S. Bank Stadium with a mess on their hands after a Week 1 loss to the Vikings that looked ugly from just about every angle.
They had a five-point edge heading into the fourth quarter. They finished 17 points in the hole. Somewhere in between, the game unraveled in familiar fashion, and Matt LaFleur’s team found a few new ways to turn control into chaos.
The biggest issue is the same one that keeps coming back: the Packers still can’t finish.
There are plenty of places to spread the blame. The officiating.
Bad breaks. The absence of Micah Parsons or Josh Jacobs.
A less-than-100-percent Zach Bako-Bewele. None of it changes the bottom line.
Green Bay gave away another fourth-quarter lead, and this one was brutal enough to stir up memories of Soldier Field on January 10.
With a little more than 13 minutes left, the Packers had just stretched the margin to eight points on a field goal. Then Minnesota drew an offsides penalty, and LaFleur decided to chase the knockout punch by taking the points off the board and going for it.
The call fit the tone Green Bay had talked about all offseason: be aggressive, finish the job, put teams away. The idea made sense.
The execution did not. Jordan Love’s failed quarterback sneak became the spark for yet another collapse.
Minnesota also got some help from a stretch of questionable, drive-saving penalties that kept possessions alive and helped set up the go-ahead touchdown. That sequence erased an Edgerrin Cooper sack and later wiped out an Evan Williams interception.
Even with all that, the bigger story is what happened over the final 15 minutes. Green Bay was outscored 22-0 in the fourth quarter and turned a position of strength into a humiliating finish.
The pass protection only made Love’s night harder. By Pro Football Focus’ unofficial count, the Packers gave up 16 pressures, three sacks, and six hits. Zach Bako-Bewele, Jacob Monk, and Sean Rhyan each allowed a sack, while Bako-Bewele and Jordan Morgan were both charged with a team-high four pressures.
It was a rough assignment against a Brian Flores defense on the road, but the result was still a rough one. And there’s no easy fix waiting in the wings. If a returning Aaron Banks is supposed to solve it, that raises its own questions.
There was at least one bright spot buried in the wreckage: rookie kicker Trey Smack.
Smack made all three of his field goals, including a 59-yarder on the opening drive. He did miss an extra point, but it didn’t matter in the final tally.
For now, that’s the tradeoff Green Bay is living with. Smack has a huge leg and the range to hit from just about anywhere.
The real question is whether he can pair that power with the kind of consistency teams need when the pressure rises.
In Other News...
Brewers Suddenly Have A Luis Lara Decision That Wont Go Away
Luis Laras extended run earlier in the season gave the Brewers a useful look at what he can offer when the lineup opens up. With Sal Frelick sidelined, Lara stepped into significant playing time and produced a solid enough line over 125 plate appearances, then kept himself relevant by contributing a steady on-base presence and dependable defense. For a club that has made a habit of sorting roles by performance rather than reputation, that kind of flexibility matters.
Since Frelick came back, though, Laras usage has shifted into a more complicated pattern, with his at-bats leaning into a platoon arrangement that is a little unusual for a switch-hitter. Even as the recent on-base numbers have held up, the Brewers have had to weigh how much of Laras value comes from matchups, how much comes from his glove, and how much room there is to keep both him and Frelick involved without forcing the issue. The fact that the answer still feels unsettled says plenty about how quickly this roster can turn a useful depth piece into a real decision. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Trade Is Already Raising Questions About Their Catching Bet
The Brewers made a notable catching move when they sent Craig Yoho and Blake Perkins to Cleveland for Bo Naylor and Codi Heuer, a deal that was soon altered again when Heuer was flipped to Baltimore for cash. It was the kind of swap that immediately drew attention because Milwaukee was clearly betting on Naylors upside behind the plate, even if the early returns have been uneven and the bigger picture was still taking shape.
Yoho has settled in well with the Guardians, which has only sharpened the early reaction to the trade, while Naylor has had only limited major league chances in Milwaukee. There is still reason for the Brewers to believe the long view could look different if his Triple-A performance carries over, but for now the move is being read more as a short-term win for Cleveland than a finished judgment on Milwaukees catching gamble. [Read more 🡒]
Joey Ortiz Is Giving The Brewers A Huge October Question
Joey Ortiz spent much of the 2025 season and the early part of 2026 looking like a glove-first infielder whose bat simply had not caught up, with his offensive production sinking as low as a 52 wRC+. Since late May, though, the Brewers have seen a very different hitter. Ortiz has climbed all the way back to a 102 wRC+, and his work since the All-Star break has turned him into a far more useful presence in the lineup.
For Milwaukee, the timing is what makes this so interesting. Ortizs .331/.380/.565 line since the break has changed the way he fits around the rest of the roster, and it leaves the Brewers with a real October decision to make about how much they can count on this version of him. The question now is whether this surge is the new normal, or just the latest twist in a season that has already given them plenty to sort through. [Read more 🡒]