Packers Collapse Is Suddenly Raising A Bigger NFC North Question

The Green Bay Packers are facing an unprecedented slump, plagued by missteps and setbacks that are calling into question their status in the NFL.

Green Bay’s latest collapse has pushed the Packers into a place nobody in that building wants to visit: historic company for all the wrong reasons.

Without Micah Parsons, the Packers have now lost six straight, and the damage has piled up fast. The latest stunner came in Week 1 in Minnesota, where Green Bay led by 12 points in the second half before getting outscored 22-0 in the fourth quarter. It was the kind of finish that has become a pattern rather than a one-off.

The run of misery started after Parsons tore his ACL in Week 15 last season in Denver. Since then, the Packers have dropped four straight games when leading by at least two scores in the second half, tying the 2000 Chargers for the longest such streak in NFL history. That Chargers team finished 1-15, and Ryan Leaf was the quarterback for three of those four blown leads in what turned out to be his final season in San Diego.

Green Bay’s list of implosions is ugly enough on its own:

Week 15, 2025: Packers lose in Denver after leading by nine points in second half (Parsons was injured in third quarter)

Week 16, 2025: Packers lose in Chicago after leading by ten points in the final two minutes of regulation (Bears won on an incredible 46-yard connection from Caleb Williams to DJ Moore in OT)

Wild Card, 2025: Packers largest blown lead in franchise playoff history (led by 18 points in second half including by 11 in final five minutes of regulation)

Week 1, 2026: Packers outscored 22-0 in fourth quarter to blow 12-point second-half lead

That’s not just a bad stretch. It’s a meltdown that has dragged the Packers into one of the worst late-game records the league has ever seen.

Under Matt LaFleur, Green Bay had been 63-4 in its previous 67 games when up multiple scores in the second half. Now it has dropped four straight in those spots, including two straight losses to Chicago after holding double-digit leads in the final five minutes.

The fourth quarter and overtime numbers are even harsher. During this six-game skid since Parsons got hurt, the Packers have been outscored 90-15 after regulation.

That -75 margin is one of the five worst in NFL history over a six-game span in the fourth quarter and overtime. Green Bay has not outscored a single opponent in the fourth quarter during the streak, and the 22-0 fourth-quarter loss on Sunday was its worst final period in 45 years.

The breakdown on those late drives is brutal: 11 touchdowns and four field goals allowed on 18 possessions in the fourth quarter and overtime during the streak. That’s five points per drive. The Packers have also failed to convert any of their eight chances to tie or take the lead on potential game-tying or go-ahead drives in the fourth quarter and overtime.

That leaves LaFleur in an uncomfortable spotlight. He was extended last offseason after the playoff collapse in Chicago, but the blown leads now go beyond Parsons’ absence.

Green Bay also coughed up a big lead to the Browns last year, the first time it had lost a game after leading by 10 or more points in the final four minutes since 1967. At some point, the pattern lands on the head coach.

Jordan Love is part of the conversation too. The Packers have only one touchdown in the fourth quarter and overtime during the losing streak, and Love has been off target on nearly one quarter of his passes in those situations. He gets some leeway after being blitzed repeatedly by Minnesota in Week 1, and after throwing for over 300 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in the playoff loss in Chicago, but Green Bay still needs him to close.

The receiver situation doesn’t help. The Packers still haven’t had a No. 1 wideout since Davante Adams was traded in 2022, and that lack of a true go-to option shows up in the biggest moments.

Christian Watson looked like a breakout candidate after Week 1, but he disappeared in the fourth quarter on Sunday. Jayden Reed and first-round pick Matthew Golden remain candidates to emerge.

Parsons, meanwhile, has never looked more valuable. Green Bay has seven sacks during the six-game losing streak, and its sack rate with Parsons off the field since the start of last year is 4.2%, second-worst in the league.

Only the 49ers have been worse. Since Parsons was injured, the Packers also own the second-worst defensive rating by EPA, with only the Cowboys worse after trading him.

The Packers are still without Parsons for at least the first four games because he’s on the PUP list, and that means more weeks of uncertainty ahead. Right now, the broader picture is hard to ignore: the NFC’s worst team might be Green Bay. The conference’s longest active losing streak belongs to the Packers, and another blown lead could start costing people their jobs.

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