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...
Luke Fickell Just Gave Badgers Fans A Telling Personnel Read
Luke Fickells latest press conference offered a pretty clear snapshot of where Wisconsins roster stands as the Badgers head into the weekend. He touched on several moving parts, from the continued influence of Bradie Ewing around the program to the way a defensive player is growing into his role, while also checking in on the offensive line and the health of Colton Joseph.
For a Wisconsin team trying to keep building momentum, those kinds of updates matter because they hint at where the coaching staff feels strongest and where it is still waiting for answers. Fickells comments suggested progress on multiple fronts, but the real interest now is whether Joseph is ready to be part of the mix and how the other personnel pieces continue to settle in once the Badgers get back on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin's Quarterback Situation Suddenly Feels More Unsettled Than Expected
After two games, the bigger picture around Wisconsin is still blurry, but the quarterback situation has become a little more unsettled than the staff likely expected this early. Colton Joseph has not matched the preseason hope around his spot, completing less than 60 percent of his passes for 390 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception, and Luke Fickell said injury has played a part in holding him back.
The encouraging part for Wisconsin is that other phases have given the team something to lean on. Special teams has stood out with strong punting and field goal work, plus consecutive blocked punts, which has helped steady a group still trying to sort out its offensive identity. Even so, the questions around Josephs health and effectiveness leave the Badgers with a storyline that feels far from settled. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Still Has One Tough Recruiting Battle That Could Define Fickell
Luke Fickell and Wisconsin have made Desert Edge High School a meaningful part of their recruiting footprint, and the results there have already started to show. The Badgers have landed two three-star prospects from the Arizona program for the 2027 class, a sign that the staff has established a real line of communication far from Madison and turned a distant pipeline into something more tangible.
The bigger test is still ahead with five-star edge rusher Jalanie George in the 2028 class, a recruit whose interest gives Wisconsin a chance to keep building inroads in Arizona. The Badgers have some things working in their favor, including his teammates already being committed and improvements around the programs facilities, but the usual hurdles remain, from on-field performance to NIL competition. For Fickell, winning that kind of battle would say as much about the trajectory of the program as any single commitment. [Read more 🡒]