The Packers keep finding the same painful way to lose, and Tucker Kraft isn’t interested in sugarcoating it.
Green Bay let a 22-10 lead slip away in the third quarter against Minnesota, then watched the Vikings pour in 29 unanswered points in a 39-22 Week 1 defeat. It was the kind of collapse that has started to feel familiar for this team, one more entry in a run of blown second-half leads that also included losses to the Broncos and twice to the Bears, including in the NFC Wild-Card Round.
Kraft, who is back from an ACL injury and caught three passes for 65 yards, pointed the finger at the Packers themselves.
“That momentum swing was due to our own fault," Kraft said, via video posted to X by ESPN's Rob Demovsky. "We allowed that to happen...
The only people who can beat us are us. That’s it.
"We’re the best team in the NFL, but if we don’t go out there and play like it, no one’s going to believe us."
The message lands because the problems went well beyond one bad stretch. Green Bay’s offense stalled twice on downs, threw an interception, and watched Jordan Love get strip-sacked as the game turned. The defense, meanwhile, unraveled under first-year defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon as Minnesota kept piling on.
Matt LaFleur’s team also ran into major trouble up front. Love was sacked four times for minus-34 yards, and the offensive line had a rough day even without the passing-game chaos. The Packers, missing star running back Josh Jacobs, who is on the commissioner’s exempt list, ran 21 times for 66 yards and averaged just 3.1 yards per carry.
LaFleur and his staff have gotten Green Bay off to strong starts, but the adjustments have been a different story once opponents start solving the plan. That leaves the Packers with plenty to answer for heading into Week 2.
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 🡒]