The Green Bay Packers special teams unit has struggled for too long. In recent seasons, the team has ranked at or near the bottom of the NFL special teams rankings. Unfortunately, despite many attempts to make improvements, the Packers special teams again cost the team dearly in their shocking 13-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Packers special teams continues to hurt the team and the coaching staff needs to do something about it.
Packers Special Teams Continues to Hurt the Team: The History
The Packers special teams have been a problem for a long time. When the Packers hired Rich Bisaccia in 2022, he was brought in to make the special teams unit better after the long-time struggles of the unit.
The most memorable example came in the 2021 NFC Playoffs. The Packers won the NFC North and were the top seed in the playoffs that year. They hosted the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round at Lambeau Field. The Packers were 5.5-point favorites in the game and led most of the way in a game that became a defensive struggle.
Special teams proved costly in the game. The Packers had a field goal try blocked at the end of the first half. The 39-yard attempt would have put the Packers up 10-0 at the break and would have likely given the Packers enough momentum to put the game away.
In the fourth quarter, the Pack led 10-3 with 4:50 left in regulation. Corey Bojorquez had a punt blocked which was recovered by the 49ers in the end zone for the tying touchdown. The 49ers won the game when they kicked a 45-yard field goal on the final play of the game. The Packers had only 10 men on the field to try to block the winning kick.
Bisaccia Hired to Fix the Problem
Since Bisaccia joined the team, however, the Packers special teams ranked 22nd in Rick Gosselin’s special teams rankings in 2022 and 29th in 2023. Last season, Sports Illustrated ranked the Packers 22nd again despite the improvement in place kicking and punting.
The Packers not only made Bisaccia their special teams coordinator, the front office also gave him influence on roster decisions with the goal of improving special teams. Players like Zayne Anderson and Keisean Nixon were signed due to Bisaccia’s influence. The team also drafted Anders Carlson, Kitan Oladapo, and Jonathan Ford to improve the team’s coverage and blocking units.
Unfortunately, the Packers special teams continued to take too many penalties, give up too many big plays and make fundamental mistakes under Bisaccia’s leadership. Despite the lack of improvement, Bisaccia was promoted to assistant head coach in 2023.
Packers Special Teams Continues to Hurt the Team: The Collapse Against the Browns
On Sunday in Cleveland, the special teams unit again had a big impact on the team’s eventual loss. The most glaring mistake was a blocked field goal in the final minute. Had the kick been good, the Packers would have almost certainly won the game. Instead, the block set up a very short field for the Browns who kicked the game-winning field goal on the game’s final play.
Worse yet, the kick was blocked by Browns defensive lineman Shelby Harris, who has a history of blocking kicks. He overwhelmed offensive lineman Jordan Morgan and got his hand on the kick. Despite his reputation, the Packers did not move the blocking to Harris’ side on the play.
“They’re a good rush team. We knew that coming in, and they got their hand on the ball,” kicker Brandon McManus told reporters.
While the Packers had a strong special teams performance in Week 1 against Detroit, they allowed a key 50-yard kick return against Washington in Week 2. Penalties remain a problem on special teams as do mental errors when fielding punts and kicks.
The Packers need to clean up their mistakes on special teams before it costs them more game. If this team really hopes to contend for a Super Bowl, they cannot afford to give games away by making mental mistakes on special teams.
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