The Green Bay Packers 2024 season came to a disappointing end Sunday when they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card playoff round. Matt LaFleur’s team entered the season with high expectations which they obviously didn’t fully meet. The Packers hoped to contend for a Super Bowl. While they won 11 games and made the postseason, they didn’t win a playoff game. So, here are three reasons the Packers 2024 season was a success and three reasons it was not:
Three Reasons the Packers 2024 Season Was a Success and Three Reasons It was Not, Success Number One: Winning More Games
Let’s start with the most basic metric of NFL success: the Packers won more games in 2024 than they did in 2023. In 2023, the Packers finished 9-8 and weren’t above .500 after Week 3 until Week 18. They needed three straight wins at the end of the season to finish with a winning record and to claim the final playoff spot in the NFC.
The Packers finished 11-6 in 2024. After losing the season opener in Brazil, they never fell below .500 for the rest of the season.
When you further consider quarterback Jordan Love missed two full starts and played through injuries for a good part of the season and the improved record seems even more impressive.
Success Number Two: The Defense Was Better
The Packers 2023 defense under Joe Barry played a passive style 3-4 with a lot of soft zone coverages. The defense hoped opposing offenses would make a mistake but did little to force them to do so.
The 2023 Green Bay defense gave up 20.6 points per game and finished 9th in the league in passing yards allowed and 28th in rushing yards allowed.
In 2024, the Packers allowed 19.9 points per game which ranked them sixth in the league. They finished 13th in the league in passing yards allowed and seventh in the league in rushing yards allowed. They even ranked third in the league in rushing yards allowed per carry.
The defense was more aggressive and tried to force turnovers rather than hope they would take place. This year, Jeff Hafley’s unit improved as the season went on as Hafley gradually rolled out his defense. This was a definite step forward.
Three Reasons the Packers 2024 Season Was a Success and Three Reasons It was Not, Success Number Three: The Running Game Improved
The Packers running game was clearly better than they were a year ago. Yes, in 2023, Aaron Jones went on a late season run and finished the season with five straight games of 100 or more yards rushing (including the two playoff games). But Jones also missed many games last season which hampered the running game.
The Packers finished 15th in the NFL in rushing yards in 2023 and ninth in average yards gained per rush.
This season, the Packers signed Josh Jacobs as a free agent. The former Raiders star paid huge dividends, gaining more than 1,300 yards on the ground. By mid-season, it was clear that the offense ran through Jacobs. He scored a rushing touchdown in each of the team’s final nine games this season including the playoff loss to the Eagles.
The Packers also finished the season fifth in the NFL in rushing yards gained and sixth in average yards per rush.
Not a Success, Number One: They Didn’t Win a Playoff Game
Let’s start with the most obvious reason this season was not a success: the Packers won a playoff game last year. This year, they failed to do so. Dominating the Cowboys in Dallas and then coming close to upsetting the 49ers in San Francisco left the Packers very optimistic after 2023.
Losing to the Eagles the way the Packers did, in a game in which they never led and started with a turnover, took a lot of air out of the tires of fans.
Three Reasons the Packers 2024 Season Was a Success and Three Reasons It was Not, Not a Success Number Two: The Passing Game Regressed
After the Packers strong finish to the 2023 season, there was a lot of optimism surrounding both Love and the passing game. Love threw 18 touchdown passes and just one interception in the final eight games of 2023. He then signed a lucrative extension that made him one of the highest paid quarterbacks in the league.
This season, Love was injured in Week 1. He missed two games and later a half of another and then was hurt again in the regular season finale.
Love and his receivers didn’t take a big step forward this season. Love was inconsistent at times although his injuries may have played a role in that. His receivers also dropped far too many passes. Some feel the team’s lack of a number one receiver hurt the passing game as well.
This proved a disappointment to the Packers and their fans. Progress isn’t linear so the Packers have to hope Love takes another step forward in 2025 and that they figure out the receiving situation.
Not a Success Number Three: The Packers Beat Themselves
Maybe the most frustrating part of this season is how the Packers lost almost all of their games. This team suffered through far too many dropped passes and careless penalties. In the first six games, missed field goals were costly. LaFleur’s offensive play calling and clock management were also frustrating and baffling at times.
Five of the Packers six regular-season losses were one possession games. Their biggest loss was 10 points. Essentially, this team beat themselves and that provided a lot of frustration for Packers fans.
The expectations were higher, but the Packers couldn’t quite compete with elite opponents. They were close, but a clear step below the Lions, Vikings, and Eagles, which only added to the fans’ frustrations.
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