Inbox: Why not shock the football world again?

Andrew from Indianapolis, IN

According to my result (which could be wrong), the Packers were 10-0 this season when leading at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and 1-6 when trailing (Week 11 at Chicago being the lone comeback). What can the Packers do in Philly to avoid playing catch up? One thing I noticed in each of our last three losses: a first-quarter fumble. Thanks for all your great content.

Play with intentionality, run with purpose and protect the football. The Packers have shown the ability to start fast, but they have to stop hurting themselves with penalties, turnovers and missed assignments. The season depends on it.

It’s true that recent performances don’t instill a lot of confidence that the Packers can go in and win in Philadelphia. Nonetheless, I’m still excited that we’re playing on Sunday, and know that anything CAN happen. This team isn’t devoid of talent. It just hasn’t put it together. I have no idea what the result will be but sign me up to cheer for our guys until the clock runs out. Being overly pessimistic isn’t going to do any good so I’d rather go in with hope and a splash of optimism.

The Packers are one of 14 teams with a shot at the Lombardi Trophy. I don’t know about you, but that means something to me. While it never feels good to enter the playoffs on a two-game losing streak, Kansas City wasn’t exactly lighting the league on fire before the start of last year’s postseason run. The lessons have been taught. Finals start now.

Wes, every week (never mind every year) is its own entity in this league, so could we put to bed the narrative that last year’s Packers were the hottest team since the 1972 Dolphins? For Hod’s sake, they lost to Tommy Cutlets in December, then barely beat an awful Carolina team in a must-win game. Any prior momentum (or lack thereof) will be out the window by the first snap, and the game will be decided on how well the front seven can control Saquon Barkley and how Jordan Love adjusts to Vic Fangio’s schemes, etc.

The pro wrestling fan in me loves the fact the Packers’ season comes down to needing to defeat the team that beat them in Brazil. With most of last year’s team back, I feel like this young roster will be in the right headspace to get the job done. They did it last year. Why not shock the football world again?

What does Green Bay need to do in order to get its defense playing better than they did Sunday?

The defense wasn’t the problem Sunday, though I didn’t expect the unit to finish with just two QB hits and one sack after Rashan Gary dropped Caleb Williams on Chicago’s first play. Overall, I thought the defense played fine considering the absences and circumstances. Special teams gave up a punt return for a TD and the offense turned over the ball twice, which led to 14 of the Bears’ 24 points.

My thoughts are no more coaches taking blame after the game; giving up FG range with no pressure on the QB left me in bewilderment.

LaFleur said on Monday the Packers needed to play a different call on the third-and-11 play with that much time on the clock. Protecting outside leverage is fine, but the defense needs a “low-hole” player at the line to gain to prevent a receiver coming on a slant from getting the first down and allowing Chicago to spike it. We’ll hear what Jeff Hafley has to say on Thursday.

Kevin from Westminster, CO

Who in the locker room takes the leadership role in holding the guys accountable and same for coaches? Sunday left more questions than answers.

It sure sounded like Xavier McKinney and Rashan Gary had a few things to say after the game, though McKinney politely declined to go into specifics.

David from Minneapolis, MN

It’s a copycat league, so how long before every team practices and prepares to go for it on fourth-and-short on the opponent’s side of the 40? I’m predicting all teams will be working on it this offseason.

I think we’re getting closer to it.

The player I’d like to see make a stronger push in the postseason is Jayden Reed. I could be off base, but I feel like he’s had a fairly pedestrian season this year considering the promise he showed last year. I’m not saying he’s been bad, but I just thought his second-year jump would be bigger. Who is the player you’d like to see step up bigger this postseason?

I think Reed made a jump in his play, beginning with monster games against Philadelphia and Minnesota during the first month of the season. Reed (and really the entire receiving corps) went through a midseason lull with drops and up-and-down production, but the Packers need his playmaking ability now more than ever.

With the up-and-down nature of our passing game, how much does the availability of the same set of receivers, week-to-week, contribute to the inconsistency? Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson and Luke Musgrave have all missed key games, yes?

That’s the hardest part of the NFL but also what separates elite teams from the pack. Injuries affect every team. Shoot, Detroit’s defense has been littered with them this year. Yet, the Lions established their win condition, won 15 of 17 and clinched the NFC’s top seed.

Since I’m neither a doctor nor an athlete, I’d appreciate your perspective on Watson’s injury. Can we console ourselves that it was completely unrelated to playing on Sunday when his other knee might not have been 100% (e.g., just bad luck that was going to happen at some point anyway), or are the Packers kicking themselves for having him play when he was banged up? Thanks for this and for all of the other great work you do for us fans.

I’m neither a doctor nor do I possess any inside information related to Watson’s ACL injury. For those two reasons, I’m not going to speculate or offer meaningless conjecture about everything that happened Sunday. All I know is my heart hurts for Watson, who has said and done all the right things since the Packers drafted him in 2022.