GREEN BAY, Wis. — One of the most important tasks for the Green Bay Packers this offseason is to find out why they suffered their late-season collapse, and why it happened for the second straight season.
That was one of the major takeaways from general manager Brian Gutekunst’s lengthy session with reporters on Wednesday that served as his annual season wrap-up address.
“We had an opportunity to kind of round into form there in the second half of the season, and obviously it didn’t work out that way,” Gutekunst said during a 38-minute news conference. “So I did think there were moments that we played at a very, very high level — championship-football-type level — but it wasn’t consistent enough. We didn’t sustain it.
“As we go into this offseason, we continue to evaluate 2025 before we get on to 2026. It’s on the front of our minds.”
The Packers were 9-3-1 heading into their Week 15 game at the Denver Broncos. All-Pro defensive end Micah Parsons tore his left ACL in that game, and the Packers never won again. They lost five straight, including the 31-27 wild-card playoff loss at Chicago — a game they led 21-3.
Gutekunst refused to blame injuries, which also included season-enders to tight end Tucker Kraft, center Elgton Jenkins and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt. He also said he doesn’t believe being the youngest team in the NFL had anything to do with it.
Still, it was the second straight season the Packers stumbled down the stretch, lost their last two regular-season games and bowed out in the opening round of the playoffs.
Nevertheless, Packers president Ed Policy gave multiyear contract extensions to Gutekunst, coach Matt LaFleur and vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball this offseason.
In LaFleur’s first five seasons, the Packers had a 25-8 record in games played in December and January, including playoffs.
“I think we’re 3-9 the last two years,” Gutekunst correctly pointed out. “So we’re looking at that from a lot of different angles to make sure that we’re playing our best football in December and January.”
As for whether LaFleur is the right coach to turn that around, Gutekunst threw his full support behind him even though he doesn’t have authority over the coach. Policy maintained the organizational structure that has both the coach and GM report to him.
“He’s an excellent football coach,” Gutekunst said. “To get where we’re going, he’s the guy we need. I think he’s as eager as anybody to get back at it. Nobody’s really satisfied, obviously, with kind of how the season ended.
“We’ve been through this before, where as soon as the season ends, you want to get started on the next one because you’re just not satisfied with where we want to be. But along with Russ, I think the three of us over the last seven years have really found a really good working relationship, where we can lean on each other and support each other. Happy obviously we’re all coming back.”
