The Packers Have An Obsession That's Fueling Their Fire

Winning the division is always one of the first goals on a team’s checklist to start the season, and it’s well-established at this point that the NFC North is one of the most fiercely competitive in football. So it’s not surprising to hear various members of the Green Bay Packers talking about the importance of winning their division.

What’s noteworthy, though, is just how much they continue to bring up last year as fuel to get back to being a dominant force in the NFC North, and beyond.

The Packers went 1-5 against division opponents in 2024. If not for the left paw of Karl Brooks, who blocked a would-be game-winning Chicago Bears field goal in the final seconds, Green Bay would've been 0-6.

Even in the worst season under Matt LaFleur, back in 2022 when the Packers went 8-9, they still split their divisional games 3-3. Even in seasons where the Packers don't claim the division, they always do better than 1-5. The last time they posted such a pitiful divisional record was way back in 2005.

With training camp underway, 

Later, during a SportsCenter segment, Kenny Clark echoed those sentiments.

Despite winning just one divisional game last season, the Packers still made the playoffs. Per Stathead, for all teams that have made the playoffs in NFL history, Green Bay finished tied for the worst divisional record ever. The 1989 Pittsburgh Steelers went 1-5 in their divisional games but made the playoffs with a 9-7 record.

Clearly, that is not sustainable.

Green Bay has turned that overwhelming negative into an obsession to win the division this year. Tucker Kraft said in April:

Getting to the playoffs is great. Being humbled by the Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, and Chicago Bears along the way makes a one-and-done playoff appearance a lot more deflating.

The Packers haven't won the NFC North since 2021. Minnesota sat atop the division in 2022, and Detroit has been the class for the last two years. The last time Green Bay went more than three years without a single division title? You'd have to go back to a stretch from 1998 to 2001.

Minnesota won two during that stretch, Chicago won one, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were in the division at the time, claimed a fourth. The Packers had won the previous three division titles before that four-year drought, and they went on to win three straight over the following three years.

It won't be easy by any stretch of the imagination. Some factors are working in Green Bay’s favor, but just as many are working against them. Detroit lost both its top coordinators, but the roster remains intact, and Dan Campbell is still at the controls. Minnesota will usher in a new era at quarterback with J.J. McCarthy, and Kevin O'Connell has proven to be a quarterback whisperer. Then there's Chicago, the laughingstock of the division for years, which is hoping to take a big leap forward with Ben Johnson now at the helm as the head coach.

But, as Josh Jacobs noted at the beginning of training camp,

While the NFC North should be loaded again this year, there is a golden opportunity for Green Bay to pounce.

The Packers will face the Lions in Week 1 at Lambeau Field, as Detroit introduces new offensive and defensive coordinators. Minnesota has a lot of talent, but McCarthy is still a big unknown. Chicago was aggressive in creating stability at head coach and surrounding second-year quarterback Caleb Williams with even more weapons in the offseason. Still, will the Bears really be good enough to contend for the division in 2025?

Last season was strange for Green Bay. They had a strong record and made the postseason, yet the whole experience was strangely deflating. Much of that has to do with their record in the division, and regaining the top spot in that division is the first step in returning the franchise to its former form.