Sports Analysis
The Green Bay Packers are back near the top after a four-game winning streak. The Packers have had a rocky start to the 2024-25 season. After their upsetting losses to the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil and their home game loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Packers fans were starting to worry about the consistency of Jordan Love.
Last year in the postseason, the Packers were defeated by the San Francisco 49ers in a three-point game after a colossal interception thrown by Love. After the game, Love spoke on his and the team’s hope to take it all the way to the Super Bowl this year.
“We’re all very hungry for this upcoming year,” Love said on The Pivot Podcast. “The confidence from top to bottom is there. The organization believes that it’s the perfect time to have a chance to win a Super Bowl this year. Those conversations we had after the 49ers game were, ‘Man, work harder. Try and find ways to get better because next year we’re gonna do it.’”
Packers fans were hoping Love would be able to turn these hopes into a reality, but so far this season, that has proved harder than expected. This year, the Packers have been plagued by injuries, including Love’s. Love has been in and out with a lower leg injury earlier in the season and a groin injury he incurred in the Packers’ game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Although the Packers have second string quarterback Malik Willis, who has proved his talent winning both games that he played as Green Bay’s starting quarterback, fans are hoping for a healthy Love to return to the field.
Through the Packers’ rocky season, after Week 8 they still have a 6-2 record with a .750 winning percentage. Although this winning percentage may be enough to lead some divisions, the NFC North has proven to be one of the toughest divisions this year. The Chicago Bears have the lowest winning percentage in the NFC North at .571, which is still larger than any team in the NFC West and NFC South. After the Vikings lost to the Lions and the Rams, the Packers secured second in the NFC North.
Green Bay has been looking hot the past few games with a four-game winning streak against the Rams in Week 5, Cardinals in Week 6, Texans in Week 7 and Jaguars in Week 8. The Packers are hoping to keep the streak going with upcoming games against the Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins.
The Packers game against the Texans and Jaguars were both too close for comfort for most Packer fans.
Their win against Houston is attributed to new Packers kicker Brandon McManus. McManus had signed with the Packers just earlier that week to replace rookie Brayden Narveson. Since Mason Crosby, the Packers played with two rookies: Anders Carlson last year and Narveson this year. Both Carlson and Narveson were below par and contributed heavily to some Packers losses. So far, McManus is proving to perform better than both of his predecessors after making a 45-yard field goal in the last seconds of the Packers vs. Texans game to secure a win for his team in his first week as a Packer.
After the game, McNamus commented on his role in the win saying he is, “super excited to be here…What a way to help this team win in my first game here at Lambeau field.”
Although there’s much more season left, the Packers are looking up and are preparing for the next games ahead of them. Fans can only hope Love’s motivation after last season’s loss is still present and that the team is ready to take on the rest of the NFC North division.
