Sigh.
Just when it looked like the Green Bay Packers might be genuine contenders in 2025, their old flaws reared their ugly heads.
Penalties, sloppy special teams and a sputtering offense combined for a brutal 13-10 defeat to the formerly 0-2 Cleveland Browns.
Credit to the Browns. Their defense has proven itself through three weeks and they gave the Packers a hard time they had not seen before now.
Mistakes everywhere
The Packers racked up 14 penalties. FOURTEEN! That is the sort of number you expect from a pre-season line-up, not from a team trying to prove itself as a contender.
The offensive line was a disaster. Zach Tom and Aaron Banks both left early with injuries, and the replacements simply could not cope with Cleveland’s defensive front.
Jordan Morgan was guilty of three false starts on his own. Jordan Love was sacked five times. One was on him for not throwing the ball away; the rest exposed just how overmatched this line was.
To make matters worse, Love threw a terrible interception late in the fourth quarter with just over three minutes left. All they had to do was see the game out against an opponent they should be beating but instead, the Browns were handed life.
And then, with 20 seconds left, Brandon McManus shanked a field goal to place the disgusting cherry on top of an absolute disaster cake.
Defense still delivers
The one saving grace was the defense.
Yes, the Browns offense is limited, but Jeff Hafley’s unit dominated for most of the game.
Until Love’s interception set up a short field, Cleveland had no points with under four minutes left.
Xavier McKinney grabbed his first interception of the season. Rashan Gary recorded two sacks, while the front combined for five tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hits.
A bright spot on offense
Rookie wideout Matthew Golden was a rare positive on offense.
He caught all four of his targets, including a crucial third-down grab deep in Packers territory to bail out a broken drive.
Head coach Matt LaFleur clearly wants the ball in his hands, and Golden looked like he belonged.
Where do they go from here?
The Packers set their standard with their opening two wins against Detroit and Washington. Overall, they failed to meet these standards in Cleveland.
Fourteen penalties. Bad special teams. A careless interception. A missed field goal. You cannot expect to beat good teams playing this way.
The defense is good enough to give this team a chance every single week. The offensive line most likely will not face many fronts as dominant as Cleveland’s.
But right now, it feels like this is not a one-off. These errors – particularly penalties and special teams miscues – have been happening for years, and the fear is they are simply baked into the culture.
If Green Bay still want to be taken seriously as contenders, the response next week has to be sharp.
