The Green Bay Packers are 11-6, and they’re in the NFC playoffs. For many organizations across the NFL, that would be a massive win. Expectations are higher in Green Bay, though.

There’s a reason they call it “Title Town,” and there’s a reason the shiny trophy awarded to the winner of the Super Bowl is named after their legendary head coach, Vince Lombardi.

Super Bowls are the expectation in Green Bay, and anything less is a disappointment.

To that end, the 2024-25 Packers do, at the very least, have the opportunity to compete for Super Bowl LIX. That campaign starts on Wild Card weekend against the second-seeded Philadelphia Eagles on the road.

Limping into the playoffs as the Packers are, though, was not the expectation for this young and supposedly “up and coming” Green Bay team.

With the second half of the season Jordan Love had in 2023, combined with Green Bay’s surprise playoff appearance and win over the Dallas Cowboys in last year’s playoffs, there was an expectation that this Packers team was ready to be a Super Bowl contender.

And again, technically, they are. Technically, they’ve got the same chance to win it all as the Kansas City Chiefs or Detroit Lions.

Being in the dance is half the battle because you can’t win it all if you’re not in the playoffs.

That’s all fine and dandy, but the eye test hasn’t been there for this Packers team, and that hasn’t been more evident than in the past two games.

The final score of their contest against the Minnesota Vikings was 27-25 but according to the eye test, Green Bay didn’t even belong on the same field against that one.

Against the Chicago Bears in Week 18, the Packers played an uninspiring and sloppy game that led to a 24-22 last-second loss.

The loss broke an 11-game winning streak the Packers had over the Bears and left Green Bay searching for answers rather than riding momentum heading into the playoffs.

“Right now, it’s not good enough,” star safety Xavier McKinney said after the game, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.

It’s not good enough right now for the Pack, but there are three ways, in particular, where it hasn’t been good enough all season for Green Bay.

Super Bowls are the expectation in Green Bay, and anything less is a disappointment.

To that end, the 2024-25 Packers do, at the very least, have the opportunity to compete for Super Bowl LIX.

That campaign starts on Wild Card weekend against the second-seeded Philadelphia Eagles on the road.

Limping into the playoffs as the Packers are, though, was not the expectation for this young and supposedly “up and coming” Green Bay team.

With the second half of the season Jordan Love had in 2023, combined with Green Bay’s surprise playoff appearance and win over the Dallas Cowboys in last year’s playoffs, there was an expectation that this Packers team was ready to be a Super Bowl contender.

And again, technically, they are. Technically, they’ve got the same chance to win it all as the Kansas City Chiefs or Detroit Lions.

Being in the dance is half the battle because you can’t win it all if you’re not in the playoffs.

That’s all fine and dandy, but the eye test hasn’t been there for this Packers team, and that hasn’t been more evident than in the past two games.

The final score of their contest against the Minnesota Vikings was 27-25 but according to the eye test, Green Bay didn’t even belong on the same field against that one.

Against the Chicago Bears in Week 18, the Packers played an uninspiring and sloppy game that led to a 24-22 last-second loss. The loss broke an 11-game winning streak the Packers had over the Bears and left Green Bay searching for answers rather than riding momentum heading into the playoffs.

“Right now, it’s not good enough,” star safety Xavier McKinney said after the game, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.

It’s not good enough right now for the Pack, but there are three ways, in particular, where it hasn’t been good enough all season for Green Bay.

The Packers’ wide receivers were inconsistent as can be

Yes, Love threw some bad footballs, but he also was dealt a tough hand as far as his wide receivers were concerned. Heading into 2024, it was thought that one of Green Bay’s advantages was having several players who “could” step up at any time at wideout rather than having a true No. 1 receiver.

In fact, head coach Matt LaFleur said the idea of having a No. 1 wideout made him sick.

He’s probably feeling sick after this two game skid, though, especially with the context of the season-long inconsistency from his wide receiver room.

Christian Watson caught just 29 passes. Sure, he turned that into 620 yards on 21.4 yards per catch, but he found the end zone only twice, and now his future is once again up in the air due to injury

Romeo Doubs caught 46 passes for 601 yards and four touchdowns, but he also struggled with consistency in 2024, and he had a personal issue that cost him a game. That’s not to mention injury.

Jayden Reed has displayed superstar potential at times for the Packers, and he led the team with catches and yards with 55 for 857 (six touchdowns).

He also displayed a drop and fumble problem in 2024, though, and he went the whole month of December plus Green Bay’s one game in January without a touchdown.

Green Bay’s wideouts just haven’t been good enough.

The Packers’ pass rush has been nonexistent

Speaking of inconsistency, Green Bay’s pass rush was arguably the top reason the Packers lost six games in 2024.

There were times when the Packers got after the quarterback, but oftentimes, that was against bad teams with bad offensive lines and so-so quarterbacks behind those lines.

For instance, they sacked Levis eight times in Week 3. On the flip side, they didn’t notch a single sack against Jared Goff in their two losses against the Lions, and they sacked Sam Darnold just a combined four times in their two losses to the Vikings.

Rashan Gary, fresh off a contract extension in 2023, notched just 7.5 sacks. He’s being paid to be an elite pass rusher, but he’s never had a season with over 9.5 sacks.

Lukas Van Ness was 2023’s first-round pick and he was expected to contribute in a big way to the pass rush this season, but he notched just three sacks.

That lack of pass rush just doesn’t cut it, and the Packers may quickly find out against the Eagles that it won’t cut it in the playoffs, either.