I’m well aware that we’ve only reached the halfway point of the 2026 season and so much can change in the NFL, especially at the back end of the year.
But I’m now starting to believe the Green Bay Packers can make a serious run and they have emerged as true contenders in the NFC.
Sunday’s 45-27 win over the New England Patriots in Foxborough was a statement victory and it was a win that showed the Packers to be a complete team.
Jordan Love is playing as well as any quarterback in the NFL this season and he backed it up on Sunday on a big stage in a game being called by Tom Brady as he threw for 372 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.
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He could not look more comfortable right now. He’s in his bag, he’s playing with confidence, he’s playing calmly and it looks like he has no fear.
That’s what’s incredible when you look at the success of Jordan Love. It’s not dinking and dunking, it is attacking downfield at a more prolific rate than any other quarterback in the NFL.
And he has the guys that can make the plays on the other end. Matthew Golden and Christian Watson both went over 150 receiving yards on Sunday and they both have emerged as true game-breaking wide receivers.
Now you could say that Golden went into Week Nine leading the NFL with seven drops but then look at some of the catches he’s tried to make. Again I think it goes back to that aggressive nature of the Packers.
He’s not catching 10-yard curl routes or 10-yard crossers over the middle. He’s quite often having to track a football that’s traveling 50 or 60 yards in the air with the defensive back draped all over him.
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So it wasn’t that long ago we looked at the Packers with four or five wide receiver targets and said they’ve got a collection of players but they don’t have a true number one. Well they might have something approaching two number ones now in Watson and Golden.
Defensively I felt like they’ve been dangerous all year and they showed it on Sunday, pouncing early for the interception of Drake Maye – who regressed on a huge stage. Of all the days for Drake Maye to have a nightmare, Tom Brady’s calling the game up in the booth – a reminder of the gigantic shoes to fill in New England.
But this is what the Packers do on defense. They rush the passer really well. They harass teams into mistakes and then they are opportunistic. Four takeaways on Sunday was no fluke.
What they did in Foxborough was what they’ve done all season long, and they still have one of the most prolific pass rushers in the game to return providing Micah Parsons comes back at full speed.
He has taken his time coming back from the knee injury and should be targeting a Thanksgiving week (3:03) return to action.
If that boost comes at the right time then I think the Packers have all the tools to make a serious run come January and I think they’re more than capable, based on what we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks, of extending that run all the way into February and you know what that means – the Super Bowl.
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