GREEN BAY, Wis. – Fresh off the bye and a week looking for ways to improve, the Green Bay Packers returned Monday to begin their eight-week journey to the NFL playoffs.

While there is little margin for error in the NFC, there are three areas the Packers need to improve to get back to the postseason and perhaps make their first Super Bowl appearance since 2010.

Jordan Love’s Productivity

Will the real Jordan Love please stand up?

These statistical comparisons provide some easy symmetry.

1-9. Games, 2023: 58.7 percent, 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, 6.7 yards per attempt – 80.5 passer rating (27th among 34 quarterbacks in 100 attempts).

10-17, 2023: 70.3 percent, 18 touchdowns and one interception, 7.7 yards per attempt – 112.7 passer rating (2nd among 33 quarterbacks per 100 attempts).

1-9. Games, 2024: 61.3 percent, 15 touchdowns against 10 interceptions, 7.6 yards per attempt – 88.2 passer rating (22nd among 36 quarterbacks per 100 attempts).

Love performed better in the first half of this season than in the first half of last season due to knee and groin injuries. But Love’s dominance last season has only been disappointing heading into this season. Instead of taking a step forward, he took a significant step back.

Having a bye week for Love to regain his health and for the coaching staff to come up with a solution, will he resemble the point guard who took the league by storm in the second half of last season? If so, the Packers can make a run to the Super Bowl. Otherwise, the Packers’ failure to meet expectations will be just the tip of the iceberg.

The Packers swear they aren’t alarmed by Love’s statistical regression. But it’s a very bad statistic: after having one interception in 279 pass attempts in the final eight games of last season, he has 10 pass attempts in 240 attempts this season.

“We see him every day. We see how he works, how he focuses, what he does,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said. “I think every tackle is a little bit different. I’m not really interested in that. It needs to be better. I think we all know this. But at the same time, I’m not overly worried. The way he works, the way he gets things done, I think it’s only a matter of time.”

This better be true. Even if Love’s numbers aren’t evenly distributed due to his time on the sideline and he has just 10 tackles in nine games, he’s on pace to make 18.8 tackles. Rounding the number to 18, the only quarterback in the last decade to throw 18 interceptions and lead his team to the playoffs was the Bills’ Josh Allen last season, who threw 29 touchdowns and 18 picks to help Buffalo go 11-6.

Challenge of Defense Stars

The Packers defense counts seven first-round picks. Three of them are among the five highest paid actors on the list.

Defensive tackle Kenny Clark (2016), who is coming off his third Pro Bowl season and was given a contract extension at the start of training camp that made him the 12th highest-paid player at the position, has zero sacks.

Cornerback Jaire Alexander (2018), a two-time second-team All-Pro who ranks third in annual salary, missed three games due to injuries.

Defensive end Rashan Gary (2019), who was given a contract extension midseason last year that made him the eighth-highest paid edge linebacker, has 2.5 sacks but only a half-sack where he can actually beat his blocker.

Cornerback Eric Stokes (2021) is a part-time player who hasn’t broken up a pass since his rookie season.

Linebacker Quay Walker (2022) is the team’s signal-calling middle linebacker, who leads the team in tackles but makes no tackles, passing defensive passes or forcing fumbles and often being one step behind in coverage.

Defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt (2022) had three sacks and six tackles for loss despite missing four games with an ankle injury.

Defensive end Lukas Van Ness (2023) has one sack. Among 85 edge defenders who have completed at least 125 passes, he ranks 84th in PFF’s pass-rushing productivity; This also ranks 74th in pass-rush win rate when measuring sacks, hits and hurries per pass rush.

Green Bay’s defense has been mediocre for years; Even when players like Clark, Gary and Alexander are at their best.

This year’s defense continues to be mediocre; Five of these seven players are performing disappointingly and the other two are out due to injuries.

The passing offense, which had a strong performance during training camp and joint practice against Baltimore, has been a major disappointment.

What went wrong?

“You have to tell me,” Gary said after practice on Monday.

Reminding him that he was a professional so he could have a better answer, Gary replied:

“I don’t know. We’re just hustling, doing what we have to do. The numbers will come. The numbers, people get it wrong. Put on the tape, see how we play, see how we dominate, see how we put pressure on the quarterbacks. If we continue to play our style of football, the numbers will go up.”

The season will depend on it.

Situational Deficiencies

Green Bay ranks third in total offense and 12th in total defense. He has the fourth-best margin in the league, outscoring opponents by 70.6 yards per game, and has a six-plus margin in turnovers.

The Packers really need to dominate. So what is the disconnect?

Easy.

They rank 19th in offensive third downs and 30th in the red zone.

On defense, they rank a perfect sixth on third downs and 20th in the red zone.

Of the 14 teams that would make the playoffs if the season ended today, only the Packers are 20th or worse in both red zone categories.

Last year, with Love leading the charge, the Packers ranked 19th in the red zone and first in touchdowns scored. Last year, with Joe Barry running the defense, the Packers were ranked sixth in the red zone.

Other than turnovers, the easiest way to lose games is to kick a field goal and give up a goal. The Packers leave a lot of production on the field.

Gutekunst acknowledged this fact when asked after the trade deadline what he wanted to see in the second half of the season.

“I think there is more consistency and maybe a little bit better in situational football,” he said. “I think that’s the kind of team you have to be to be a team that can go deep in the playoffs and compete for a title. That’s what we’re working for and I think these guys are having some really good moments, but you’ve got to be consistent with it (and) be able to call on it when you need it.”

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