Green Bay Packers Fans, Relax; It’s Week 1 Of The Preseason
Preseason football is a strange beast. On one hand, it’s undeniably exciting to see your team take the field after months of anticipation. On the other hand, expectations can mislead you, especially when things don’t go according to plan. Case in point—fans of the Green Bay Packers are reeling after their preseason loss to the New York Jets on August 9, 2025.
A sluggish offense, a defense that couldn’t quite contain the Jets’ playmaking, and dropped opportunities all coalesced into a performance that felt like a disappointment to the faithful Cheeseheads. But here’s the thing—it’s preseason. And while the frustration is understandable, it’s important to pull back and keep things in perspective.
Green Bay Packers: Déjà Vu from Preseason 2024
For longtime Green Bay Packers fans, the sky-is-falling reaction to a preseason loss might feel eerily familiar. Flashback to just a year ago, when Green Bay faced the Denver Broncos in a similarly rough matchup. The Packers didn’t score a single touchdown that day, which prompted plenty of panicked grumbles about the offense’s viability heading into the season. They only managed two points, and that was the second preseason game.
And how did that work out? They finished 11-6, making the playoffs for the second consecutive year with Love under center.
If there’s one thing Packers fans should have learned from last year, it’s this simple truth—preseason wins and losses are about as predictive of regular-season success as the flip of a coin. It’s not about the scoreline but rather the opportunity for the coaching staff to evaluate talent, test new systems, and shake off some offseason rust.
Growing Pains Are a Good Thing
Look, no one wants to lose—even in the preseason. But treating mistakes and struggles as warning sirens does a disservice to what preseason football is all about. These games serve three main purposes:
- Experimentation: Coaches get the chance to be bold with their playcalling and personnel. Packages that might be too high-risk during the regular season are put on display in these lower-stakes moments.
- Development: For younger players adjusting to the pro level, this is a prime opportunity to make mistakes, learn, and grow. Jordan Love looked a bit shaky at times against the Jets—it happens. But the more reps he gets, the better he’ll be when Week 1 rolls around.
- Evaluation: Preseason is when the roster battles come to life. Does that position group have solid depth? Is that rookie ready to contribute? Counts like these can only truly be settled on the field.
For the Packers, the loss to the Jets highlights areas of improvement but shouldn’t overshadow the long-term goals for this team.
Offensive Rust Isn’t Cause for Panic
Much of the angst from the Jets game focuses on the offense. Love didn’t look crisp, the offensive line missed a few key assignments, and the receivers dropped a couple of catchable balls. It wasn’t pretty.
But anyone looking at these struggles as proof of impending doom is missing the larger picture. Preseason games are often disjointed by design. Starters see limited time, rotations are fluid, and the execution is rarely polished. What matters is the process, not the outcome.
Last year, the same criticisms were lobbed at Green Bay’s offense after the loss to Denver. Yet, when it counted, they found their rhythm and became a top-10 scoring unit over the course of the season. Could the same be true this year? Absolutely.
Defensive Lapses Highlight Work-in-Progress Areas
Green Bay’s defense didn’t escape the magnifying glass, either. Struggles against the Jets’ second-team offense disappointed some fans, especially with a few long completions allowed in the secondary. But here’s the reality—preseason defenses are notoriously vanilla. Coordinators avoid revealing their hand, sticking instead to basic schemes.
Once the regular season arrives, you’ll see the Packers deploy more complex looks designed to fluster opposing quarterbacks. Rest assured, defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley will use the tape from this game as a teaching tool. Teams that can identify and correct their flaws in August win games in November.
The Optimistic Takeaway
While hard to see after a frustrating game, adversity is an essential part of success. Preseason obstacles give players and coaches the opportunity to refine their craft. Last year, the Green Bay Packers used its preseason flop as a springboard for improvement. There’s every chance the Jets game will serve the same purpose.
This Packers team is loaded with talent, from a promising quarterback in Jordan Love to a stacked corps of skill players. Add in a defense brimming with upside, and the foundation for a strong season remains intact.
Final Thoughts
Green Bay Packers fans, take a deep breath and step back from the ledge. A preseason loss doesn’t mean the sky is falling, no matter how discouraging certain moments feel in the short term. If anything, rough games like these are exactly what the team needs to address weaknesses before the games start to count.
Remember Denver last year? The lack of touchdowns and disconnect on the field felt catastrophic for exactly one week—until Green Bay found its stride when it mattered most. Trust the process, and trust that the Packers will use this preseason tune-up for exactly what it is—a chance to grow, learn, and improve.
