‘4 Downs’ with Rich: the Green Bay Packers’ Biggest Questions Heading into the ‘26 NFL Season

Working backward through the draft order means the Four Downs series has finally reached the teams with Super Bowl aspirations. Green Bay qualifies, which makes the questions harder rather than easier.

First down is the backfield. What is the deal with Josh Jacobs, is a suspension coming, and what exactly is going on there? Availability has been an issue for him before, and MarShawn Lloyd's availability has been a question of its own. That matters more in Green Bay than most places, because Matt LaFleur's opening 15-play script has leaned on handing the ball to Jacobs early and often. A team that loves to come out of the gate needs to know who is taking those carries.

Second down belongs to Micah Parsons. The timeline is the strange part. Parsons blew out his knee before Patrick Mahomes got hurt and before George Kittle tore his Achilles, and yet Mahomes is expected back week one, Kittle is expected back week one, Daniel Jones is expected back week one, and Parsons is starting on the PUP list with week six the earliest realistic return.

So which version shows up? A second straight Green Bay season that opens on a snap count for him, or the guy who sat on his podcast at Fanatics Fest next to Myles Garrett and said he has a 20-sack season in him? The Packers would very much like the latter, particularly since Rashan Gary sat in this studio as a member of the Dallas Cowboys about 20 minutes earlier.

Third down is the receiver room, and it's time for the golden hour. Dontayvion Wicks is in Philadelphia now. Romeo Doubs is in New England. What's left is Christian Watson, whose availability comes into question, Jayden Reed, who is genuinely good when healthy, Tucker Kraft coming off a knee injury, and Matthew Golden, who saved his best performance of the year for the playoff loss to Chicago.

Golden needs that to be the floor, not the ceiling. Weeks one through 18, not one January afternoon. Every year the Packers insist everybody eats and everybody catches passes, which is charming until you're trying to figure out who actually comes to the fore for a generationally talented quarterback. Losing Jeff Hafley as defensive coordinator is part of the same conversation about what this roster looks like now.

Fourth down is the uncomfortable one. Will the postseason doldrums end?

Assuming the Packers are a playoff team is not safe, exactly, but it's wise. Good roster, good coach, terrific young quarterback, plus the usual pile of ifs and buts. The problem is what has happened once they get there. Jordan Love arrived ahead of schedule, made the playoffs and won a playoff game, then lost in the divisional round to Brock Purdy. Since that night, Green Bay has been one and done in back-to-back postseasons.

Here is the number that should get Packers fans' attention. Love has now lost three playoff games in a row, and the franchise has never had a three-game postseason losing streak. Not once. This fan base is watching something it has never had to sit through, and in this era, not winning in the postseason curdles fast. Just look at what Pittsburgh's fan base sounds like.

None of which puts LaFleur on a hot seat, at least not from this chair. It just means a team capable of winning the division and running all the way to SoFi has to answer the same question it keeps failing to answer.