GREEN BAY, Wis. -- If the first half of the season said anything about the Green Bay Packers, it's that they have a potential playoff team that probably won't win the NFC North.
At 6-3, they're in a far better position at their bye week than they were at this time last season when they were 3-6 and needed to win six of their last eight games to make the playoffs as the final seed.
But in terms of the NFC North, they're still in a heap of trouble -- much like they were a year ago.
They've played two division games and lost them both. Worse yet, both came at Lambeau Field, at the hands of the division rival Minnesota Vikings in Week 4 and the Detroit Lions last Sunday. The same thing happened last season, and they returned the favor by winning in Detroit and Minnesota and sweeping the Bears to finish 4-2 in North games on the way to earning the seventh and final playoff spot in the NFC.
This is the first time since 2005 that the Packers have started division play 0-2, and they have now lost five of their past six home NFC North games. This after coach Matt LaFleur went 15-3 in the division over his first three seasons.
"It's not good," Packers safety Xavier McKinney said. "We don't want to lose any games, especially not division games. So we put ourselves in a hole being 0-2 in the division. Luckily we play the Lions again, we play the Vikings again. We gotta take care of our business next time that we play these teams."
With the Lions (7-1) and Vikings (6-2) ahead of them, here are four things the Packers need to change to go on another second-half run to the playoffs:
Interceptions
Jordan Love has missed 2½ games, yet his 10 interceptions are tied for most in the NFL with Geno Smith who has 10 in nine games. One more and Love will match his total from all last regular season. He had similar issues in the first half of 2023, although that was chalked up to being a first-year starter. He curtailed it, throwing one pick in the last eight games.
Two of his interceptions, including one Sunday against the Lions, have been returned for touchdowns. Love was flushed out of the pocket on both pick-sixes due to breakdowns in protection and should have taken a more conservative approach.
"I think he would agree with you that in that situation, he's just got to throw the ball away and live to play the next down," LaFleur said. "I do think that one of his strengths is his ability to make off-schedule [plays] and not wanting to give up on a play, and I admire that. But I think it's just, you've got to factor in the situations."
Dropped passes
With five more drops in Sunday's loss to the Lions, albeit in rainy conditions, the Packers lead the league with 20. Their drop percentage also is the highest in the league at 7.4%, according to ESPN Research.
Dontayvion Wicks leads the NFL with eight drops, including two against the Lions. One of those would have been a first down on third-and-3, and the other came on third-and-1 from the Lions' 9-yard line that would've been a touchdown. The ball was thrown slightly behind Wicks, but it was catchable. Instead, the Packers turned it over on downs on the next play.
"I think it just comes back to the fundamentals," LaFleur said. "Hey, listen, I get it. It was a wet day, and that's never an excuse. I do think that when you look at some of the drops ... our fundamentals weren't necessarily right -- the way we coach it and the way we drill it in terms of being aggressive with your hands -- and we were letting that ball get into our body too much."
WR Jayden Reed has five drops; WR Romeo Doubs and TE Tucker Kraft have three each.
Penalties
This wasn't a problem during LaFleur's first four seasons. They were never among the most penalized teams in the league. In 2021, they were the least penalized team in the NFL.
After tying for sixth-most penalties (113) in the league last season, they're once again sixth in the league in penalties with 66.
They're tied for fourth in most offensive penalties (37), tied for eighth in most defensive penalties (21) and tied for 10th in most special teams penalties (eight).
Pre-snap penalties -- the ones that LaFleur called "a lack of focus" -- have been especially problematic. They have the most defensive pre-snap penalties (nine) and have the sixth-most offensive pre-snap penalties (19).
Sometimes, it's the timing of the penalties that hurt more than the actual lost yardage. In the second quarter on Sunday against the Lions, the Packers had picked up 30 yards, thanks to a pair of personal foul penalties that led to Detroit's Brian Branch getting ejected, and on the very next play, Doubs false started. The Packers did not get a first down after that and came away with zero points after a missed field goal.
"We've had far too many of those," LaFleur said.
Something similar happened on defense. The Lions had fourth-and-goal at the Packers' 5-yard line when defensive tackle T.J. Slaton jumped and was flagged for encroachment. With half the distance to the goal line gained, the Lions scored a touchdown on the next play.
"They got us in a critical situation where I don't think they were going to run a play, and we jumped offsides, and it allowed them to go for it, and they made a play on fourth down," LaFleur said.
Pass rush
By most measures, the Packers' defense has improved under first-year coordinator Jeff Hafley, in large part because of forced turnovers. Green Bay has 18 takeaways on defense (and one on special teams) to lead the league. The Packers already have surpassed last year's total for the entire season.
But the pass rush could use a little jolt, since it ranks a middling 15th in the league in pressure rate (the percentage of dropbacks in which the quarterback was sacked, hit or under duress) and opposing quarterbacks have had the fourth-most time in the pocket in the league.
It didn't come via trade. In fact, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst shipped out defensive end Preston Smith to Pittsburgh for a seventh-round pick and did not add anyone. While they need more from the highly paid Rashan Gary (2.5 sacks), it will mean more opportunities for former first-round pick Lukas Van Ness plus Kingsley Enagbare and Brenton Cox Jr.
"I think from that entire group, we need more from those guys as we move forward into the second half of the season, and I think we'll get that," Gutekunst said after the trade deadline passed. "They gotta continue to keep pushing, and I think the addition of some of these guys getting some more snaps will help that."
Perhaps Hafley will have to get more creative. While he has shown a liking for sending nontraditional pass rushers, such as defensive backs and linebackers after the quarterback, he has not often sent more than four rushers. In fact, his blitz rate (defined as sending five or more pass rushers) is fifth lowest in the league at 19.6%.
"This is the first year in this defense, so there's always some kinks to work out," Gutekunst said. "I expect a lot of those guys in the second half of the season."