While their 1-1 record doesn't look too bad, this is not how the Green Bay Packers expected the start of their 2026 campaign would look. While the defense and special teams have shown great promise despite a few hiccups along the way, the offense has fallen off a cliff between penalties, injuries, and mounting expectations.
That's why Green Bay's home opener against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3 offers such a fantastic opportunity. We can wash away the early-season woes and focus on what's next if the Packers can come out of Thursday Night Football with a 2-1 record for the season.
But if the Packers fall short and drop a game against one of the most dreadful teams in the league thus far, the narratives will spiral out of control, and this will begin to look like a lost season. That's a lot of pressure for Week 3, but that's where the Packers stand if these four individuals don't step up when the lights are brightest.
1. MarShawn Lloyd's role in Green Bay is slipping away.
Slated as the starting running back for the Packers entering the season, MarShawn Lloyd's tenure in Green Bay has been nothing but 'what-ifs' to this point. The team has always been optimistic about him despite injuries getting in the way of his chance to make any real impact on the field. Now that he's getting his chance, we haven't seen anything that makes Lloyd stand out.
If he wants to hold onto that starting role and be taken seriously in the Packers' running back room, he needs to do better than the three yards per attempt he's posted in the first two games of 2026. Otherwise, he might lose that job to second-year back Kaleb Johnson before he knows it.
2. Matt LaFleur is on thin ice and can't afford to prove his doubters right.
The media hasn't been kind to Matt LaFleur over the last few weeks. Now in his eighth year in the role, LaFleur has helped the Packers stay afloat, but hasn't seen the level of success that's been expected of him. With a 3-6 record in the postseason and a track record of letting his teams lose leads, the pressure is escalating, and LaFleur's name is being thrown out as a candidate for the chopping block.
Winning fixes everything, and if the Packers can take advantage of what should be a cake matchup on Thursday Night, the noise surrounding him should quiet down for the time being.
3. Anthony Belton needs to prove the Packers drafted the right guy.
The Packers' offensive line was already struggling, but the season-ending injury to right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele made matters all the more confusing. That thrust second-year lineman Anthony Belton into the limelight after switching between guard and tackle during the offseason, per OC Adam Stenavich. This is the opportunity he's been waiting for to put his name on the map after being picked 54th overall last year.
If Belton can help alleviate some of the pressure on Jordan Love, he's going to make a name for himself as a pro this season and ultimately carve out a place for himself in Green Bay moving forward.
4. Brandon Cisse can't give up a touchdown for the third game in a row.
Green Bay's defensive staff has not done any favors for rookie cornerback Brandon Cisse through the first two games, matching him up against Justin Jefferson and Garrett Wilson in back-to-back weeks. Unfortunately for him, the assignment won't get much easier with Drake London lining up for the Falcons this week.
Even with respect to his matchups, the optics of giving up touchdowns three weeks in a row are ugly, even for a talented first-year player trying his best. These reps will serve him very well over the course of the season and his career as a whole, but he doesn't want to look back and remember getting scored on every week as a rookie.
His mission for Week 3 should be clear: London cannot score, no matter what it takes.
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