The Green Bay Packers jeopardized their chances of making the postseason with back-to-back losses. Now, two massive games await them in the final two weeks of the season to avoid a disappointing end to a season that began with lofty aspirations. Perhaps the main reason for the Packers' struggles in recent weeks has been their defense.
Dealing with significant injuries on that end of the field, the Packers put together two of their worst defensive performances of the season against the Broncos and the Bears. 400 yards against Chicago and 391 yards against Denver ranked second and third in most yards allowed for the Packers' defense. The 34 points the Broncos had in Week 15 were the second-most points a team scored against Green Bay all year.
Injuries to Micah Parsons and Devonte Wyatt can obviously be pointed to as an excuse, but the Packers also have underwhelming individual performances up and down Jeff Hafley's unit. One of those is Lukas Van Ness, who hasn't been effective since his return to action.
Lukas Van Ness Has Regressed Since His Return from Injury
After a strong start to the season, signaling a potential breakout campaign, Van Ness has been dealing with a nagging foot injury. This forced him to miss seven of eight games before Week 15. He got back in the rotation against the Broncos and has played 48 defensive snaps in the last two weeks, but failed to make the most of them.
Van Ness had a total of two tackles against the Broncos in Week 15 without any other stats in the sheet. Against the Bears, he wasn't credited with a box score stat, highlighting a lack of impact. In those two games, the third-year defender received 50.2 and 63.9 pass rush grades on Pro Football Focus, respectively.
This recent stretch has added to Packers fans' frustrations about Van Ness. The former first-round pick has failed to live up to expectations since arriving in Titletown in 2023.
On paper, the former Iowa standout has a ton of versatility, providing value to the Packers at defensive tackle and on special teams. He can line up on the edge or inside and can be disruptive in a variety of ways. In reality, however, that potential hasn't translated to the field as much as the Packers would like. He has certainly had his moments, but unless he can turn things around down the stretch, Van Ness will remain as one of the more disappointing draft picks of the Brian Gutekunst era.