When Wisconsin sports fans start booing, it tends to be for good reason, and a 21-point rout at the hands of a formerly 0-2 team qualifies as a good reason. The Green Bay Packers looked shell-shocked in their Week 3 home opener against the Atlanta Falcons — a game in which they were outgained by 170 yards and possessed the ball for 15 fewer minutes than their foe on a national stage.
Packers players all reacted differently to the boos, with MarShawn Lloyd rightfully taking accountability for the team's poor performance, while others like Tucker Kraft rejected the boos outright and seemingly took them to heart. But underneath the surface of the boos themselves is a much more important question about whether the boos were justified.
Given the Packers' performance through three games, compared with the expectations for this team in 2026, it's safe to say that fans' frustrations were more than justified. This is a team that's carried itself as if the goal is Super Bowl or bust in recent years. It's a talented roster with a seemingly solid coaching staff that keeps finding ways to screw up.
Everything Packers fans were concerned with last season — late-game meltdowns, inconsistent defense, offensive line woes, injuries, and depth at skill positions — remains major factors in the Packers' problems today. The only issue that was really addressed in the offseason was Green Bay's kicking, which Trey Smack is taking care of by making 5-of-6 field goal attempts thus far.
Green Bay needs a wake-up call, and if it has to come from Packers fans directly, then so be it.
Not to beat a dead horse, but a 21-point home loss on national television against an 0-2 team is boo-worthy. That part aside, we need to think a little bit more deeply about why Packers fans feel it's important to hold their franchise accountable, beyond what other teams do. This is the only show in town, and it's the only community-owned franchise in major American professional sports, so they should have a say in their own team.
To make matters even more dire, the front office doesn't seem to understand how badly it fumbled certain aspects of this offseason. From allowing the team to roll into this season with such an abysmal offensive line, to their slow reaction to the Josh Jacobs situation, extending Matt LaFleur before he could prove he's not a choker, and letting two talented wideouts walk away without considering their replacements, there's a lot to be upset about.
Sometimes, legacy franchises get so caught up in their own brand that they forget to make the necessary adjustments to live up to their name. It hasn't all been bad, as Matthew Golden has emerged as a legit WR1 option, the defense has made some exciting plays, and special teams are much improved from a year ago thus far.
But incremental improvement isn't good enough, and if the Packers faithful can't hold their team accountable, then who can?
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