A concerning trend has emerged for the Green Bay Packers on defense amidst their 3-1-1 start to the 2025 season: their shaky to downright bad defensive performance in the second half of games. Despite having one of the best defenses in the NFL through the first six weeks of the season, their output in the second half of games — starting with Week 3 against the Browns — has been alarmingly poor.
Dating back to that matchup with the Browns, since the middle of the 4th quarter, they’ve allowed scoring drives on 10 of 12 second-half possessions. The breakdown goes as follows: six touchdowns, four field goals, one missed field goal, and only one punt. In total, they have allowed 80 points in the second half and overtime through their first five games.
Compare that to the first half? Only 20 points allowed — including two first halves where they held opponents scoreless. Over the past three games, the Packers have allowed 18.3 points per game after halftime, the second-most in the NFL, behind only the 1-5 Baltimore Ravens. Including the 4th quarter and overtime, Green Bay’s 13.7 points allowed per game is the worst in the league. Even with all that, their first-half dominance has kept their overall scoring defense respectable — the Packers currently rank 10th in the NFL in fewest points allowed per game with 20.4.
So what’s causing this issue, and what can they do to fix it? That’s something they’ll need to uncover — and quickly — before it starts costing them games down the stretch or in the playoffs.
For the sake of argument, let’s take out the first two games of the season against the Lions and Commanders. In both games, the Packers were operating with a sizable lead, and one could understand a less aggressive defensive approach, aimed at keeping plays in front of them. When that happens, you're bound to give up yardage in the interest of keeping the clock moving — eventually, that leads to points, which is exactly what happened.
The real focus should be on the Browns, Cowboys, and Bengals games.
In the first halves of the Browns and Bengals matchups, the Packers' defense dominated and pitched shutouts. Neither offense — ironically, both led by Joe Flacco — could get anything going. At times, they struggled to even move the ball. Late in the first half of the Bengals game, the broadcast noted that Cincinnati had just one first down — and I was surprised they even had that.
Once the second half got underway, it was a completely different story.
The Bengals took the kickoff and marched down the field to score a touchdown and get right back into the game — while bleeding nearly 10 minutes off the clock. Their next two drives resulted in a field goal and another touchdown, including a two-point conversion. Just like that, what looked like a comfortable Packers win turned into another sweaty-palmed afternoon for Packer fans and a game that disaster written all over it.
An even more concerning outcome came in their shocking loss to the Browns. The Packers held them scoreless for the first 56 minutes of that game — only to give up 13 unanswered points in the final minutes and lose. Yes, an ugly interception by Jordan Love handed the Browns a short field, but the defense then allowed Flacco to drive into field goal range for the game-winner with relative ease. One pass breakup or one sack, and that game is over.
Against the Cowboys, the defense completely self-destructed in the second half. After jumping out to a quick 13-0 lead, the defense helped squander it (aided by another turnover from the offense). From the second half through overtime, the Cowboys scored on every drive. Part of that was the play of superstar QB Dak Prescott, who was on one for most of that game. Part of it was poor performance from the defensive line after Devonte Wyatt left the game, along with subpar cornerback play. When your two most important defensive units underperform, the entire group suffers. Losing one player — even someone as important as Wyatt — shouldn’t derail everything, but it did.
So what are the Packers doing — or what can they do — to address these issues?
Matt LaFleur and Jeff Hafley are trying to figure that out — and fast.
“That’s something Haf and I were kind of nitpicking, like why is it happening?” LaFleur said this week. “Because if you look at the scoring differential — I just looked at it — I think in the first quarter throughout the course of the season, we’ve scored 24 points and the opposition scored zero. And then it’s the same — I mean, there’s a big discrepancy in the second quarter as well. But the second half? I think we’re minus-6 on the season.”
It’s not often that a team with a winning record has a negative point differential in the second half.
One suggestion LaFleur mentioned was team conditioning.
“Are we running out of gas? Obviously, they got the ball to start the second half, they go on that 18-play drive or whatever, ate up damn near 10 minutes on the clock. I don’t know, does that gas you out? Does that make you more tired? Do we need to roll more guys in the first half? That could be a possibility.”
In the Cowboys game, both offenses were scoring at will and basically played an entire 5th quarter. In a hot environment like Dallas, that can wear you out. The Browns game? That’s a harder sell. But if LaFleur and Hafley believe conditioning is the issue, maybe quicker substitutions in the first half could help keep guys fresh.
The easiest solution on paper? Force more turnovers.
Turnovers can cure a lot of defensive issues. They keep the opponent off the field, prevent points, and give your own defense a breather. Through five games, the Packers defense has only forced two takeaways (both interceptions) and are one of just three teams in the league without a forced turnover after halftime. The others? The Dolphins and Jets — who are a combined 1-11.
At this point, I think it’s safe to say the Packers are a good team — one likely headed to the playoffs, with Super Bowl potential. The defense has the ability to take over games and lead them to victory. It also has the ability to disappear and lose them games.
Whether the issue is fatigue, a lack of turnovers, or something even more complex, it needs to be fixed — and fixed quickly — so fans aren’t left with yet another disappointing playoff exit come January.