Green Bay Packers 2025 run defense review: What went wrong

GREEN BAY, WI - DECEMBER 27: The Green Bay Packers defense had problems stopping Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (22) all night during a game between the Green Bay Packers and the Baltimore Ravens at Lambeau Field on December 27, 2025 in Green Bay, WI. (Photo by Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images In Week 15 this past season, the Green Bay Packers’ defense suffered its most brutal loss of the season to that point. No, it wasn’t that they lost a 34-26 game to Denver, but rather the loss of Micah Parsons for a team that was sitting at 9-3-1 heading into the game.

The loss of Parsons was at least partly responsible for the four-game losing streak at the end of the season, starting with that game in Denver (though to be fair, Week 18 was a wash). Even with the addition of Parsons, the Packers’ defense hovered around the middle of the league in EPA per play for most of the season. Using RBSDM EPA data, I filtered the win probability to 10-90%, eliminating garbage time scenarios to get a better look at the defense from a higher level.

In Weeks 1-4, they ranked 18th. Through Week 8, they ranked 13th, through Week 12, they ranked 17th, and through Week 16, they fell to 20th, and finished the season 24th (23rd through Week 17). Broken out by phase, they finished 22nd in EPA versus the pass and 13th in success rate.

Versus the run, they finished 18th in EPA and 28th in success rate. The run defense was suspect all season long against teams that could actually run the ball with any kind of efficiency. On early down run plays (1st and 2nd down), the Packers finished 19th in EPA/play and 28th in rushing success rate, nearly the same as their overall season ranking.