Is it fair to say that may have been one of the most devastating days in Packers history? 

Now, to be sure, we’ve had our fair share of those “dark days”. The 2014 NFC Championship game in Seattle. 2015 in Denver. The 2020 NFC Championship loss to Tom Brady. And of course, the 2021 wild card loss to the 49ers in the snow, that even in the moment felt like the end of an era. And that’s only in the last decade or so. 

But there is something so especially poignant about this loss. Of course, it’s the loss of Micah Parsons. The word coming from Parsons himself is that he’ll be attempting a return at the start of next season, which would be about a full thirty days faster Watson was able to make his own speedy return. It’s quite a goal for Parsons. 

Keep in mind during the next eight months of doom and gloom that there is precedent for pass rushers to return from ACL injuries with little to no dropoff in production. Von Miller tore his ACL in sixteen in 2013 but was ready in week one of 2014, and had fourteen sacks that year. Nick Bosa had an ACL early in the 2020 season, but had twenty one sacks the next year. 

Sadly, none of that is of any further relevance to the 2025 Packers, who now have another giant presence on their “out for the year” list. Parsons joins Tucker Kraft, Devonte Wyatt and Elgton Jenkins as resources that Green Bay can no longer rely upon, and must actively work to replace, and is now the most irreplaceable Packers on that list. The Packers offense had figured out how to get rolling again, without Tucker Kraft, largely due to the emergence of Christian Watson. Elgton Jenkins’ replacement was actively playing better than he was at center. Wyatt was sorely missed, but an all pro on the outside meant opposing offenses had to devote resources to that area, instead of exploiting the interior. 

As we know, Micah Parsons was not the only loss that the Packers suffered on their way to a loss in Denver. Zach Tom, Evan Williams, Hush Whyle, and Christian Watson all left the game for good on Sunday, while Quay Walker and Nate Hobbs got banged up enough to have to leave the game for a few plays. According to Matt LaFleur, Watson, Williams and Tom will all have the chance to play on Saturday in Chicago, but the chances of seeing all of them back are probably slim. 

So, where do the Packers find themselves in this brave, new world? Probably still as a playoff team. They can clinch that spot in the tournament this weekend, with a win against the Bears and a Detroit loss to Pittsburg (wouldn’t it be appropriate for Aaron Rodgers to get us into the playoffs one last time?). 

As Green Bay turns its eyes back towards the present, it would be easy to find the team struggling to find answers to finish out the season. They could find themselves a rudderless, sinking ship in the storm of the NFC playoff race. But that won’t be the case, or at least it shouldn’t be the case. Why? Because they spent all offseason working on a plan for this exact scenario, back when they didn’t have Micah Parsons in the first place. 

The new plan is the old plan. 

That might be of little comfort to some of you, but let’s go back in time to before the Parsons trade. 

In August, the Packers had a couple of very problems. Problems that oddly enough, stack up pretty well with where the Packers may find themselves on Saturday night against the Bears. If you can remember those bleary, pre Micah Parsons days, there was a pretty specific idea for how the pass rush could have improved over the offseason, how the offense could get by without Christian Watson, and how the secondary could throw some curveballs at opponents. In fact, all of the questions all had the exact same answer. Versatility and depth. The Packers can use those same factors to beat the Bears, and get themselves into the playoffs. 

Let me explain.

We have examples of how exactly the Packers have prepared for this eventuality in all of these areas. The secondary, in particular, might be made up of some of the most versatile pieces in the league. 

If Evan WIlliams is indeed out, figuring out the plan to replace him isn’t hard. Javon Bullard likely slides into his place as a full time starter, back in the position where the Packers actually drafted him to play, while Nate Hobbs replaces him as the nickel cornerback. This realignment is actually well suited to defend a run heavy team like the Bears. Javon Bullard excelled in defending the run when coming down from the safety spot. That was really one of the areas that he was best at when coming out of the draft, and it’s continued in the pros. Meanwhile, sliding Nate Hobbs into the nickel role doesn’t leave an additional hole there either. In fact, Hobbs is the 8th highest graded cornerback against the run in the entire league this year. 

Meanwhile, the Packers have ample options at the safety spot. During the Broncos game, Zanye Anderson stepped out of his usual special teams only role to come in for the injured Williams, playing twenty snaps in Denver. Plus, another second year man in Kitan Oldapo, who I thought was extremely impressive in his playing time late last season. Thus, we have the necessary depth to weather the storm. But when we talk about the versatility that this group has on display, it comes down to the fact that Jeff Hafley can ask Xavier McKinney, Keisean Nixon, Javon Bullard, Nate Hobbs and Evan WIlliams to all play a position other than their primary role, should the need arise. That’s something that opposing offenses should be made aware of, every single week. 

On the offensive line, the formula checks out again. Should Zach Tom miss Saturday’s game, the Packers have the most options out of these scenarios. And that’s all thanks to the Packers’ already well established tradition of purposely establishing that versatility.  

First up (and most likely in my book) is Darian Kinnard, who was the team’s next man up at the position on Sunday. Since the team acquired Kinnard from the Eagles during the preseason they’ve been quick to call him up whenever the opportunity has arisen, and he’s played more this season than I think anyone could have really guessed. Before the Broncos game, he had already played 174 snaps on the year, and actually possesses the second highest PFF grade on the entire OL (only behind Tom himself). Most of Kinnard’s snaps this year have come from the team’s explosion in using 6 OL “jumbo” sets after Tucker Kraft went down, and he has already played an entire game along the offensive line in their tie against Dallas. 

Alternatively, the team could look to either Anthony Belton or Jordan Morgan to replace Tom full time, but I’d be wary of either of those options. Morgan has unfortunately shown that he is probably just more suited to playing on the left side of the line, and part of me wonders whether the team is getting him ready to rotate with Rasheed Walker at LT. Belton was drafted as a tackle, but I’d again caution against it, since he has seemed to have settled down at RG quite a bit. I’d really rather have only one player playing at a new spot, than both Morgan and Belton playing a new spot side by side. I think we’ll likely see Kinnard starting, with Belton sticking at RG and Morgan playing the role of the 6th man up in Jumbo packages. And you know what? Having to decide between a first and a second round pick to insert into a problem spot is a luxury in this league, and it’s a result of the Packers spending so much of their resources into the offensive line at all. 

At wide receiver, we have the clearest picture of all because, again, we’ve already seen exactly what the Packers will do without Christian Watson. And this time, the Packers have Jayden Reed in the lineup, who they only had for one full game last time. Since he returned from the ACL tear, Watson has played almost primarily out wide, staying in the slot for only around ⅓ of his snaps (226 to 98 snap split between playing the X and Y receiver). So, taking Jayden Reed’s return into account who can soak up all the extra slot reps, We are only needing to replace Watson’s role as a X receiver. Matthew Golden has a pretty even split of reps between slot and wide out, and there is a similar story to Dontayvion Wicks’ snaps as well. As both of those receivers look to ramp back up into the fold from their injuries, I think it’s Matthew Golden who will benefit the most from any Christian Watson absence (if he does miss any games). Looking at their splits from before Watson’s return in week 8, Matthew Golden saw his splits shift from a pretty heavy wide out load to a slot load. It’s not a far stretch to imagine it shifting that way again. 

But of course, there’s only one position that seems truly lost at the moment, and that’s the pass rush. That’s where the difficulty lies, when you try to imagine the best case scenarios for how the rest of the season might go. 

The first and most obvious answer for depth at the pass rushing spot lies with Lukas Van Ness. Who, by the way, is probably under an enormously immense, newfound burden in Green Bay. Doesn’t it just feel like the entire organization just shifted its gaze to LVN? Like he just heard everyone say “Well kid? Show us what you got.” 

It’s time for LVN to show off the breakout we’ve been waiting for, and one it seemed like he was already in the middle of before his injury. I’m not at all suggesting that he’ll replicate Micah, but I think it’s been a bit forgotten that he was looking pretty damn good for a moment there. The Cleveland game in week 3 was probably his best game as a pro in general, and it was only two games later that he was hurt. 

Meanwhile, the Packers have a litany of options behind him. Kingsley Enagbare has played extremely well for us this season, and Barryn Sorrell really has all of the physical tools that you could ask for in a pass rusher. Behind them we’ve also got the extremely physical Brenton Cox Jr and speed rusher rookie Collin Oliver, both attempting to work their way off the PUP list this week. Oliver, in particular, has a chance to earn some snaps in the Packers “cheetah” package. I think we’ll also see an increased share of pass rushing responsibilities return to Edgerrin Cooper, who did extremely well in that role during his rookie season. They haven’t asked him to do it this year because, well, they haven't needed him to do it. They do now. 

Again, none of this is to suggest that the Packers can “recreate” Micah Parsons in the aggregate, Moneyball style. They aren’t going to. The Packers’ pass rush just went from one of the team's biggest strengths to its biggest question mark. What I could possibly stomach suggesting however, is that the team might be able to put together a “playoff level” pass rush, rather than a “Super Bowl” level one. Is that enough to let the offense get scorching hot in the playoffs and carry the team? Because remember, that was the old plan too. 

We’ll find out a lot about this team on Saturday against the Bears, including some whatever fun schematical wrinkles that MLF and Jeff Hafley can throw at their oldest rivals, to prevent them from taking the NFC North crown for themselves.