With the first month of the season in the books, there are a few teams that haven't exactly lived up to the hype. Sure, you can look at teams like the Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans -- who are both still winless this year -- as some of the biggest disappointments through the early stages of the 2026 season, but don't sleep on the Green Bay Packers either. Despite emerging from the first month at 2-2, these Cheeseheads don't exactly pass the smell test.
It's been a slog for the Packers, and they haven't instilled much confidence as far as any serious threat in the NFC North. After coming into the year with the second-best odds to win the division and favored to reach double-digit wins on the year, their .500 record feels hollow, with their 17-14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4 serving as the latest piece of evidence pointing to that fact. They nearly let undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels -- who started in place of the injured Baker Mayfield -- beat them at the last minute because of self-inflicted wounds.
For instance, they committed two fourth-quarter turnovers with a mere field goal lead, basically daring Tampa Bay to pull off the upset. The first was a fumble by Kaleb Johnson, and then, on the very next possession, Jordan Love needlessly tossed the ball into a high-traffic area, and the pass was picked off by Bucs corner Jacob Parish. ANOTHER TAMPA BAY TAKEAWAY 🔥@GBvsTB on FOX/FOX OneStream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/VVfqSCPHii Despite those golden opportunities, Daniels and company couldn't capitalize, first punting, then turning the ball over on downs after those two turnovers.
Had they been facing a more capable quarterback instead of a UDFA, we could be looking at a different result. As has been the case throughout the year to this point, the Packers have had two adversaries every week: the opposition and themselves. On Sunday, they committed 10 total penalties, bringing their total to 42 infractions for the year (second-most in the NFL).
Their 344 total penalty yards also lead the league. That's not a characteristic of a true playoff contender. When they're not having laundry thrown at them, the offense hasn't inspired much fear in opposing defenses.
They average just 18.3 points per game, which is their lowest through the first four weeks of the season since 2006. They're also last in the NFL with a 26.1% conversion rate on third down, while their rushing yards per game average (3.2) is near the bottom of the barrel as well. Their defense is allowing a 48.2% conversion rate on third down (fourth-highest in the NFL), so it's not great on either side of the ball right now.
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