Green Bay’s Loss To Baltimore Was A Repeat Of the 2019 NFC Title Game

Last week, Zone Coverage drew parallels between the Green Bay Packers’ late collapse against the Chicago Bears in Week 16 and the infamous 2014 NFC Championship Game loss to the Seattle Seahawks. In both games, the Packers unraveled in the fourth quarter despite holding a double-digit lead, allowing momentum to swing after a failed onside kick recovery and watching games they largely controlled slip away in the closing minutes.

A week later, it’s time to draw another parallel, this time following Green Bay’s 41–24 home loss to the Baltimore Ravens. That defeat echoes a familiar postseason failure, specifically the 2019 NFC Championship loss to the San Francisco 49ers, when the gap between Green Bay and a more physical opponent became impossible to ignore.

That year, the Packers reached the NFC title game under first-year head coach Matt LaFleur. They traveled to Santa Clara to face a 49ers team that had already established its dominance during the regular season.

The result wasn’t as emotionally devastating as the collapse in Seattle, but it was just as revealing. San Francisco dictated the terms from the opening drive, exposing structural weaknesses that Green Bay had no answer for that night. At the core of those issues was a familiar problem, exploited by Baltimore the same way Kyle Shanahan did six years ago: an inability to control the line of scrimmage.

What stood out most was how effortlessly Baltimore ran the ball at Lambeau Field. John Harbaugh’s plan was never a mystery – feed the offense through its best player, Derrick Henry – and everyone in the stadium knew it was coming. Even so, Green Bay couldn’t slow it down. Baltimore consistently moved the line of scrimmage, turning predictable run calls into routine gains and keeping the Packers on their heels all night.

Henry’s 216 rushing yards were the most ever by an opposing player in Lambeau Field history, a reminder of how rare it is for a visiting running back to dominate in that environment. Only four players have ever reached the 200-yard mark at Lambeau as visitors: Derrick Henry (216 on Dec. 27, 2025), Adrian Peterson (210 on Dec. 2, 2012), Walter Payton (205 on Oct. 30, 1977), and Gale Sayers (205 on Nov. 3, 1968).

“That was a humbling night,” LaFleur said after the game. “Give Baltimore a ton of credit. They came in here and were in complete control the whole game. Unfortunately, it wasn’t up to our standard in regards to how we played, how we coached. And that’s what happens.”

When an opponent runs for 307 yards in a game, there’s no need to overcomplicate the explanation. It’s a humbling experience, one that reflects a complete loss of control at the line of scrimmage and leaves little room for excuses.

“That was tough to watch,” LaFleur noted. “We all see the end result. It just was not good enough. Wasn’t up to our standard.”

The Packers have endured their share of poor run-defense performances in recent years, particularly during the Joe Barry era. However, Baltimore’s 307-yard rushing outburst on Saturday marked Green Bay’s worst showing against the ground game since that January trip to Santa Clara.

In the 2019 NFC Championship game, Raheem Mostert tore through Green Bay’s defense for 220 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 7.6 yards per carry, while Jimmy Garoppolo attempted just eight passes and completed six. When an opponent can win without needing to throw, the problem is unmistakable.

Green Bay had no answers for Baltimore’s runs between the A and B gaps. The Ravens targeted an interior defensive line without Devonte Wyatt. That unit already isn’t built to consistently hold up against the run, and they leaned into that advantage all night.

Baltimore executed it cleanly, creating movement at the point of attack and opening lanes before defenders could react. Still, some of Green Bay’s alignments didn’t do much to help, often putting players in difficult positions and making an already uphill battle even steeper.

The next real chance for Green Bay to respond will likely come on Wild Card Weekend. The Packers are locked into the seventh seed and have little reason to play their starters in a meaningless Week 18 game against the Minnesota Vikings. The most important question is how much this team can realistically improve given how battered it is by injuries.

That remains to be seen, but if Green Bay is going to make any noise in January, it will almost certainly start with Jordan Love. With so many limitations elsewhere on the roster, the path forward likely requires Love to play Superman – much in the same way Aaron Rodgers used to, lifting the offense beyond its circumstances and covering for flaws everywhere else.