Thoughts on Week 17 (2025): Green Bay Packers vs. Baltimore Ravens

Well, that game was tough to watch in a lot of ways. Entering this game on Saturday night at Lambeau Field, the Green Bay Packers were looking to end their losing streak and finish the home schedule on a high note. They didn’t have to worry about missing the playoffs thanks to the Lions losing to the Vikings on Christmas Day. Unfortunately, they were unable to win their last home game of the season due to the Baltimore Ravens running all over them. Let’s get this game over with.

The Ravens won the coin toss and decided to receive the football. Starting from their own 25 yard line, the Ravens offense, led by Tyler Huntley (who started for Lamar Jackson due to a back issue), had no problem with moving the ball down the field during a drive that lasted more than 8 minutes. There were a couple of passes during the drive, but it mainly consisted of run plays that gained some good yardage each time. The possession ended with a three yard touchdown run by Derrick Henry that, with the extra point kick by Tyler Loop, gave Baltimore a 7-0 lead with under 6 minutes left in the first quarter. Nate Hobbs took the ensuing kickoff 23 yards to the Green Bay 31. On first and 10, Malik Willis (who started for Jordan Love due to Love being in concussion protocol) found Romeo Doubs for a 40 yard pass completion. I give major praise to Doubs for the tough catch that got the first down. After two straight presnap penalties, the Packers faced a first and 20 from the Baltimore 39. Willis found Christian Watson up the middle for a 39 yard touchdown pass. Watson did a Lambeau Leap to celebrate the touchdown that he scored, which is always great to see. The extra point kick by Brandon McManus was good, tying the game at 7-7 with less than 6 minutes left in the quarter. That tie didn’t last long as the Ravens were able to go on another scoring drive. This one took 7 and a half minutes off the game clock. During this drive, Zayne Anderson had to leave the game due to an ankle injury. After a good mix of run and pass plays, the drive ended with Derrick Henry’s second touchdown. During that touchdown run, Jordon Riley, who was recently brought to Green Bay to help with the defensive line, suffered a season ending Achilles injury. The extra point try by Tyler Loop was good, giving Baltimore a 14-7 lead with a little more than 13 minutes left in the second quarter. The Packers offense tried to answer back, but their drive ended when a fourth and one inside zone run (from shotgun) was stuffed short of the first down marker. Even worse, the failed fourth down was in Green Bay territory, giving the Ravens a short field to work with. Thankfully, the defense kept them from scoring a touchdown on this drive. The 22 yard field goal was good, giving Baltimore a 17-7 lead with a little over 7 minutes left in the second quarter. The Packers’ next drive ended in only three plays when Sean Rhyan snapped the ball too early while Malik Willis was calling an audible. The ball hit Willis in the face and was recovered by the Ravens at Green Bay’s 30 yard line. Another field goal followed a few plays later, giving the Ravens a 13 point lead with 3 and a half minutes left in the first half. The Packers got back on track (at least for a moment) during their next drive, which started at their own 24 yard line. Malik Willis completed a pass to Christian Watson that went for 13 yards. Two plays later, Willis found Romeo Doubs for a 13 yard pass completion that gave the Packers a first and 10 at the Baltimore 48. That first down was actually from the 33 due to a penalty on the Ravens after the play was over. Two plays later, Malik Willis faked a handoff and ran for a 22 yard touchdown (plus a Lambeau Leap). The extra point kick was good, cutting the lead to 20-14 with less than a minute and a half remaining in the second quarter. Even with that little time left, the Ravens were able to move the ball down the field in time to get another touchdown before halftime. Derrick Henry ran it in from three yards out for his third touchdown of the night. The extra point kick was good, giving the Ravens a 27-14 lead with very few seconds left in the half. The only thing the Packers did after the ensuing kickoff was a kneel down to head to the locker room.

The Packers started their first third quarter drive at their own 26 after the kickoff return by Bo Melton. The offense, even with Dontayvion Wicks leaving with a concussion, was able to move the ball down the field as they try to get points on the board. They converted a third and 18 with a 30 yard pass from Malik Willis to Jayden Reed. On the next play, Willis found Christian Watson for a 31 yard pass play that got the Packers into scoring position. Later in the drive, Malik Willis scrambled for a 12 yard gain to convert a third and 9 from the Baltimore 20. Unfortunately, the drive stalled three plays later and the Packers had to settle for a field goal. Brandon McManus made the kick from 24 yards away, cutting the lead to 10 points with a little over 9 minutes left in the third quarter. During the defense’s first time on the field in the third quarter, CB Kamal Hadden (who subbed in for Nate Hobbs after he left due to injury) suffered a gruesome ankle injury and was carted out of the game. The Packers defense was able to force the Ravens to punt, thereby giving the offense a chance at making it a one possession game. On a 10 play drive that started at their own 14, Green Bay did just that. Early in the drive, they faced a first and 17 due to a holding penalty that nullified a 6 yard scramble by Willis. They were able to move the chains later thanks to an offsides penalty on third and 5 from the 19. Willis then found Watson for a 23 yard pass completion that gave the Packers a first and 10 at the Green Bay 47. Three plays later, Willis found Bo Melton for a 34 yard pass completion that got Green Bay into scoring position. On the next play, Malik Willis scrambled for his second touchdown run of the night. The extra point kick was good, cutting the lead to just 3 points with a little over two minutes left in the third quarter. Unfortunately, that was as close as the Packers got in this game. The Ravens were once again able to move the ball down the field on their next possession, which ended with a 10 yard touchdown pass to Zay Flowers, who was pushed down by Packers fans after he attempted to do a Lambeau Leap (which should be for Packers players only). During the next drive for Green Bay, Malik Willis hurt his shoulder and had to exit the game. In his place was Clayton Tune, who was activated from the practice squad for this game. The drive ended when Tune’s pass bounced off the hands of Bo Melton into the hands of Marlon Humphrey for an interception. The Ravens then took advantage of the turnover by scoring their final touchdown of the night. Derrick Henry ran it in from 25 yards out for his fourth touchdown run of the night. The Packers couldn’t do anything on their last possession and the Ravens sealed the 41-24 win. With their third straight loss, the Packers are now 9-6-1 on the season.

(Here are the “lowlights” of the game, provided by the NFL’s YouTube channel. Click on “Watch on YouTube” if you’re curious.)

On offense, the Packers played a bit better than against the Bears the week prior. Malik Willis played his heart out on Saturday night as he totaled three touchdowns on the night (one passing and two rushing). He made some great throws and made smart decisions with the football. The only turnover suffered when he was on the field wasn’t his fault. Sean Rhyan inadvertently snapped the ball when Willis was calling an audible, and the ensuing fumble was recovered by Baltimore, ending that drive. There were also a couple of turnovers on downs, including one that, yet again, involved a shotgun inside zone run on fourth and one that was stuffed (the coaching staff needs to burn that play call next year). The other turnover suffered was when Willis has to leave the game in the fourth quarter due to a shoulder injury. Clayton Tune’s pass to Bo Melton bounced off of Melton’s hands into the hands of Marlon Humphrey for that pick. It will be curious to see how the offense will do against Minnesota next week with potentially more backups playing. They should not risk Jordan Love in a meaningless game when their playoff spot is locked up already. Hopefully the coaching staff makes the right decision to bench some key players, including Love and Josh Jacobs.

On defense, the Packers played an awful game against a Ravens offense that ran the ball down their throats all night. Derrick Henry finished the night with 216 yards and 4 touchdowns, setting the record for most rushing yards for a running back allowed by the Packers in Lambeau Field’s long history. Tyler Huntley completed mostly short passes, with his longest being only 11 yards. He was efficient on Saturday as he avoided any sacks or turnovers against Green Bay’s defense. There were some dreadful performances from Rashan Gary (who has not recorded a sack or tackle for loss since Week 8), Keisean Nixon, and Carrington Valentine (who was a victim of a Derrick Henry stiff arm). With no pass rush to speak of, the secondary was picked apart once again. Not only that, but the Packers defense suffered even more injuries on top of players already out. Jordon Riley, Zayne Anderson, Nate Hobbs, and Kamal Hadden all left due to injury, with Hadden and Riley suffering season ending injuries. I feel awful for Jeff Hafley having to figure this stuff out while many players are injured. I’m sure he’ll get something going for the last game of the regular season and the playoffs.

On Special Teams, nothing too crazy happened for Green Bay. Brandon McManus made each kick, no kick or punt return TDs were given up, and no kicks were blocked. Daniel Whelan didn’t have to punt for a second consecutive game (yet the Packers have lost every game this season when he didn’t have to punt). They didn’t have to worry about an onside kick fiasco because the game wasn’t that close in the fourth quarter. Honestly, even though it’s on the players to execute better, Rich Bisaccia might have to prepare to pack his bags after this season is over. My apologies for having nothing great to say about Special Teams since they haven’t been a good kind of “special”.

Overall, this game was not fun to watch at all due to the defense unable to stop the Ravens offense. It’s a huge disappointment that the last home game of the season ended like that. Even though the team is injured to heck and back and is now on a three game losing streak, they have their playoff spot locked up. For the third straight year, the Green Bay Packers are the 7th seed in the NFC playoffs, which hopefully isn’t the case again. There are two possible opponents for the Packers in the wild card round. If the Bears win their game against the Lions in Week 18, it’s a third Packers-Bears game in a little over a month. If the Bears lose and the Eagles win their game against the Commanders, then it’s a second straight trip to Philadelphia in the wild card round. But first, the Packers need to finish the regular season on a positive note against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. I have a feeling that the Packers will rest some key players for the playoffs, which would be the best move. Regardless of who plays and what the outcome of the game is, I’ll be back for the recap. In the meantime, I wish you all a happy 2026. Go Pack Go.