Five Lessons Packers Should Have Learned from Super Bowl

On the other hand, New England blitzed early and often, and it was a big reason why it had even a snowball’s chance of coming from behind in the second half.

The Patriots blitzed on 53.7 percent of Sam Darnold’s dropbacks. The result is Darnold never got close to finding a rhythm, finishing 19-of-38 passing for 202 yards. He was sacked only once but was pressured on 41.5 percent of his dropbacks, according to Next Gen. When pressured, he was 6-of-15 for 64 yards, though he did throw one touchdown pass.

In 2025 with Jeff Hafley as coordinator, the Packers 20.4 percent of the time, which ranked 24th, according to Pro Football Reference. The new coordinator is Jonathan Gannon. He was the head coach of the Cardinals the last three seasons. Last year, they blitzed 24.1 percent of the time, which ranked 15th.

For reference, New England was 10th in blitz rate (25.9 percent) and Seattle was 26th (19.3 percent).

The moral to the story is it doesn’t matter how you get to the quarterback as long as you get to the quarterback. Gannon’s got to figure that out, because the evaporation of the pass rush following Micah Parsons’ injury ruined any chance of the Packers making a playoff run. A healthy Devonte Wyatt would help. So would unleashing Edgerrin Cooper.

3. Get Lockdown Cornerback

Everyone – well, everyone other than GM Brian Gutekunst – knew Green Bay’s cornerback corps would be an issue in 2025. Predictably, it was.

The Patriots have one stud, Christian Gonzalez, who the Packers could have drafted in 2023 when they took Lukas Van Ness following the Aaron Rodgers trade. Pass rush was a bigger need at the time, so Gutekunst’s decision was logical. However, Van Ness has been underwhelming with 8.5 sacks through three seasons while Gonzalez was second-team All-Pro in 2024 and a Pro Bowler in 2025.

In the Super Bowl, he was targeted eight times and had as many pass breakups (three) as completions allowed. According to Next Gen, he was matched against NFL Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba 14 times and allowed only one catch.

The Seahawks have two studs at cornerback, led by the aforementioned Devon Witherspoon. He was the fifth pick of the 2023 draft so obviously out of Green Bay’s reach. Josh Jobe, on the other hand, went undrafted in 2022 and signed with Philadelphia. He started three games in two seasons for the Eagles, was released at the end of training camp in 2024 and signed to Seattle’s practice squad.

In 2025, Jobe played in 16 games with 15 starts. According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed a 51.8 percent catch rate with three touchdowns, one interception and a 75.2 passer rating in the regular season. On Sunday, Next Gen charged him wit 3-of-10 passing for just 11 yards.

Jobe will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and probably will be out of reach financially for Green Bay. Regardless of whether it’s good drafting (Gonzalez) or good fortune (Jobe), the Packers must do better at cornerback. They can’t possibly be taken seriously as a championship contender in 2026 if they run it back with Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine.

Between the pass rush and coverage, Seattle's defense dominated from the opening snap in giving renewed lift to the old mantra that defense wins championships.

Time and again, former Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley praised his unit’s play style and how hard they played and how they swarmed to the football. It will be up to new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who had to deal with Seattle’s defense in the NFC West, to raise Green Bay’s level of play another notch or two.

“We swarm to the ball,” said Seahawks safety Julian Love, who had a fourth-quarter interception. “We make them line up and earn it each play. It’s a style thing. They were getting excited (when) they got a 4- or 5-yard run, and then we create a negative play the next play. It's just us lining up again and again on defense to just impose our will.”

4. Get Running Back With Juice

Josh Jacobs almost certainly will be back for another season as Green Bay’s primary running back. And he should. He’s a heart-and-soul player. Whether it was Jacobs or Emanuel Wilson, the running game as a whole struggled in 2025.

The Packers hoped they’d have a dynamic one-two punch when they signed Jacobs in free agency in 2024 and then drafted MarShawn Lloyd in the third round. Lloyd, of course, has been nothing but injured, playing in only one game in his career.

The Packers obviously can’t go into the upcoming season counting on Lloyd to be a contributor. With Wilson and Chris Brooks set to be restricted free agents, there could be considerable upheaval in the backfield. However it shakes out, the Packers need to find a running back with some of the juice provided by Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker.

Walker carried 27 times for 135 yards and added two catches for 26 yards. Of Seattle’s four plays of 20-plus yards, he had three. According to Next Gen, he had 102 rushing yards after contact and broke nine tackles. His speed frequently resulted in Patriots being a half-step behind and missing the tackle. He hit 15 mph on eight runs, as many 15-mph runs as Jacobs in his final seven games.

5. Go For It

No, this doesn’t mean go for it on fourth down. It’s go for it personnel-wise.

We hit on this before the game, but no general manager makes more personnel moves than Seattle’s John Schneider. He added players at the last three trade deadlines, with defensive lineman Leonard Williams in 2023, linebacker Ernest Jones IV in 2024 and receiver/returner Rashid Shaheen in 2025.

They all had big roles in getting to the Super Bowl, and Jones recorded a team-high 11 tackles on Sunday.

The Patriots with Eliot Wolf spent $364 million on outside free agents – almost $95 million more than any other team. Almost two-thirds of the Patriots’ Super Bowl roster was new to the team compared to 2024, an absurd number.

To be sure, Wolf is operating in a different reality than Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst with quarterback Drake Maye on his rookie deal. Wolf’s aggressive approach in big-money free agency paid dividends, but so did his signings of center Garrett Bradbury, receiver Mack Hollins and defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson from the bargain bin.

Seattle was fourth in free-agent spending, with quarterback Sam Darnold making almost half of the $205 million spent by Schneider.

By and large, Gutekunst is on the right path here. Trading for Micah Parsons was about as big a “go for it” personnel move as a general manager can make. The signings of guard Aaron Banks and cornerback Nate Hobbs didn’t work out but it’s not as if Gutekunst opted to sit on the team checkbook.

Gutekunst last offseason took a shot on former first-round pick Isaiah Simmons. New England took a shot on Chaisson, another former first-round pick. Chaisson set across-the-board career highs with 7.5 sacks, 10 tackles for losses and 18 quarterback hits during the regular season, and he added another three sacks in the playoffs.

While Wolf hit a home run with Chaisson, Gutekunst swung and missed with Simmons. And that’s OK. There should always be a reclamation project or two on the training camp roster.

Gutekunst has been infinitely more aggressive than his predecessor, Ted Thompson, but there’s a wide gulf between him and the last two Super Bowl-building general managers, Schneider and Philadelphia’s Howie Roseman. New team President Ed Policy should push Gutekunst to be even more aggressive, whether it’s adding to the top of the roster or churning the bottom.