History paints unfortunate picture for Packers' playoff chances

The good news for the Green Bay Packers is the fact they are in the NFC playoffs and should have a healthy Jordan Love back for them at quarterback. That will be a huge development for their NFC wild-card playoff game on Saturday night against the Chicago Bears.

The bad news for the Packers is they are entering the playoffs on a four-game losing streak and have not been the same team since losing superstar edge-rusher Micah Parsons to a season-ending injury.

That losing streak to end the season is not promising for the Packers' playoff chances.

History is not kind for Packers' playoff chances

The Packers are just the fourth team in NFL history to enter the playoffs on a losing streak of four games or worse, joining the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers, the 1999 Detroit Lions and the 1986 New York Jets.

Those teams did not fair especially well in their postseason performance.

• The 2024 Steelers dropped their wild-card round game to the Baltimore Ravens by a 28-14 margin, concluding what would ultimately be a five-game losing streak for the season. 
• The 1999 Lions lost their wild-card game by a 27-13 margin at Washington. 
• The 1986 Jets — who ended that season on a five-game losing streak — did win their wild-card game, upsetting the Kansas City Chiefs, before going on the road and losing to the Cleveland Browns in the divisional round.

That means the three previous teams to enter the playoffs on a four-game losing streak have a combined 1-3 record in the postseason.

Is that a sign of momentum being a real thing?

Potentially.

Or it could simply be the sign of a flawed team whose issues are starting to surface at the wrong time of year. A four-game losing streak is not something good teams — and especially not Super Bowl contenders — typically experience. A lot of Super Bowl teams do not even lose four games over the course of an entire season, let alone in a row.

Without Parsons, the Packers are definitely flawed on defense, and it is definitely starting to show itself at the worst possible time of the season. Having Love back in the lineup and healthy will help. They will still need to make stops on defense.