Colin Cowherd planted his flag on the Green Bay Packers, and Jacob Infante is happy to bet against it. Cowherd has Green Bay finishing under 9.5 wins in 2026, leaning on the idea that Jordan Love has not won more than nine games in any of the past three seasons and that the NFC North has never been deeper. PFN’s Infante, of all people, is taking the other side.
“It pains me to say this being a Bears fan, but I do think the Packers hit the over this year,” Infante said on PFN’s Football Debate Club.
Why Jacob Infante Is Taking the Packers Over
Infante’s argument starts with the two injuries that sank Green Bay’s 2025. Tight end Tucker Kraft tore his ACL in Week 9 against Carolina, and edge rusher Micah Parsons tore his on Dec. 14 against Denver. Both were having standout years, Kraft as the team’s leading receiver and Parsons with 12.5 sacks in 14 games.
“He was playing at an all-pro level before he got hurt, and you missed Micah Parsons for those last few games,” Infante said. “If you get those two back healthy, I think that team’s gonna be really good.”
There is a wrinkle in the premise. Infante said the Packers “surpassed that total even without Tucker Kraft for half the year,” but Green Bay actually finished 9-7-1 in 2025, landing a hair under its 9.5-win total before losing to the Bears in the wild-card round. The market still leaned toward Infante’s optimism, with the 2026 number climbing to 10.5 in some places, a full win higher than a year ago.
His read on the quarterback is measured rather than breathless. “Jordan Love is still one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL. I wouldn’t say he’s elite, but he’s still very good,” Infante said. Love sat third in MVP betting odds at one point last season before a rough finish, and Infante sees the supporting cast trending up.
“You have a young group of weapons that I think is only going to get better,” he said.
The NFC North Math Behind Green Bay’s Playoff Push
The defense is where Infante hedges. “The corner is still a concern, but I think that front seven could make some serious noise, especially when Parsons comes back,” he said. That last clause is doing heavy lifting. Parsons is targeting a September return from ACL surgery but has floated Week 3 or 4 as more realistic, and Green Bay saw edge rusher Rashan Gary depart this offseason.
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The bottom line for Infante is the division math. He does not need Green Bay to win the NFC North, just to hold its own in it. “If you can even split it 3 and 3, honestly, I think that’s a good chance you make the playoffs given the rest of their schedule, and I think that’s more than enough to get double-digit wins,” he said.
That is the crux of the disagreement. Cowherd sees a loaded division dragging the Packers under .500 in conference play and beneath the line. Infante sees a roster that was a Super Bowl contender before two knees gave out, getting those players back and feasting on the softer half of its schedule.
The bet, in the end, rides on surgically repaired ligaments. If Kraft holds to his Week 1 target and Parsons beats his own timeline, Infante’s over should cash with room to spare. If either knee lingers, Cowherd gets to say he saw the floor coming. The oddsmakers have already picked a side, and it is not Cowherd’s.
