The Green Bay Packers had a horrid Sunday. A close game against the Denver Broncos ended in a loss, but much more hurtful was the loss of Micah Parsons to a torn ACL and another possible serious injury for wide receiver Christian Watson.
The Packers were always going to have a tough time against the Denver Broncos, especially playing at the Mile High. But the injuries suffered will make this a much more difficult end of season, especially after they made a mega call in trading Parsons.
NFL Analyst Calls Sunday “Most Devastating Day” for Packers in Over a Decade
With the loss, the Packers are officially in second place in the NFC North with three games to go, since the Chicago Bears also won. They could still recoup the division, as next week’s game is also against the Bears.
But the absence of Parsons for the remainder of the season is a devastating blow to their playoff hopes. Parsons, who had 12.5 sacks in 2025 so far and sits at No. 5 in our PFSN Edge Impact Metric, was by far their best and most impactful defensive player, and the playoffs will be harder without him.
With Sunday’s results combined with the injury, Packers beat writer Andy Herman believes that this was the worst day for the Green Bay Packers in over a decade, remembering the NFC Championship Game loss in the 2014 season:
Arguably the most devastating day of Packers football since the 2014 NFC Championship game. A disaster of a day. No way around it. https://t.co/YhLM8l9Wap
— Andy Herman (@AndyHermanNFL) December 15, 2025
Parsons is all but confirmed to have suffered a torn ACL, which could also affect the start of his 2026 season. He wasn’t the only player injured against the Broncos: Christian Watson also left the game after suffering a chest injury in a play covered by Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain.
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The Packers had already lost star tight end Tucker Kraft to a torn ACL earlier in the season. After their 2-0 start, tackle Rasheed Walker made waves when he stated that Green Bay could’ve gone undefeated. Despite their 9-4-1 record ever since, expectations have been lowered due to the injuries.
The team made the playoffs in the past two seasons with Jordan Love as their quarterback. Parsons was supposed to be the missing piece of the puzzle. Now that he won’t be playing in January, Green Bay’s chances have been massively diminished, even if they win the division.
