GREEN BAY – A humbling home defeat at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons gave the Packers plenty to ponder over the long three-day weekend.
But as disappointing as the 35-14 loss at Lambeau Field felt, Green Bay's locker room is hungry to avenge that setback and swing momentum back in its favor after the team's first 1-2 start since 2014.
"We're not going to forget about it. We're definitely going to learn from it," said safety Xavier McKinney, who had five tackles and an interception against Atlanta.
"We're going to, like we did (Monday), find ways where we can improve and be better as a team and then obviously for us on the defensive side, better defensively as a unit."
Head Coach Matt LaFleur's message to his players upon their return to the building Monday came in the form of a question: How many guys watched NFL games on Sunday?
Those who did saw 12 of 14 contests decided by one score, the most on any Sunday in NFL history. In some instances, it came as a result of significant second-half comebacks.
The best example was the Denver Broncos rallying to score all 30 of their points in the second half to pull off a 30-26 comeback over the Los Angeles Rams, who led 16-0 at halftime.
It's the mindset the Packers need after the previously winless Falcons effectively snapped Green Bay's streak of 13 straight home openers without a loss, which is tied for an NFL record.
"You've got to keep fighting," LaFleur said. "Sometimes in some of the games that we saw, the scores were lopsided early and teams just kept fighting and battling and were able to overcome that. That's the main message."
The last time the Packers started 1-2 came at the tail end of a three-year stretch of doing so from 2012-14. Yet, Green Bay went on to win the NFC North all three seasons, including the memorable 33-28 walk-off win over Chicago in the 2013 finale.
In all three instances, however, the Packers won their Week 4 matchup to get back to .500. That's where Green Bay's focus lies entering a critical road trip to Tampa Bay.
Leading the Buccaneers will be undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels after Baker Mayfield dislocated his thumb at the end of Sunday's 23-16 loss to Minnesota. Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles confirmed Monday that Mayfield likely will miss at least three games.
"There's an adjustment there and our guys will work through that," LaFleur said. "But Daniels, we've seen a little bit of him in the preseason, and he's a guy that through the scouting process coming out in the draft, a very talented player. Certainly, he can beat you with his legs, as well. He has a big arm."
The Packers understand the noise that comes with dropping two of their first three, but their locker-room leadership reiterated faith in the team's process during Monday's availability.
Tight end Tucker Kraft talked about the need for self-reflection over the mini-bye, acknowledging his own missed opportunities and dropped passes against Atlanta.
From a big picture standpoint, there's still a lot of football ahead of the Packers and belief in LaFleur and quarterback Jordan Love to lead Green Bay back into the win column.
"We're three games in the season. We have 14 games to play," Kraft said. "We've been in worse spots, you know? But everyone in this locker room, we trust Matt. Jordan said it, we know what this offense can look like when we're rolling, so we're just going to focus on getting on the same page and playing good football."
To achieve that, Kraft says the Packers must now "nip" the issues that have plagued them through the first three games, "so things don't bleed further into the regular season."
McKinney concurs. While this hasn't been an ideal start for Green Bay, the story of the 2026 campaign is still far from being written.
"It's a part of the season," McKinney said. "Everybody just needs to calm their nerves. I understand, but it's Week 3 and (stuff) could look completely different like, for instance, last year, we started out hot … and everybody was up in arms. Then what happened? Everything can always flip.
"For us we just gotta keep the main thing the main thing and focus on improving and we'll be fine."
