An analyst's bold claim labels the Green Bay Packers "middle class." See why this brutal takedown rings true for a franchise stuck in the middle.
Dealing with criticism of your favorite team can be tough sometimes. Ask any fan of the Green Bay Packers.
We're the first to call them out and say that what's happening in Green Bay under this current regime is not good enough. Fans were loud in their displeasure after the Packers lost five in a row to end the 2025 NFL campaign. Heck, many wanted head coach Matt LaFleur fired after the season ended with yet another collapse, but this time in the playoffs against the hated Chicago Bears.
Packers fans can be brutal on their own team. We're not talking Philadelphia levels — this is a midwest franchise, after all — but you don't get to call yourself Title Town and then skirt the expectations that come along with that nickname.
Just like with anything, though, it's okay for fans to criticize the Packers.
Outsiders? Well, you'd better watch out, because the pickforks are being sharpened.
That's usually the case, and perhaps Patrick Daugherty of NBC Sports wrote the words below with the idea that the entirety of Packer Nation would be after him once he hit publish.
That's often the case, but Daugherty's brutal taketown of the Packers in a recent 2025-26 NFL season recap feels warranted from this writer's perspective.
"The Packers did it again. “It” in this case being many different things. An absurdly efficient offense, albeit one with an identity crisis. A defense that falters at all the wrong moments. A playoff season, but one that ends in wretched disappointment. The Packers have become the most middle class of franchises," Daugherty wrote.
"Although they command respect, they are careful not to be too flashy. By sheer virtue of their quiet dignity, they are never bad. Thanks to their intractable timidity, they do not ascend. The Packers are playing polite football. That was not the case under Brett Favre, or even Aaron Rodgers. This is an American institution, one that does not need to apologize for its greatness. Maybe coach Matt LaFleur’s sixth playoff wake-up call will be the one that finally catches his attention. We wouldn’t hold our breath. "
Being labeled a "middle class" franchise doesn't hurt as much as being called a "poverty" franchise, but it's sure far from being the elite of the elite.
If the NFL has an "upper crust", and it does, the Packers would not be in it, according to Daugherty.
That assertion would seem shocking at face value. As he wrote, the Packers are an American institution, yet it's the New England Patriots that have won six Super Bowls and been to 12. It's the Seattle Seahawks that have won two Super Bowls and have been to three since the Packers last hoisted the Lombardi Trophy — now over 15 years ago.
The Kansas City Chiefs have been to five Super Bowls, winning three, since 2019. The Philadelphia Eagles have been to three, winning two, since 2017.
And yet here are the Packers. Often thought of as an elite franchise, but despite the fact that the damned trophy is named after their legendary head coach, Vince Lombardi, they've only been to one Super Bowl in the 21st century. They've got one of the highest winning percentages in the NFL since 1966, but so very little to show for it.
Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi (center) stared as Green Bay's offense had trouble moving against the Bears during the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers game at Wrigley Field on November 17, 1963. The Packers lost 26-7 in front of a packed house of 49,166. Bart Starr was out injured so John Roach started and went 8 for 20 with 2 interceptions. Zeke Bratkowski replaced him in the third quarter and went 3 for 11 with three interceptions. © S. Niels Lauritzen / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.Not good enough to be elite. Not bad enough to be in the gutter.
Daugherty is right. The Packers are firmly middle class. It's a brutal takedown, but it's 100 percent true.
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