Season-Opening Loss Not a Good Sign For Packers

The Green Bay Packers lost 30-22 to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, which made us wonder what has happened in previous seasons when the Packers lost their season opener.

Since the Packers have lost plenty of season openers in their long history, we looked at their results since 2000. In that span, the Packers have lost only five times, including this season, on opening day. This is only coach Mike McCarthy’s second opening-day loss.

There are a lot of games left to be played, but the results from previous seasons aren’t particularly promising.

2006 — The Packers lost 26-0 to the Chicago Bears. They finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs in Mike McCarthy’s first season as coach.

2005 — The Packers lost 17-3 to the Detroit Lions. They finished 4-12 and missed the playoffs in Mike Sherman’s final year as coach.

2003 — The Packers lost 30-25 to the Minnesota Vikings. They finished 10-6 and lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional playoffs. The playoff loss to the Eagles was the 4th-and-26 game.

2000 — The Packers lost 20-16 to the New York Jets. They finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs.