We all knew this young Green Bay Packers team would have growing pains this year. But the good news so far is that this team has shown resilience and a never-say-die attitude in overcoming obstacles to win football games despite those growing pains.

The Packers have a new starting quarterback in Jordan Love who entered the season with just one NFL start under his belt. If that wasn’t enough, he was taking over for a future Hall of Famer who had been the quarterback for the previous 15 years who took over for another Hall of Famer who was under center for 16 seasons.

None of the Packers wide receivers have more than one year of NFL experience and the two top traditional tight ends on the depth chart are rookies.

Green Bay entered their Week 3 game against the Saints facing some early adversity. The team had just blown a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter against Atlanta to lose 25-24.

They also entered the home opener against the Saints without four of the best players on their roster. Running back Aaron Jones, left tackle David Bakhtiari and left guard Elgton Jenkins were all starters and former Pro Bowl players and all three were out with injuries against the Saints. So was the team’s top deep threat in second-year wide receiver Christian Watson.

On defense, the Packers learned that Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander would also miss the game with a bad back. In the first half, former All-Pro inside linebacker De’Vondre Campbell left the game with an ankle injury.

That meant the Packers were without six of their best players and oh yeah, they fell behind the Saints 17-0 after three quarters.

It would have been easy for this team to quit. They had been outscored 30-0 in the last four quarters of play and were struggling to find any consistency and rhythm on offense. But they picked themselves off the canvas and mounted a comeback.

The defense stepped up and kept the team in the game, allowing just five first downs and zero points in the second half. The defense tightened up its coverage and not only got the ball back but got it back quickly. The Saints punted on their first five possessions of the second half and didn’t have a drive longer than six plays until their final possession of the game.

The offense started to move the ball and gradually shaved points off the New Orleans lead.

Despite being shorthanded and facing a very highly regarded defense, the Packers scored on three consecutive drives and won the game 18-17.

The young skill players on this team showed confidence and never gave up in the face of adversity. There were plenty of mistakes throughout the game including 11 penalties for 90 yards. There were also lots of poorly thrown passes, unfinished pass patterns, or players who ran the wrong routes altogether, but it didn’t stop this team from believing in themselves.

With the game on the line, Love was able to keep his cool and improvise when plays broke down. The successful two-point conversion was a great example. The original target wasn’t open but Love scrambled, extended the play and found Samori Toure to pull the team to within six points. The Packers sideline erupted, and this young team had a sense the game was still there for the taking.

The growing pains were on full display, but they still found a way to stay in the game and ultimately win it.

The 2023 Packers are not yet a great football team. Many players are still early in the process of learning how to play and win in the NFL. But the fact that this team is clearly having fun again, is showing confidence and is somehow winning football games while they learn is a very encouraging sign.

This team will likely have some ugly games before the season is over, games when everything goes wrong, and they just look bad in all three phases. But the attitude this team has played with and the way they don’t quit gives Packers fans plenty of reasons for optimism about the long-term future of this team even at this early stage of the season.