GM Brian Gutekunst remains encouraged even after Packers' late-season slide

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst remains optimistic about the Packers' long-term outlook as they head into the offseason after a gut-wrenching playoff loss to the Chicago Bears.

But he acknowledges they must do a much better job of finishing games.

Gutekunst spoke to reporters Wednesday for the first time since the Packers signed him as well as coach Matt LaFleur and executive vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball to multiyear contract extensions last week. The move by new Packers team president/CEO Ed Policy keeps the Packers' football leadership triad intact despite a string of disappointing postseason defeats.

“In every season, there’s successes, and there’s failures and there’s disappointments,” Gutekunst said. “I was proud of our team in a lot of areas this year, but finishing games is certainly something that we got to concentrate on as we head into 2026.”

The Packers (9-8-1) dropped their final five games, including a 31-27 wild-card loss to the Bears in which they blew a 21-3 halftime lead and allowed 25 fourth-quarter points.

Green Bay hasn't reached the Super Bowl since the 2010 team — assembled by GM Ted Thompson, coached by Mike McCarthy and quarterbacked by four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers — won it all. And the team has won only one playoff game since ending the 2020 season with an NFC championship game loss to Tom Brady and the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The final loss to the Bears came after the Packers went 9-3-1 to start the season and had a four-point lead entering the fourth quarter of a 34-26 loss to the Denver Broncos on Dec. 14.

The Packers had won four in a row at that point, but they watched No. 1 wide receiver Christian Watson leave the stadium in an ambulance after suffering a chest injury, then lost All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons to a torn ACL in his left knee later in the game.

While Watson returned the following week, Parsons was lost for the season, just as the team had lost emerging star tight end Tucker Kraft to an ACL tear in his right knee in a Nov. 2 loss to the Carolina Panthers.

“We were 9-3-1, and I didn’t think we had played particularly great football during the season. I thought we had moments, but I thought we had an opportunity to round into form there in the second half of the season,” Gutekunst said. “And obviously it didn’t work out that way.”

And now, the Packers face a challenging offseason full of potential change. Not only did they lose defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, who left to become the Miami Dolphins head coach, but they have a number of starters and key contributors from their 2022 draft class set to hit free agency in March.

Those players who could leave include left tackle Rasheed Walker, middle linebacker Quay Walker, center/guard Sean Rhyan and wide receiver Romeo Doubs. Prized backup quarterback Malik Willis, who played well in place of an injured Jordan Love, also is a free agent and could land a starting opportunity elsewhere.

“We have one goal here, and we never run from it. We’re here to win championships,” Gutekunst said. “And I think this team is capable of that.

“(The) 2026 (team) will be a different team, but the expectations won’t change. Again, I thought there’s some really good things during the (2025) season. There also were some major disappointments. But I really do like the guys we have in that locker room, the guys that are coming back, and we’ll continue to add to that. And we’re all excited to get at it.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

FILE - Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur stands next to Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst, right, before an NFL football game between the Green Bay Packers and the Washington Commanders in Green Bay, Wis., Sept. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Pan American Health Organization, PAHO, issued a new epidemiological alert following a surge of measles cases across the Americas, with Mexico reporting the highest numbers. It also called for urgent vaccination campaigns, highlighting that 78% of recent cases involved unvaccinated people.

The alert, announced on Wednesday, follows Canada’s loss of measles-free status in November — a setback the United States and Mexico could soon mirror. While both governments have requested a two-month extension to contain their respective outbreaks, the situation is complicated by the Trump administration’s January withdrawal from the World Health Organization, the parent agency of PAHO.

Current data is discouraging; the upward trend persists with only months remaining before the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off across the three North American host nations.

In the first three weeks of 2026, PAHO confirmed 1,031 new measles cases across seven countries — a staggering 43-fold increase compared to the same period last year.

While no deaths have been reported thus far, the concentration remains high: Mexico leads with 740 cases, followed by the United States with 171 and Canada with 67.

The state of Jalisco, in western Mexico, has recorded the country’s highest incidence rate this year, following last year’s major outbreaks in Chihuahua and neighboring Texas.

In the United States, public health attention has shifted toward South Carolina, where cases are rising. In response, the Mexican government has spent weeks urging the public to receive the two-dose vaccine.

Authorities have even established mobile vaccination clinics in high-traffic hubs like airports and bus terminals, while in the capital, Mayor Clara Brugada launched 2,000 new vaccination modules this week.

"Everyone under 49 years of age, please get vaccinated,” Brugada urged on Tuesday, emphasizing that the vaccine is now accessible throughout the city. To maximize reach, the new modules are being stationed outside health centers and within major subway stations, bringing the campaign directly to the city’s busiest transit corridors.

PAHO's alert follows a year of sustained growth in measles cases — the highest in five years — driven by a global resurgence and what the agency describes as “persistent immunization gaps.”

While adolescents and young adults account for the largest volume of cases, the highest incidence rates are striking children under the age of one. The disparity underscores a critical need to reinforce second-dose coverage.

Regional data is grim: only 33% of countries have reached the 95% threshold for the first vaccine dose, and a mere 20% have achieved it for the second.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

A health worker, center, prepares to administer a dose of the measles vaccine outside a public hospital in Mexico City, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

A health worker administers a dose of the measles vaccine outside a public hospital in Mexico City, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

A health worker administers a dose of the measles vaccine outside a public hospital in Mexico City, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

A health worker administers a dose of the measles vaccine outside a public hospital in Mexico City, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

A health worker administers a dose of the measles vaccine outside a public hospital in Mexico City, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)