If any Green Bay Packers fan had been told before the season that Jordan Love would the second in passing touchdowns in his first season as the starter, that the team would make the playoffs in the first year without Aaron Rodgers, and then beat Mike McCarthy's Dallas Cowboys in a postseason game, they would certainly love that outcome.

But the 2023 season still left a bitter taste. They were so close to beat the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round, but a fourth-quarter collapse precluded the youngest team in football to reach the NFC Championship Game.

Excluding injuries, it was some kind of worst-case scenario for fans. If it was a normal loss, to a clearly superior roster, it would have been fine considering the expectations over this team. But heartbreaking playoff losses have been a trend in Green Bay for almost two decades.

"It will sting for awhile," quarterback Jordan Love said after the game in Santa Clara. "It'll sting knowing that we had the opportunity to win, and we dropped the ball on that one. But we'll be able to look back on it, see some good things we did, and go to the offseason trying to work on the things that we didn't do as well and things we need to get better at."

Since 2007, in particular, the Packers have handled several painful postseason losses. Just look:

2007: Overtime loss at Lambeau Field to the New York Giants in which ended up being Brett Favre's last game as a Packer.

2009: Overtime 51-45 loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Aaron Rodgers' first playoff game.

2011: Another loss to the New York Giants, but that time after a 15-1 regular season record.

2012: Colin Kaepernick rushed for 181 yards for the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round game.

2014: That's probably the worst one, with an overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFCCG after blowing a big-time lead, which included a Brandon Bostick fumble allowing an onside kick recovery.

2015: Overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals after a Hail Mary touchdown from Aaron Rodgers to tie the game in regulation.

2019: Another loss, and that was a big one, to the 49ers in the NFCCG.

2020: Tough one, at home, in the NFCCG to Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That was probably the biggest missed chance for Aaron Rodgers' second ring.

2021: Divisional round loss to, guess what, the 49ers again. First seed losing to a sixth seed, and that ended up being Rodgers last playoff game for the Packers. A blocked punt returned for TD decided the game.

2023: Led most of the game and still lost to the 49ers one week after being the first seventh seed in history to win a playoff game.

According to Doug Clawson, the Packers have lost five postseason games when they led at some point of the final five minutes since 2000, the most by any team in the league.

And that's a big task for the new Packers, with Matt LaFleur, Jordan Love, and the young offense. What's happening, how they can change it, how the roster can have more margin for error.

It's a different circumstance than it was in the last few years of Aaron Rodgers because the new window has just opened. But the Packers need to look at the mirror and evaluate their entire operation to win when it really matters.

Jordan Love admits ‘mortal sin’ in decisive mistake

Green Bay lost to San Francisco in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs