Matt LaFleur Sends Message to Packers Defense After Lions Loss

LaFleur on Week 18 Defense

Getty Head coach Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers looks on during the first half against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on January 09, 2022 in Detroit, Michigan.

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is going to need to see a lot more discipline from his defense if they are going to survive in the playoffs.

While the Packers had already clinched the NFC’s No. 1 playoff seed prior to their 37-30 loss to the Detroit Lions, LaFleur made no secrets about his disappointment with their defensive performance at Ford Field on Sunday. The Lions scored 37 points and ran up 404 yards of total offense against the Packers, taking them for more than 100 yards and two touchdowns on a pair of trick plays that left Green Bay looking lost

“Defense, football in general, comes down to discipline, and people owning their roles,” LaFleur said in Sunday’s postgame. “And when you aren’t disciplined, or you go outside the scheme, bad stuff happens. We cannot have that. We need all 11 doing their damn job. And if they don’t, stuff like that happens.”

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Packers Defense Could Prove Problematic

The narrative about first-year defensive coordinator Joe Barry’s unit has been generally positive ever since the Packers’ disastrous season opener in New Orleans. After getting blown out 38-3 against the Saints, the Packers allowed 17 points or fewer in six of their next nine games, holding Kansas City to less than two touchdowns on the road in Week 9 and shutting out Seattle at Lambeau Field in Week 10.

Based on the final regular-season numbers, the Packers defense is also much improved from last year’s rendition. Instead of ranking in or near the bottom third of the league in most defensive categories as they did in 2020, the Packers finished in the top 10 in several significant areas during their 17 games in 2021, including total yards (5,579, ninth), passing yards (3,724, 10th) and takeaways (26, eighth). They also finished tied for the 13th-fewest points allowed (371) and touted the 11th-best rushing defense (1,855).

Unfortunately, a closer look at the Packers’ recent defensive numbers suggests a problem could be following them into the postseason.

The Packers took a noticeable step back as a scoring defense after holding the Seahawks to a goose egg in Week 10, giving up more points in their final seven games (191) than in their first 10 of the year (180). They did deliver a quality defensive performance in their 37-10 win over Minnesota in Week 17, but the Vikings were playing without their starting quarterback (Kirk Cousins) and one of their best receivers (Adam Thielen)

The loss to the Lions is also not as easy to dismiss as it might seem. While it could be argued the Packers had nothing to play for in a meaningless game that did not impact their playoff standing, they still played their starting secondary for the majority of the game and allowed the team with the second-worst record in the league to run up the second-highest scoring total against them of the season — behind only the Saints loss.

Now, there is still plenty of time for Barry to address the slumping quality of his defense in the two weeks before their first playoff matchup, but a rough defensive performance to conclude the regular season does raise some warning flags after how things ended last year against Tampa Bay in the playoffs.

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