The Green Bay Packers extended head coach Matt LaFleur’s contract in January after months of whispers about his future with the franchise. But now, just one game into the season, the sideline seat that had cooled under him is enveloped in crackling flame once more.
Green Bay suffered a historic collapse on Sunday, September 13 against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium, becoming the first team in NFL history to forfeit a 12-point lead with 20 minutes remaining in a game and end up losing by at least 17 points.
The blame is immense, and plenty of opportunity to spread it around exists both inside and outside of the Packers’ locker room, but LaFleur is shouldering the lion’s share for a couple of reasons.
The first, and most prominent, involves a decision he made to give back three points already on the board following a made field goal after officials called an offsides penalty on Minnesota. Green Bay was still in a fourth-down situation, and quarterback Jordan Love came up short on his attempt to sneak the football past the first-down marker.
Matt LaFleur Says Packers Will Remain Aggressive on Offense
LaFleur has faced scrutiny for the call in the aftermath of the loss, which he addressed during his postgame press conference via an unapologetic stance.
“I think that’s just — we’re going to be aggressive,” LaFleur said, per Pro Football Talk. “If it would have been a two-possession game, I probably would have thought otherwise. But I thought we had a chance. We didn’t do very well in the red zone.
“Sometimes you live and die by that, but we’re gonna be aggressive and we’re gonna try to go for the throat in that situation,” he continued.
Packers’ Biggest Problem in Week 1 Was Offensive Line
The situation is classic with regards to the popular practice in sports media and fandom of playing the so-called “Monday morning quarterback.”
Had LaFleur’s decision worked out for the better, most of the people calling him out over the last 15 hours would either be lauding the decision or ignoring it entirely.
However, it was part of an epic collapse that included a nearly 70-yard kickoff return by Vikings special teamer Myles Price and two costly turnovers influenced in large part by the Packers’ lack of acumen along the offensive line.
And it is the ineptitude and absence of talent along that front creating the second reason LaFleur is bearing some blame in the aftermath of an embarrassing NFC North Division loss to open the campaign.
That is not all on LaFleur, however. It’s also on general manager Brian Gutekunst for failing to stock the unit with high-end talent or real depth, and also on the players who couldn’t execute down the stretch when the offense needed it most.
“This team has enormous questions at guard, and it was rapidly clear on Sunday that Donovan Jennings and Jacob Monk were in over their heads,” Evan ‘Tex’ Western of SB Nation wrote Monday.
Starting left guard Aaron Banks missed the contest with knee tendonitis. But whether he is healthy enough to play Week 2 against the New York Jets or not, LaFleur and company need to add more depth answers to the offensive line — and quickly.
Packers HC Matt LaFleur Defiant After Costly Mistake in Vikings Loss