The Green Bay Packers probably could not have played much worse, as the Minnesota Vikings rolled them by 20 points at Lambeau Field in Week 10.
After the game, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur made quite clear who was to blame for the embarrassing defeat.
“Certainly, we didn’t have our guys coached up well enough,” LaFleur said during the postgame press conference.
Packers Gave QB Jordan Love Little Chance to Play at MVP Level Against Vikings
The Vikings hounded quarterback Jordan Love all day, tallying 12 quarterback hits and eight sacks that translated into four turnovers.
Green Bay’s offensive line has often looked a mess this season, though never worse than it did on Sunday against the Vikings or in Week 1 when the Packers lost by a score of 39-22 in Minnesota.
“I was trying to rack my brain during the game trying to call anything that could get the ball out of [Love’s] hands in a timely fashion, so I’ve just gotta take a look at exactly what happened up front because obviously it wasn’t good,” LaFleur continued. “And some of those are on the play design … they’re longer developing throws.”
The Packers coach added that it was a considerable error on his part not to incorporate the quick game more frequently earlier in the contest.
“Obviously a bad decision because our quarterback was getting abused, just like he did in the first game,” LaFleur admitted. “We had called some of that early on and it really wasn’t successful until the second half.”
Packers Face Tough Climb to Playoffs in Talented NFC North
LaFleur did everything but openly admit that the Vikings out-coached the Packers, namely defensive coordinator Brian Flores who matched up directly with LaFleur as Green Bay’s offensive play caller.
The Packers had won five of six games coming into the contest, though the loss on Sunday looms large for the team’s playoff chances given the circumstances inside the NFC North Division.
The Vikings (7-2) are now tied with the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions for the division lead, while the Packers are 1.5 games back at 6-4. Green Bay did beat the Bears at Lambeau Field in Week 5 without quarterback Caleb Williams, but the Packers are 0-3 in the division otherwise with one loss to Detroit and now two to Minnesota.
In any other year, Green Bay would remain in great position to earn a spot in the playoffs. However, the Packers still have to travel to Chicago and host a juggernaut Lions offense down the stretch of the season. Green Bay also has a game against the 8-1 Buffalo Bills looming on December 13.
Packers’ Matt LaFleur Assigns Blame for Disastrous Vikings Loss