Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur decided to take points off the board early in the fourth quarter of his team's Week 1 game against the Minnesota Vikings.
LaFleur's decision came after Vikings edge rusher Dallas Turner was whistled for being offsides on a 40-yard field goal attempt. Trey Smack's kick was good, and declining the penalty would have given the Packers a 25-17 lead.
Instead, LaFleur accepted the penalty to set his team up with a fourth-and-1 from the Vikings' 17-yard line. The Packers then dialed up a quarterback sneak with Jordan Love, but the veteran quarterback's efforts to reach the line to gain were thwarted.
LaFleur's call was met with a mixed reaction. CBS color analyst J.J. Watt actually liked the decision, but he noted
he was less enthralled by Green Bay's execution on the quarterback sneak.
"I like the aggressiveness, I like that he said, 'I believe in you guys, let's go win this right now,'" Watt said. "What I don't like, is no pusher. We've all seen in today's NFL with these quarterback sneaks how difficiult it is when you have these massive bodies - no pusher. And now he's running into 'Big Citrus' down here, and he stonewalls him, and no one's there to help him get that extra push that he needs."
Love's inability to get that push resulted in the Packers ended up turning the ball over on downs. That handed the Vikings an opportunity to mount a go-ahead drive early in the fourth quarter.
Minnesota capitalized. Green Bay was whistled for a couple of key, drive-extending penalties before Aaron Jones punched in a 3-yard touchdown with 6:37 left in regulation. Justin Jefferson then caught a 2-point conversion to extend the Vikings' lead to 25-22.
A Love interception would later lead to another Vikings touchdown, with Minnesota taking a 39-22 lead with 3:55 left in the game.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Matt LaFleur's questionable fourth-down call leads to Packers meltdown
