Green Bay’s loss to Cleveland exposed something unexpected, if not unsettling: a Packers’ offense that seemed more cautious than calculated — perhaps even worried. Translation: the piss was not hot.
Matt LaFleur’s game plan Sunday lacked aggressiveness and allowed the Browns to seize momentum when it mattered.
From the start, the offense was on eggshells, with seemingly no plan to push the ball downfield at all. Sure, the Browns boast one of the best defensive fronts in football, but so do the Packers
— and that didn’t stop a 40-year old Joe Flacco from throwing beyond the sticks.
Instead, LaFleur seemed content to call a game consisting of checkdowns and short gains. The run game never got going (81 yards on 31 carries) and with the pass protection breaking down, Jordan Love was under pressure for much of the afternoon.
A pivotal moment came late when LaFleur called a play that led directly to a Jordan Love interception. The turnover gave the Browns a short field and the chance to erase a 10-point deficit. LaFleur admitted postgame that the play-call was his mistake.
The TL;DR is that the Packers looked oddly rudderless against a below average football team, and clearly had no backup plan. Despite another overall dominant performance by the Packers defense, the offense appeared to be mired in futility — which is about how I’d sum up my viewing experience.
Packers coach gets brutally honest about loss to Browns – LaFleur’s coaching and play-calling were not good enough on Sunday, and he admitted as much.
Why Packers offensive struggles could be long-term concern – While Sunday’s upset loss to the Browns came down to a couple of special teams plays, the bigger problem was an afternoon-long struggle for Jordan Love & Co.
Micah Parsons: “sometimes you sh*t the bed” – Parsons partially blamed himself for committing two “unacceptable” penalties, including an offside on the final game-winning Browns drive.
It’s past time to talk about Rich Bisaccia’s job security – Rich Bisaccia’s special teams unit keeps falling short of expectations, year after year.
Sewage truck overturns – The Packers weren’t the only ones who spilled 1,500 gallons of sewage over the last week.
