The Green Bay Packers built a roster that was supposed to be one of the best in the NFC, and one that was going to compete for a Super Bowl after making a big swing for Micah Parsons.
Instead, the team looked completely inept against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, falling 10-7 in their ugliest performance of the season.
At this point, sitting at 5-3-1 in third place in the NFC North, it’s time for the team to have a serious talk about Matt LaFleur’s future.
New Packers president
Ed Policy made it clear that no one’s job was safe this offseason, announcing that he wouldn’t extend the contracts of LaFleur or general manager Brian Gutekunst this year. While both still had two years left on their deals it was a clear indication that Policy was willing to evaluate that 2025 season before making decisions about either’s future.
Games like Monday night won’t do anything to convince Policy that LaFleur’s job is secure.
The Packers came into Monday Night Football with an uber-conservative approach, trying to hammer the running game while rarely allowing Jordan Love to air it out. The result was one net passing yard heading into the team’s two-minute drill before halftime, and zero points until a Josh Jacobs touchdown cut the deficit to 10-7 with less than six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
By the time the offense got the football again after gaining some momentum, there was just 2:18 on the clock, but a chance to tie or win the game. Instead of getting a chance to do either, the Packers called an inside run on fourth down (something that the Eagles defenders correctly called out) and were immediately stuffed to end the game.
As if that wasn’t enough, LaFleur couldn’t seem to make up his mind in the final moments of the game, opting to let the injured Brandon McManus kick a 64-yard field goal to try and tie the game, and coming nowhere close to fall to 5-3-1.
The Packers have scored just two touchdowns over the last two games, and don’t seem willing to let Love air it out until the situation becomes dire. And that’s despite the fact that the 27-year-old quarterback led the league in EPA per dropback heading into Week 10.
No one is blameless in this situation. Love makes some back-breaking mistakes (including a costly fumble before halftime), the wide receiver room is plagued with injuries (and another case of the drops on Monday night), while the offensive line has looked significantly worse this season.
However, when it comes to calling a proper gameplan against an opponent, LaFleur’s offense has looked completely inept in recent games, and the temperature on the hot seat is starting to crank up at an alarming rate.
