Matt LaFleur Hopes Packers Have Learned Their Lesson

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur wasn’t upset that Rasheed Walker mentioned the possibility of going 17-0 as much as he was upset that the possibility crossed Walker’s mind.

“I know,” LaFleur said on Monday, one day after his team was shocked by the Cleveland Browns, “but I think it’s always a good reminder, like, ‘Hey, guys, pump the brakes on everything. We’re just trying to win one game at a time.’ And if you’re thinking [like that] or have your sights set on anything outside of that, I think you’re focused on the wrong things. Like, we’ve got to be focused on trying to get better.”

The Packers have to get better in almost every phase headed into a Sunday night matchup at the Dallas Cowboys.

The rushing offense led by Josh Jacobs ranks 27th with 3.42 yards per carry. Of 49 qualifying players, Jacobs is 42nd with a 3.10-yard average.

Including sacks, the passing offense propelled by Jordan Love averaged 4.67 yards per passing play against the Browns.

The passing defense has been strong in all three games, but the rushing defense was gashed twice late in the fourth quarter, which allowed the Browns to get back into the game.

The special teams allowed a critical blocked field goal and has turned every punt return into an adventure.

Added together, the Packers went from feasting on the powerful Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders to start the season to gobbling up a buffet of humble pie against the Browns, who had been 0-2.

“It just goes to show you if you don’t play your best, you’re susceptible to getting beat,” LaFleur said. “I knew it was going to be a tougher game probably than the outside world perceived.”

Or, perhaps, some of the inside world. While the defense really only allowed three points against the Browns, the offense couldn’t kick things into gear because it was too busy kicking itself in the shins with self-inflicted errors like penalties.

“I watched them versus Cincinnati and Baltimore, two pretty well-respected offenses in this league, and they did a pretty damn good job against them,” LaFleur continued. “I know the Baltimore game kind of got out of hand late but I thought it was a stout defense.

“[Browns defensive coordinator] Jim Schwartz has been doing it for a long time at a really high level. I’ve got a ton of respect for him. Those guys competed, they challenged us, and he did a good job of keeping us off-balance. We, obviously, didn’t get our run game going at all, and then we were having issues in the pass game, as well. That’s a recipe for not very successful offensive football.”

Now, the Packers will have to bounce back. During LaFleur’s first three seasons, his team never lost back-to-back games in regular-season play. However, the Packers had five- and two-game losing streaks in 2022, four- and two-game skids in 2023 and lost its final two games of the 2024 regular season before losing in the playoffs, as well.

The bright side is it’s early in the season. While there’s a possibility the loss in Cleveland will be the difference in the NFC North race or for playoff seeding, it’s early and a September setback probably won’t be catastrophic.

As safety Xavier McKinney put it after the game, “It’s just one f***ing game.”

“I still think we got a great team,” he added. “I think we’re going to do some special things this year, but I also think it’s good that we learned this lesson early. I’d rather learn it early than late, so I think that’s really the biggest lesson that we learned right now.”

Micah Parsons called it a “character-building” loss after the game.

“This is adversity,” he said. “Undefeated season, they’re hard. Let’s be real. Sometimes, just like today, you sh** the bed. That’s just the reality of it. It happens to the best teams. … It’s hard as hell to win football games. When you win football games, it’s a celebration. But when you lose it sucks.”

Will the Packers have learned a lesson from adversity?

This week’s opponent, the Cowboys, are 1-2. After the bye, the Packers will host the Cincinnati Bengals, who are 2-1 but will be without superstar quarterback Joe Burrow. Sandwiched between a showdown game at Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers and a home game against the defending Super Bowl-champion Eagles, the Packers will host the Carolina Panthers, who are 1-2 and coming off a sixth consecutive season of 10-plus losses.

“I just think this league is such a week-to-week league and you can never lose sight of that,” LaFleur said. “And you can never take any moment, any game for granted. And the goal, and I’ve said it a million times to you guys – I don’t think I’ve obviously said it enough to our team – the goal is to go 1-0 every week.

“And it pisses me off when we start talking about things outside of the next game (and) things that are way down the road. Keep the focus on the present, on the now, and worry about getting better each and every day.”