Packers’ Matt LaFleur furious with complacency in conversations before Browns loss, ‘the goal is…’

Matt LaFleur said he ‘obviously hasn’t told the team enough’ that the goal is to go 1-0

The Green Bay Packers suffocated the Detroit Lions in Week 1, holding Jared Goff and company to just six points at Lambeau Field through the first three quarters of the game.

They were equally dominant in Week 2 against Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders, and Jeff Hafley’s defense was being lauded as perhaps the most difficult unit to face across the entire league.

While that defense played well in the game against the Cleveland Browns, the offense was unable to do enough to pull away. Jordan Love hit rookie Matthew Golden on a deep ball down the sideline, but the young receiver drifted out of bounds before he could take off for a score.

The Browns were able to nullify the Packers’ run game, which kept the game close going into the fourth quarter. A Jordan Love interception then allowed the Browns to pull themselves back into it, and Quinshon Judkins converted for the score.

It was a game that a Super Bowl hopeful franchise should have won, and proved that the Packers are not as untouchable as they’d seemed through the first two games.

Before the game, several players had mentioned that the mission isn’t to listen to outside noise, but to focus on going 1-0 every week. Veteran safety Xavier McKinney said he wasn’t buying the hype on his own team, trying to maintain a winning mentality for each game.

However, offensive tackle Rasheed Walker made a comment that stepped outside of those guidelines, saying:

“The goal is to keep it going, and I think we can go undefeated. I feel like we could have gone undefeated the past two seasons. We lost a lot of the games on a couple of plays…Pound for pound, I look at these teams and I don’t really see who is better than us, honestly.”

Matt LaFleur then spoke after the Browns’ loss, and seemed to suggest that the team, or certain players on the team, had gotten ahead of themselves.

“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. It pisses me off when we start talking about things outside of the next game, things that are way down the road.”

Fans were also critical of Walker’s comments, suggesting that saying that sort of thing is a sure-fire way to walk yourself into a loss in the coming weeks. Just days later, they lost to the Cleveland Browns.

One fan said:

“Giving the entire league bulletin board material is certainly a choice.”

Green Bay will now go on the road for Micah Parsons’ reunion in Dallas

The Green Bay Packers now have a chance to get right this weekend with a prime time matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.

The two sides have been locked into a storyline since Micah Parsons was traded for two first-round picks and Kenny Clark before the season began, and despite the remarkable difference in public perception on both sides, if the Cowboys win, both teams will be 2-2.

That said, Dallas is dealing with various injuries and is now expected to be without both CeeDee Lamb and guard Tyler Booker for multiple weeks.

The Green Bay Packers can get back on track with a win and will need to do so to maintain their ambitions of winning the NFC North as the Detroit Lions start to get hot.