Three Overreactions After Packers Waste Chance to Beat Cowboys

He got the ball five times in the second half and overtime. All five times, the Packers were trailing. All five times, he led the offense to points. The first three of those possessions were go-ahead touchdowns. The fourth possession produced a field goal that sent the game to overtime. The fifth possession produced a field goal that produced the tie.

“That’s J-Love, man. I’ve witnessed it since I’ve put a foot in this building,” said receiver Romeo Doubs, who caught all three of Love’s touchdown passes.

The numbers were sensational. He went 31-of-43 for 337 yards and three touchdowns, good for a 118.1 passer rating. The Packers went a combined 11-of-15 on third and fourth down and 5-of-6 in the red zone.

To be sure, Love’s stats were fattened up by a bunch of screens. He was 26-of-26 on passes thrown shorter than 10 yards downfield. By our count, 255 yards came after the catch. (Stathead had 252 yards, 51 yards more than any other quarterback this season).

But when it mattered, Love delivered with his arm. He played winning football against a great quarterback, which is what must be done if he’s going to win a Super Bowl in his career.

3. Biggest Bye Week of Matt LaFleur’s Career

What happened the last two weeks is unacceptable.

Super Bowl-caliber teams don’t blow a 10-0 lead in the fourth quarter and lose to the Cleveland Browns. They don’t blow four leads to the Dallas Cowboys, including 34-30 with 1:45 remaining.

That Week 5 bye, which seemed too early when the schedule came out, probably is the perfect time. Not just to get healthy but for coach Matt LaFleur to figure out what in the hell has happened to his team, which crushed the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders in convincing fashion to start the season.

First, it’s his offense. If defenses are going to be hellbent on stopping Josh Jacobs, is it time to unleash Jordan Love?

Second, it’s the special teams. The Packers might be 4-0 if not for the blocked field goal against Cleveland and the blocked extra point against Dallas. That issue must be squared away immediately, if not sooner. Moreover, Matthew Golden is clueless as a punt returner. That’s not a knock on him; he’s never been a punt returner in his life. Learning how to return punts in the NFL is like learning how to drive at the Daytona 500.

Clock management is an oxymoron. The mismanagement of the end of the third quarter at Cleveland was nothing in comparison to the end of overtime at Dallas.

Finally, it’s the big picture. LaFleur, like all coaches, loves to talk about complementary football. With Green Bay up 7-0 in the first quarter, he faced a fourth-and-2 from Dallas’ 49. Not that it necessarily matters, but you know darned well that Lions coach Matt Campbell would have gone for the first down 100 times out of 100 in that situation. It’s one reason why Campbell is beloved by his players.

Instead, LaFleur went all brakes and no gas. Even though the offense was rolling and had the Cowboys’ defense on its heels, LaFleur took a delay of game and punted.

Should he have gone for the first down in hopes of taking a commanding lead, at the risk of giving the Cowboys an early jolt of momentum? Or should he have punted and let his defense do its thing?

Hindsight is 20/20 in all these decisions. And, actually, the decision wasn’t wrong. Green Bay punted, the defense got a stop and the offense scored a touchdown.

Still, there was a statement to be made and LaFleur didn’t make it.

The last couple games, it appears he’s stuck in a bit of a no-man’s land of what to do on offense in light of the early-season domination on defense. He could have gone for it on that fourth-and-2 in the first quarter. He could have gone for the kill in overtime rather than being preoccupied by the Cowboys’ kicker. It’s almost as if he’s playing not to lose, which is understandable given how his defense played at Cleveland and was playing at Dallas.

Maybe the fallibility the defense showed on Sunday will encourage him to step on the gas on offense.

If the Packers really are good enough to win a Super Bowl, they should be good enough to win games rather than not lose them. 

That is why this upcoming week is so important. After back-to-back playoff seasons, LaFleur was given Micah Parsons. He was not given a contract extension. Regardless of the level of heat under his seat, the expectations are for the Packers to at least contend for a championship this year.

Instead, after two bad “losses,” the Packers look like pretenders. The pressure will be on during this bye week to get the season pointed back in the right direction.