Now that the dust has settled a bit, the anger from Packer Nation hasn’t. Many are calling this the worst loss since the NFL merger (1970). This isn’t even the worst loss in the Matt LaFleur era…it’s not even the worst loss this season! If you’ve been following the Packers for some time (or the NFL for that matter), you should’ve noticed that Green Bay loses 2 games every single season that they have no business losing. Now, the Packers have 2 losses this season and both fit that category. Does that mean they won’t lose another game the rest of the season? No. It means they likely will beat the teams they should beat the rest of the year…or if they do lose to Chicago, maybe they’re not as good as we all think. The Packers losing to Cleveland is far worse than a loss to the, now, 5-3 Carolina Panthers. I’m not making excuses – should they have lost? Yes, based on their red zone offense and the play of the offensive line (more on that later). However, coming into the game, Green Bay should’ve won the game comfortably. The stats bear that out.

When you’re the underdog, much like Carolina, you want to shorten the game. This gives the better team less opportunities/time to prove they’re the better team. The Panthers did that, and just like all upsets the favorite must be compliant. Looking at just the stats, Green Bay outgained Carolina 369 to 265, averaging a full yard more per play (5.9 to 4.9). The Packers were even good on 3^rd down efficiency (7/13) while the Panthers were 4/10. The main culprit of this game was LaFleur’s decision to go for it on 4^th & 8 from the Panthers’ 13-yard line with 11:00 left in the game, down 7. In any scenario, that’s a must-kick the Field Goal situation. Regardless of the outcome, even had Green Bay scored a touchdown, they’d still need to hold Carolina to 3 or less on their next drive. The turnovers played a part, but that decision essentially cost the Packers the game – well that, and the awful OL play, which has turned into an epidemic this season.

Josh Jacobs is averaging 0.7 yards before contact and is getting hit behind the line of scrimmage on 45% of his carries. That’s not sustainable for a team with Super Bowl victory aspirations. Other than the OL “figuring it out,” the play-caller/designer must incorporate more quick throws and play action to help the OL create space for Jacobs and the ground game. The side effect to this would be giving Jordan Love more time to throw on passing plays and likely more room for Jacobs to do damage…sign me up!

In the grand scheme of things, it was an ugly loss, at home, to a team in your conference, but again with the tie to Dallas, won’t have any impact on tiebreaking scenarios (unless a team you’re tied with in the standings also has a tie down the road) – this fan base is calling for the firing of Matt LaFleur and believes the Packers won’t make the playoffs and they’re sitting at 5-2-1 and in 1^st place of the (arguably) best division in football. This is not to say that LaFleur is innocent or shouldn’t be on the hot seat, but he’d be hired in a heartbeat should he lose his job, regardless of when/how. My personal idea would be for him to take a page out of McCarthy’s playbook and give up play-calling (not because he’s bad) because that’s 2 full time jobs he’s conducting and Head Coach is the priority. Allow your Offensive Coordinator to takeover playcalling so you can get a better handle on gameday scenarios and situations rather than concerned with specific play calls/designs that’ll work in those specific situations.