Most Important Development for Packers in Preseason? They Showed Backbone

Matt LaFleur brushed off the question. Adam Stenavich scoffed at it.

Yes, both of the coaches responsible for the offense of the Green Bay Packers saw Jordan Love’s head get dribbled off the turf in Denver last December, but did not think retaliation was necessary.

That’s a far cry from their predecessors. Mike McCarthy had enforcers. If an opponent dared to mess with any teammate, let alone the quarterback, he could expect to hear from T.J. Lang, David Bakhtiari or Josh Sitton.

That’s just the way that football was taught. The offensive linemen were considered enforcers.

Stenavich and LaFleur disagreed, with Stenavich quipping that getting a penalty on the play was not productive for anyone involved.

Six days after Love’s head was shoved into the turf at Empower Field, Love was hit in the helmet again at Chicago. Bears defensive tackle Austin Booker put the crown of his helmet into Love’s facemask as Love ducked into pressure.

Love laid on his back as Soldier Field roared around him, and Booker had plenty of things to say to the quarterback who was shaken up.

“Guys get kicked out of games for taunting, but if you hit a quarterback late in the head, you know what I’m saying?” guard Aaron Banks said after the game. “That should get the same treatment for something as simple as taunting. I think that has to be re-evaluated. I think that’s ridiculous.”

Ridiculous is talking after the fact, but doing nothing during the game to dissuade defenders from taking another shot at a teammate.

The Packers’ enforcers did nothing in the moment. They said plenty of things after the fact. They called Booker dirty. They said the hit was unnecessary. But it was all hot air as none of them did anything to jump to Love’s defense.

Sometimes, a 15-yard flag is worth it in order to send a message. The aforementioned examples apply there.

Fair or not, a team that doesn’t defend its players is going to be labeled a lot of unflattering terms. Soft is one of them.

Perhaps that’s part of the reason the Packers’ season ended in a five-game losing streak and an embarrassing loss to the Bears in the postseason. The lack of an edge to protect their own teammate was perplexing to say the very least.

When a teammate gets hit in unnecessary or illegal fashion, practicality is supposed to go out the window.

The 2026 season is a new season and a fresh start, and perhaps the Packers have turned over a new leaf. When a season ends in embarrassing fashion as it did last year, everything is on the table.

In Thursday night’s preseason opener at Pittsburgh, perhaps we saw a change in mentality from both the organization and the players on the field.

Tyrod Taylor escaped the pocket and charged upfield for a first down. He slid late, which caused Steelers linebacker Cole Holcomb to hit him after the play was over. The play drew a personal foul, which gave the Packers an additional 15 yards.

That’s not the important part of the play. The important part was what happened next.

Not saying this was @TJLang70 taking on the entire Cowboys defense in the Dez Didn’t Catch It playoff game, but it’s noteworthy that Belton and Monk didn’t just shrug at Holcomb’s late hit on Taylor. Can’t just stand by and do nothing, and they didn’t. pic.twitter.com/yWmSIxpr2w
— Jason Wilde (@jasonjwilde) August 14, 2026

After the play, right tackle Anthony Belton shoved Holcomb away from Taylor. Right behind him were interior offensive linemen Jacob Monk and Jager Burton. They exchanged some words and light shoves with the Steelers’ defense to let them know they weren’t happy about the play.

Was Holcomb’s play dirty? Not even close. Not even by today’s standards, when quarterbacks are hardly allowed to be touched.

Does it matter if it was dirty? Not at all. There’s a simple mentality shift that took place on the play. The quarterback was hit. The flag was thrown. Retribution was needed, whether it was practical or not.

Some combination of Monk, Burton or Belton will likely see playing time at some point this season. That means they might be in front of the franchise. When Love inevitably gets hit, players need to take exception to it.

That’s the type of edge the Packers have needed to play with for the last couple of years under LaFleur.

Michael Jordan is often lauded for taking anything that could be perceived as a slight and turning it into motivation. He’s arguably the greatest winner in the history of pro sports.

Look at Green Bay’s neighbors to the south. Sure, some of Ben Johnson’s actions may feel performative, but there’s little doubt that it works for his team. He has an edge. He hates his opponents and wants to beat them into submission. His team follows suit.

LaFleur’s teams, for one reason or another, have been missing that type of mentality in the biggest moments.

That’s one reason why Thursday night’s altercation might be the most encouraging thing to come out of Green Bay’s 28-9 loss. Is one altercation going to make the difference between winning a championship instead of a first-round exit?

Probably not.

It isn’t irrelevant, though. The Packers have been passive in situations like the one that rose up on Thursday night over the last two years, and they underachieved before being summarily dismissed in the postseason.

Standing up for a teammate in some of the biggest moments can permeate through the rest of the locker room.

And if it occasionally costs 15 yards?

Well worth it.

Our weekly Packers Overreactions are up, starting with the cornerback battle that disappeared at the end of the practice week. ⬇️https://t.co/9zigHD7LHc
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 14, 2026

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