Same Old Story for Matt LaFleur’s Packers in Playoff Loss to Eagles

Just like in big-game losses to the Lions and Vikings, the Packers were thoroughly outplayed in the first half. Then, discipline issues helped ruin any chance of a comeback.

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur calls a play during Sunday's wild-card loss to the Eagles. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA – Stop me if you’ve heard this before.

The Green Bay Packers fell behind early, eventually made it a game, but made too many mistakes and ultimately fell short in a 22-10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in a wild-card playoff game on Sunday.

At this point in the season, even Bill Murray is tired of telling you that it’s Groundhog’s Day.

It was the continuation of what was a season-long trend for coach Matt LaFleur’s Packers. Every mistake that plagued them seemingly never got corrected.

One of the biggest trends this season was starting slowly in games against the NFC’s elite.

The Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles had the three best records in the NFC.

Six of Green Bay’s seven losses came against those teams.

Whether it was kicking short field goals in the red zone against the Eagles in the season opener or falling behind 28-0 against the Vikings in late September, the Packers were stuck in the mud as the NFC’s elite raced by them.

In the two losses to Detroit, the two losses to Minnesota and the playoff loss to the Eagles, the Packers trailed a combined 85-20 at halftime.

On Sunday, Keisean Nixon, one of the team’s few veteran players on a historically young Packers team, fumbled the opening kickoff.

It appeared on replay that Nixon got back on top of the loose ball, but the officiating crew ruled the Eagles had recovered.

Three plays later, Jalen Hurts hit Jahan Dotson, and it was 7-0 Eagles.

That deficit expanded to 10-0, which wound up being the halftime score.

LaFleur’s offense, as dynamic was it was early in the season and for much of his tenure, hit a slog in the last month of the season.

The most points they scored after Christmas came in late December against Minnesota, when they scored 25. Most of those points came after – you guessed it – they fell behind by multiple scores. 

Surely, the tendency to start slow would be fixed by now, right?

Wrong.

That 10-0 deficit came with the Packers crossing midfield just twice in the first half. Perhaps predictably, they shot themselves in the foot both times they did.

Jordan Love threw an interception that hit Zach Baun right between his numbers and Brandon McManus missed a field goal.

Thanks to the work of Jeff Hafley’s defense, the Packers were within striking distance as the game rolled into the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately for the Packers, they were guilty of two boneheaded penalties.

LaFleur has said he takes personal fouls called against his players personally.

Perhaps he’s not taking them personally enough.

Unnecessary-roughness penalties on Nixon and defensive tackle T.J. Slaton gifted the Eagles free first downs, and as a result, six points that were death knells in a game in which the offense was stuck in quicksand.

“Yeah, you got to be disciplined at all times. And I get it, football is an emotional game, but you got to put your emotions in check,” LaFleur said.

“I know there's a difference of opinion when I was asking some of the guys of what they thought about some of those. But, bottom line is, you got to keep your emotions in check and you can't do anything to put yourself in the crosshairs of the officials. You never know how they're going to officiate that. So, we just got to be better. Bottom line.”

These trends would be troubling if they lasted for half of a season.

These were trends that carried over the course of an entire season.

Yes, the Packers are a young team, but LaFleur was not willing to use youth as an excuse for his team’s lapses.

“I think every year’s a little bit different, and it’s ultimately about how the collective comes together and how we perform as a unit, as a whole team.” LaFleur said when asked whether his team needed more veterans on the roster.

“And I think there’s going to be a lot of time for reflection for that, but I love those guys in that locker room and I appreciate all they do, how they compete, how they put the work in, and I just really hurt for those guys.”

Those guys were also hurt by LaFleur during the season.

Ultimately, the responsibility of discipline and composure lay at the feet of the head coach. That’s true of any team, not just Green Bay.

Do you see Andy Reid’s team making boneheaded penalties in a big spot? Dan Campbell? What about Kevin O’Connell?

That’s true even of the Eagles’ Nick Sirianni, who has a fiery personality of his own.

LaFleur could not find a way to balance giving his team fire while keeping their emotions in check.

That was true of the physical mistakes like the unnecessary-roughness penalties, as well as the mental fortitude that was absent in these big games.

That falls on the head coach.

LaFleur is not going anywhere, and he should not.

However, there are some troubling trends that are becoming too large to ignore.

His playoff record is now 3-5. All of their playoff losses have followed a similar trend of sloppiness and big mistakes in big moments.

Running LaFleur’s true offense was supposed to be the elixir that removed what plagued them in big games with control at the line of scrimmage no longer being ceded to Aaron Rodgers.

LaFleur’s offense stunk on Sunday in Philadelphia. It was not very good last January against San Francisco, either.

They did have a 48-point outburst against the Dallas Cowboys in last year’s wild-card game, but 33 percent is not going to earn high marks in any sport other than baseball.

Unfortunately for LaFleur, he isn’t playing baseball, he’s coaching in a city called Titletown.

With another season down the drain, if 2025 looks similar to 2024, it’ll be fair to wonder if LaFleur is the right man to lead the team to the franchise’s 14th NFL title. 

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