If you missed the Green Bay Packers’ season opener, you could probably just watch last year’s again.
Like 2021’s stinker against the New Orleans Saints, the Packers laid a massive egg in Week 1 this year against an NFC opponent. Questionable personnel decisions, missed opportunities, and an unfortunate lack of urgency and energy filled the loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Simply put, the team played poorly. Matt LaFleur was quick to take the blame, as he usually does. The players needed to execute better, but everything starts from the top.
Fortunately, the Packers don’t lose very often with LaFleur. Since taking over in 2019, Green Bay is 39-11 in the regular season and 2-3 in the playoffs. But when they lose, they tend to lose badly. LaFleur’s squad has a few comeback wins against good teams, but they look out of control when things start snowballing. Why does the team so easily go gently into that good Sunday night?
In 2019, two of the three losses were bad, followed by another drubbing in the playoffs. The Packers looked lost against the Los Angeles Chargers and San Francisco 49ers (twice!), both of whom had powerful pass-rush units led by a Bosa brother. Green Bay never looked ready and was forced to play catch-up early. They lost to the Chargers, 26-11; to the 49ers, 37-8; and to San Francisco in the postseason, 37-20.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers roasted the Packers in the Florida heat the following season. Aaron Rodgers played one of the worst games of his career, including a rare pick-six (and he came close to another one). The Packers led early but lost control of the game in the second quarter and never regained it. They lost 38-10.
The Packers opened the 2021 season by getting blown out by the Saints 38-3 in Jacksonville. Just like in the 2022 opener, the team looked unprepared, there were constant communication issues, and the team never looked remotely ready.
Not every loss is a kick in the teeth, of course. The Packers had true back-and-forths against Philly in 2019, Minnesota in 2020 and 2021, and the Indianapolis Colts in 2020 (in overtime). Outside of 2019, the playoff losses were more heartbreakers than national embarrassments.
But when the chips are down early, the Packers seem to fold. Every team is going to lose at some point. But why do the Packers have to lose so badly? These blowout losses seem to have a few elements in common.
The opponents in these losses generally have powerful pass-rush units. From a clean pocket, Rodgers is the best in the business, but he struggles more than his peers under pressure. The defenses tend to rattle Rodgers early and throw him off his usually clean game.
Green Bay was quickly outscored in all but the Bucs game in 2020, and the Packers found themselves in a hole early. When this happens, LaFleur and Rodgers tend to go away from the game plan, and Rodgers plays hero ball. That seldom works, as they completely abandon the run. When you’ve based your offense around the run, that’s less than ideal.
LaFleur acknowledged this in his Monday press conference, blaming Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon for only getting 23 touches. Jones and Dillon were two of the few offensive players playing well against Minnesota, making their lack of usage even more discouraging.
These blowout losses also curiously seem to come after some time off. Both 2019’s regular-season loss to San Francisco and the 2020 regular-season loss to Tampa Bay (I have to specify because they lost to each team twice in those respective years) came following bye weeks. Add those to the Week 1 debacles that opened the seasons.
The final common theme is the team’s lack of urgency and energy in these losses. It’s not something we can easily quantify, but the body language is poor, the lack of fight is obvious, and constant little mistakes add up to a disaster. The team looks lethargic and unprepared.
These issues point to a lack of proper preparation as the biggest concern. When you’re quickly moving on from the game plan, making constant mistakes, and playing unenergetic football, especially after time away, that’s a problem that starts from the top.
“Maybe we’re doing something wrong in practice,” LaFleur suggested Monday, “whatever it may be.”
Without being at practice, it’s hard to say exactly what needs to be done. LaFleur is a lot smarter than I am. He’s a fantastic head coach not only for his football knowledge but because of the culture he’s built. Week 1 is often an anomaly, and Sunday’s loss shouldn’t define the season. The Packers should crush the Chicago Bears next week. But to prevent these kinds of losses in the future and ensure the team has a deep playoff run, something in LaFleur’s approach needs to change.
