4 Packers who will take the blame if season ends without Super Bowl
By Todd Welter
Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur will take some criticism.
LaFleur has compiled a 39-10 regular season record and three-straight NFC North Division championships. Despite all that success, he is just 2-3 in the playoffs.
LaFleur is an excellent play-caller, but a couple of his worst play-calling games came in the playoffs.
Against the Buccaneers in the 2020 NFC Championship Game, he was the one who called the three-straight pass plays from Tampa’s eight-yard line late in the game. All three plays went bust. Then LaFleur decided to kick a field goal to cut the Buccaneers’ lead to 31-26. It was not a sound move considering the Packers’ defense struggled to stop Tom Brady and company.
LaFleur took responsibility for all the special team gaffes against the 49ers in last year’s playoff loss.
He is the head coach so getting some heat for a loss comes with the job description. This is a coach who has had excellent success in the regular season. Another playoff failure may have some questioning if he can lead the Green Bay Packers to Super Bowl glory.
Whoever makes the biggest in-game mistake, player or assistant coach, will take some heat.
Special teams coordinator Maurice Drayton bore much of the blame for the loss to the 49ers. He was fired in the offseason after the Packers special teams breakdown led to a divisional round exit.
Former defensive coordinator Mike Pettine took a lot of heat for the defense breaking down in the 2019 and 2020 NFC Championship Games. Dom Capers took on a lot of blame when was the defensive coordinator during all those playoff losses in the early 2010s.
Blaming an assistant coach for not making the playoffs has become a Green Bay tradition. If new special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia cannot fix the unit, he may find himself drawing the ire of the Packers’ faithful. If the Green Bay Packers’ defense is the reason for another playoff loss, Joe Barry might get the same treatment as his predecessors.
Then there is also a player who makes a costly mistake. Brandon Bostick forever lives in infamy for trying to field an onside kick late in the 2014 NFC Championship Game against the Seattle Seahawks.
If Bostick let the ball go past him, Jordy Nelson recovers it cleanly and the Packers go onto the Super Bowl. Instead, Bostick tried to recover and bobbled the ball. The Seahawks recovered and went on to win the game.
Bostick caught more than just grief for being unable to hold onto a ball. He did take a lot of the blame for losing the game in which the defense let up after 55 minutes of dominating the Seahawks.
If a player makes a mistake as Bostick did, that player could join him on the list of scapegoats for the Packers not making the Super Bowl for the 12th straight season.