The Green Bay Packers lost yet another game they should've won. While taking down the Minnesota Vikings on the road and with key absences on both sides of the field was a tall ask, they were just 13 minutes away from pulling it off.
Then, Matt LaFleur got in his bag. He took three points off the board that would've put the Packers up eight points with less than a quarter to go. Then, a failed conversion left the door wide open for a disastrous final stretch.
The final score was 39-22, and the record now stands at 0-1. Once again, Jordan Love's big efforts went to waste. This is becoming a worrisome trend, and one can only wonder how much longer the Packers' quarterback can take it.
Matt LaFleur is hurting Jordan Love's legacy in Green Bay
The Packers have blown 18 and 12-point leads in their last two games. Love threw for 323 passing yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions in the Wild Card loss to the Chicago Bears. He had 387 passing yards, two scores, and one pick on Sunday.
We're talking about a quarterback who, despite having no offensive line, no running game whatsoever, and going against two divisional rivals, has now thrown for over 700 yards and six touchdowns, yet this team has lost both games.
The Packers refused to address their shaky offensive line this offseason. If anything, they doubled down on an underwhelming core by letting Rasheed Walker and Elgton Jenkins walk away in free agency.
As for the head coach, he continues to take risks when he doesn't have to, just to flick the switch and become the most conservative and vanilla play-caller out there. There's no juice, no substance, no emotion, just HB stretch time and time again. Then, facing third-and-long situations, it's up to Love to bail him out.
Love drew a bit of a bad rap when he first became a starter, but he's no longer the same player. The Packers must give him more freedom and use him to the best of his abilities, and he'll make better decisions. Even if he puts the ball in harm's way here and there, he's a true gunslinger with a cannon for an arm, and he'll give his guys a chance to make a play more often than not.
No one can argue that LaFleur knows what he's doing as an offensive architect, but perhaps it's time he relinquishes play-calling duties. Clearly, he can't do it all on his own, and he seems to lose track of the bigger picture, making childish clock- and game-management mistakes.
Love is balling out, putting MVP-caliber numbers, yet it always feels like there's no lead that's big enough that LaFleur's Packers won't blow. All of these heartbreaking losses will go in Love's record, even though he might be the only reason they're being competitive in the first place.
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