The Green Bay Packers got back into the win column with a 23-19 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday afternoon. While the results don’t count yet, their second preseason game provided some valuable data points and some things to clean up before the regular season opens with a visit from the Detroit Lions on Sept. 7.
In the latter category, Matt LaFleur put rookie offensive tackle Anthony Belton into his crosshairs. After screaming at the rookie on the way to the locker room and blasting him in the postgame press conference, it appears LaFleur has cooled off over Sunday’s recovery day and has an idea how to eliminate some of his mistakes.
Packers HC Matt LaFleur on Anthony Belton's illegal-formation penalties:
— Jason B. Hirschhorn (@by_JBH) August 17, 2025
"I don't want to put it all on him. On some of those alignment things, the guard's got to move up."
LaFleur might have a point: pic.twitter.com/Beon3OFGN1
Matt LaFleur Reverses Course on Packers Rookie Anthony Belton
Belton had a tough afternoon on Saturday, committing five penalties in the first half against the Colts. Some of the penalties were of the pre-snap variety, committing two illegal formation penalties and a false start. But he also had infractions when the play ensued, getting flagged for unnecessary roughness and a face mask.
“I love the effort,” LaFleur said after the game on Saturday. “It’s just that you got to be smarter than that in those situations.”
The sequence made it no secret why LaFleur gave the rookie a piece of his mind going into the locker room for halftime. But he also noted that it was a total team effort that could help Belton cut down on his infractions.
“I don’t want to put it all on him,” LaFleur said via Jason B. Hirschhorn of The Leap on Sunday afternoon. “On some of those alignment things, the guard’s got to move up.”
Offensive line coach Luke Butkus also took some blame for Belton’s performance on Saturday, praising his aggressiveness but also admitting he needs to play smarter.
“He’s aggressive. He’s playing hard but you also have to play smart,” Butkus said via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. “That starts with me. He did respond. That first half was pretty bad, for him to come back and play a cleaner second half, he didn’t go down in the dumps.”
A second-round pick by the Packers in April’s draft, Belton had a solid preseason debut, logging a 65.9 overall grade and no pressures on 20 pass-blocking attempts according to Pro Football Focus. But Saturday’s game was a different story with an overall grade of 36.6 and five pressures allowed on 27 pass-blocking snaps.
Perhaps these growing pains are to be expected knowing the Packers “draft-and-develop” style they’ve used with their rookies. But Belton will need a rebound performance to end the preseason on a high note and get back in the good graces of his head coach.