After riding a massive high in the first two weeks, the Green Bay Packers came crashing back to earth in Week 3. Despite holding a 10-point lead over the lowly Cleveland Browns, the Packers got the best of themselves, allowing the Browns to come back and stun Green Bay with a 13-10 comeback victory on Sunday afternoon.
The loss was the latest instance of the Packers playing down to their opponent under Matt LaFleur and they may have another concerning development ahead of a Week 4 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys. As if Dallas limping into the game with a 1-2 record didn’t scream “trap game,” the alarm got louder when the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Nick Harris reported that CeeDee Lamb will miss Sunday’s game with a high ankle sprain.
Packers Can’t Afford to Play to their Competition After CeeDee Lamb’s Injury
Lamb was injured in the first quarter of the Cowboys’ loss to the Bears on Sunday afternoon and Monday’s MRI revealed that the star receiver will miss the next two to four weeks due to a high ankle sprain. While Harris reports that Lamb feels like he can play through the injury, the Cowboys’ medical staff is overriding Lamb’s wishes, meaning the Cowboys will be without their top offensive weapon when the Packers visit AT&T Stadium on Sunday night.
The first reaction for fans is that the Packers are catching a break if Lamb actually winds up on the sidelines Sunday night. But it also could be a cause for concern as the Packers typically play down to their competition under LaFleur.
Last week’s game was probably the biggest example as the Packers were claiming they were going to the Super Bowl with an undefeated record after dominating the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders in the first two weeks. While the defense showed up to hold the 0-2 Browns to 13 points, the offense had a tough day, allowing Cleveland to stay in the game long enough to earn the comeback victory.
It’s a script that has followed LaFleur throughout his career. One of the worst games in his tenure came during the 2023 season when the Tommy DeVito-led New York Giants, who entered the game with a 4-8 record, handed the 6-6 Packers a 24-22 loss on Monday Night Football, making DeVito a folk hero and forced the Packers to win three out of their final four games to make the playoffs.
Another such loss came in 2022 when LaFleur’s Packers took on a Lions team that had been eliminated from the playoffs earlier on the final day of the season. Needing a win to get into the playoffs themselves, Dan Campbell brought a massive bag of tricks to Lambeau Field, shocking the Packers, forcing them to miss the playoffs and effectively ending the Aaron Rodgers era.
Then there was the 2021 season opener where the Packers hosted the New Orleans Saints. In the first game of the post-Drew Brees era, Jameis Winston dogwalked the Green Bay defense for five passing touchdowns in a 38-3 victory.
With the exception of the 2022 loss to the Lions, the Packers wound up being OK after their disappointing losses. But Green Bay needs to maintain its focus, playing a cleaner game even when they see a Cowboys team on the ropes Sunday night. Micah Parsons will have no such issues getting motivated to stick it to his former team, but the rest of the Packers need to show up if they don’t want to add to LaFleur’s record of unexplainable losses.