Matt LaFleur: 'Great Question' Why Packers Didn't Run From 1-Yard-Line vs. Eagles

After the Packers missed an opportunity to tie the Eagles in the fourth quarter of Thursday's loss, coach Matt LaFleur isn't shying away from questions.
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After the Packers missed an opportunity to tie the Eagles in the fourth quarter of Thursday's 34–27 loss, coach Matt LaFleur isn't shying away from questions about it.

Green Bay fell behind by a touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter, and the team blew a missed opportunity on the goal-line to tie the score once they got the ball back.

The opportunity came with 9:19 left in the fourth quarter after a pass interference penalty on Philadelphia cornerback Avonte Maddox put Green Bay on the Eagles' 1-yard line with a first down. Instead of running the ball in on fourth-and-one, the Packers attempted passes four straight times from the mark, turning over the ball on downs and failing to score again in the loss.

When asked why the team didn't try to run the ball in, LaFleur said, "That’s a great question," according to Packer News' Ryan Wood.

"We got into goal line, we liked the matchup on the outside, Jimmy Graham on the safety and that was incomplete," LaFleur explained. "Second down we tried to stay in goal line thinking they might think we're running the ball. We ran the keeper and they played the keeper. Credit to them. The defensive end read the field and was right in Aaron [Rodgers]'s face. "Third down we called a play for the run/pass option and Aaron he saw who he saw and pulled the ball, then the defense reacted so he had to throw it away. Then fourth down we tried another pass. Unfortunately, it didn't work out for us."

When the Packers had one more chance to tie the game with less than a minute to play, quarterback Rodgers threw an interception from second-and-goal on the Philly 3-yard line.

"When you have one of the greatest quarterbacks ever, you trust him to continually gain yards and get down the field," LaFleur later said. "We were able to accomplish a lot of what we wanted to do."

The Packers finished with 31 yards on 15 carries outside of runs from Rodgers who finished with 46 yards on five runs.

Green Bay lost running back Jamaal Williams to an injury early in the game after he was hit by the Eagles' Derek Barnett. LaFleur said this "definitely factored in." ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Eagles defensive end Derek Barnett will not be considered for a suspension after hitting Williams.

The Packers moved to 3-1 with the loss, and the team next faces the Cowboys on Oct. 6. 


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