Packers Must Respond After Getting ‘Punched in Mouth’

“We’re pissed off, like we just got hit in the ... mouth. You’re not always going to go out there and win every game, but how you respond to that loss says everything about your football team.”

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The talk on Monday was tougher than the performance on Sunday.

A day after the Green Bay Packers were trounced by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38-10, there was no dodging the reality.

Coach Matt LaFleur called it getting “punched in the mouth.”

Right tackle Billy Turner took it much further.

“We’re pissed off, like we just got hit in the f***ing mouth, to be honest with you. You’re not always going to go out there and win every game, but how you respond to that loss says everything about your football team.”

During their 4-0 start, the Packers looked like a Super Bowl contender. By contrast, what unfolded on Sunday looked more like the play of an NFC East contender.

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In his first four games, quarterback Aaron Rodgers had 13 touchdowns vs. zero interceptions, completed 70.5 percent of his passes and amassed a passer rating approaching 130. Against the Bucs, he had zero touchdowns vs. two interceptions. He completed 45.7 percent of his passes, and his 35.4 passer rating was the second-worst of his career.

Aaron Jones averaged 5.8 yards per carry in the first four games but just 1.5 vs. Tampa Bay.

An offensive line that allowed three sacks and nine quarterback hits in the first four games gave up five sacks and 13 quarterback hits vs. the Bucs.

The Packers had just one three-and-out possession to start the season but five on Sunday.

They had averaged a staggering 34.0 points per game in the second through fourth quarters the first four weeks but scored zero on Sunday.

In their final 10 drives, they didn’t snap the ball a single time on the Buccaneers’ side of the field.

A defense that had survived by making timely stops didn’t produce anything resembling a key play. The Packers delivered zero turnovers, sacks and passes defensed and only one tackle for loss.

The Smith Bros. combined for two tackles – one solo tackle by Preston Smith and one assisted tackle by Za’Darius Smith.

By our unofficial count, Bucs running back Ronald Jones had 80 rushing yards after contact on rushes and broke six tackles.

How do the Packers bounce back for Sunday’s game at the Houston Texans when they couldn’t bounce back to challenge the Bucs?

“Honestly, when you get your ass kicked, don’t get your ass kicked the next week,” Turner said. “It’s really that simple.”

The Packers can’t wallow in their misery for long. Up next is a trip to Houston. The Texans are 1-5 but beat Jacksonville in Week 5 and pushed undefeated Tennessee to overtime in Week 6. The Texans aren’t great but they do have some great players with quarterback Dashaun Watson, defensive end J.J. Watt and linebacker Zach Cunningham.

As always, LaFleur absorbed the blame.

“Certainly, yesterday was extremely bad,” LaFleur said. “I think – I know – it totally starts with me first. I obviously didn’t get these guys ready to play and I don’t think I did a good enough job as a play-caller, either. That’s two problems in one. We’ve just got to make sure we go back to the drawing board.

“We understand has gotten us to this point thus far, and it starts with our practice on Wednesday. We have to be locked in. We’ve got to make sure as coaches we’re asking our players to do things that they’re capable of doing. You’ve got to take it one day at a time. We’re going to have another tough opponent, I promise you, I know that they’re coming off a tough loss vs. the Tennessee Titans, who I know pretty well and I’ve got a lot of respect for that football team. It was a game that certainly Houston could’ve won. So, we’re going to get their best shot. They’re going to be motivated. We better go down there ready to play.”