Packers Play Their Worst When Their Best Is Required

Another big game, another big loss – and another huge hurdle for the former championship contenders.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers have a big-time, big-game problem. The latest failure came on Sunday night against the Detroit Lions. With a trip to the playoffs on the line, the Packers lost 20-16.

Most teams, including 13 that reach the postseason, lose their final game. For Green Bay, though, it’s a chronic issue that needs solutions. Why do the Packers, a veteran team led by an MVP quarterback, keep losing the biggest games of the season?

“That’s a great question,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “I don’t think I’d be standing here answering that if I knew right now.”

In 2019, the Packers in LaFleur’s first season edged the Seattle Seahawks at home in the divisional round but were trounced at the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.

In 2020, the Packers beat the Los Angeles Rams at home in the divisional round but were upset by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game.

In 2021, the Packers were one-and-done with a divisional-round loss to the 49ers.

In 2022, the Packers were none-and-done with a play-in loss to the Lions. That’s three consecutive season-ending losses at Lambeau Field, the former cold-weather fortress where they’ve rolled out the welcome mat and become a doormat.

“You’ve got to be your best each and every Sunday, whether it’s the first game of the season or the last game, and, if you don’t, you’re going to get beat, especially when you’re playing against solid football teams,” LaFleur said.

The Lions, indeed, are a “solid” football team but, no offense to DeShon Elliott, the Packers should not lose that type of game. Certainly not at home to a dome team.

But they did, and it’s become a nasty habit.

In 2019, the Packers maybe weren’t quite ready for primetime. In 2020, Lambeau Field was empty other than some sign-banging COVID health-care workers, first responders and their families.

There are no excuses for how the last two seasons ended.

In 2021, Lambeau Field was packed. It was cold. It was snowy. With seemingly everything in their favor, the Packers lost. There were no excuses on Sunday, either. Lambeau was packed. It was cold. The Packers were playing for the playoffs against a team that had just been eliminated. They lost that game, too.

Championship teams fight through adversity. The Packers haven’t shown enough fight. Championship teams make the big plays in the big moments. The Packers have made none.

In 2019, 49ers running back Raheem Mostert had 160 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the first half compared to 65 passing yards and two turnovers by Aaron Rodgers.

In 2020, the first-half disaster of a Rodgers interception and a Tom Brady touchdown vs. Kevin King was followed by Aaron Jones’ fumble to start the second half. Trailing 28-10, Green Bay showed some fight but punted after the second and third of Brady’s interceptions. When it stalled inside the 10 in the final minutes, LaFleur didn’t bet on his scheme and the MVP quarterback and the top-ranked scoring offense. Rather, he bet on his defense to stop the legendary Brady.

In 2021, the Packers appeared poised to run the 49ers right out of Green Bay until a fumble by the beloved Marcedes Lewis. The Packers never regained momentum. They might have won, anyway, if not for a blocked punt. And they still might have won had Rodgers completed more than two passes to someone not named Davante Adams or Jones.

In 2022, the Packers appeared poised to take a two-score lead into halftime vs. the Lions. Instead, the beloved Jones fumbled. As was the case against San Francisco, the Packers never regained momentum. And, as was the case against San Francisco, Rodgers had a chance to make magic with a legendary last-minute drive but instead made the team’s vacation plans.

“The one thing that I’ve seen from us I would say in these end-of-the-year games is people sometimes will go outside of their role to try to make a play, and I don’t think you can ever operate that way,” LaFleur said.

“You’ve focus down in and down out on doing your job and trusting that the other 10 men are going to do their jobs, because when you go outside the framework of whatever your responsibility is, typically bad things happen. We’ve got to really hone in on that, I think, moving forward, when we get into games like these. Making sure that we maintain that focus of, you don’t have to play hero ball or anything like that. Just do your job.”

There are no drills for clutch play. When the game’s on the line, you either make a play or you don’t. Maybe the Packers need a new play-caller on offense. Maybe they need an attitude adjustment on defense. Maybe they need a new quarterback. Maybe they need, in the words of college basketball commentator Bill Raftery, some onions.

Whatever the solution, until the Packers figure out how to play their best in big games, they can’t be taken seriously as a contender.

“I think it’s an emphasis. It’s an emphasis and a reminder each and every play or whenever you get an opportunity,” LaFleur said. “These guys are all competitors and they all have an unbelievable, unwavering belief in themselves to be able to go out there and do whatever it is to make a play. I just think you’ve got to allow those plays to happen organically and just make the play that’s meant to be made.”

More Green Bay Packers News

Remember the gold zone?
This year, it was the fool's gold zone. The #Packers were bad all season inside the 20 and they were bad on Sunday vs. the Lions.https://t.co/FmEgk5oXt8

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) January 11, 2023

Nathaniel Hackett and the Packers’ fool’s gold zone

Packers sign Etling, Goodson, “Freaks List” member

Packers sign kicker to futures contract

Tom Brady’s advice to Aaron Rodgers

Matt LaFleur anticipates sticking with Joe Barry

With no surgery scheduled, David Bakhtiari sees bright future

Packers’ 2023 schedule is complete