Packer Central

Packers Report Card: Matt LaFleur Earns Low Marks in Loss to Eagles

Matt LaFleur's decision-making and the team's overall sloppiness played huge roles in the Green Bay Packers’ season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Jacob Westendorf

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) breaks into the clear during the second half against the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday.
Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) breaks into the clear during the second half against the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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Pencils down, everyone!

The Green Bay Packers are through their first test of the season. The Packers report card reflects a litany of self-inflicted wounds in a 34-29 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday night in Brazil.

Going 1-for-4 in the red zone and only scoring nine points off three takeaways is “not going to get it done,” as coach Matt LaFleur said after the game.

To add injury to insult, Jordan Love did not finish the game, leaving on the penultimate play of the game with an ankle injury of which the severity is to be determined.

If Love is out for any extended period of time, the Packers are in trouble, as would be the case with any team losing their starting quarterback.

Here are our grades from the season-opening defeat.

Rush Offense

The early going was a struggle for Josh Jacobs. With six carries for 4 yards, he averaged less than 1 yard per carry in the first half.

While there was not a lot of room for Jacobs through most of the first three quarters, the turning point seemed to hit when Emanuel Wilson took the field.

Wilson found some room to roam, running for 37 yards on a drive that ended with a 2-yard strike to Christian Watson to give the Packers a 12-7 lead.

When the night was over, the Packers’ backfield had 20 carries for 130 yards. Jacobs wound up with 84 yards on 16 carries, highlighted by runs of 32 and 22 yards. Jayden Reed added a 33-yard touchdown run on his only carry.

Jordan Morgan and Sean Rhyan split time at right guard. The Packers should scrap the rotation as soon as someone separates themselves at that position and let him play.

Of all the phases, the run game was the most encouraging, even with a late start.

Grade: B-plus

Pass Offense

The biggest story of this game rests on the passing offense, but not anything the team did on the field. Jordan Love left the game with what appeared to be an ankle injury.

LaFleur was pretty blunt when asked about it.

“I don’t know.” LaFleur said.

When Love played, he was erratic, resembling more of the player from the first half of the 2023 season than the one that took the league by storm during the final eight games of the regular season and the playoffs.

Had this game been played in 2023, Love’s performance would have been considered fine.

That’s not the world that we’re living in any longer.

Love is the proud new owner of a record contract. Some of the mistakes he made vs. the Eagles were that of a rookie.

Mistakes are going to happen. Every quarterback makes them. Love made too many, and was all over the place with his accuracy.

At the end of the day, to whom much is given - $220 million, in this case – much is expected.

Love was not good enough and is a big part of the reason the Packers started 0-1 instead of 1-0.

The receiving corps was led by Jayden Reed, who had a 70-yard touchdown in the first half. He should be more involved in the passing game as the team progresses through the season.

Grade: C-minus

Rush Defense

The only thing saving this from an F is that they were able to keep Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts contained for most of the game.

His biggest scramble of the night, however, was a huge first down that allowed the Eagles to drain more clock during their clinching drive.

Saquon Barkley, however, was the star of the night. Until the Eagles were trying to run the ball and run out the clock, making them more predictable, Barkley was averaging 6 yards per carry.

The Packers’ run defense looks oddly similar to the ones they have had in years past. Those units were not good enough. This one will not be good enough, either.

Grade: D-minus

Pass Defense

The numbers look solid for the Packers’ pass defense. Jalen Hurts was 20-of-34 passing for 278 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, though one of the touchdowns was a 67-yard bomb to A.J. Brown against Jaire Alexander on the Eagles’ first series of the second half.

The pass rush, which was the story of training camp, was largely quiet.

Rashan Gary had the lone sack of the game that was on a standard dropback. The other came from Keisean Nixon when he made a nice play when Hurts tried to escape.

Alexander’s interception in the fourth quarter could have changed the game, but Green Bay’s offense could not pay it off with a touchdown, Same goes for Xavier McKinnney's interception in the first quarter.

Grade: B

Special Teams

Kickers changed, but not much else did. Brayden Narveson made his first two field goals of his career.

Of course, it was not going to be smooth sailing for the rookie, as he missed a 43-yard field goal that would have pulled the Packers to within two points late in the third quarter. Instead, it was an uphill battle for the Packers from there.

The new kickoff rules did not have much of an impact until late in the game, when Keisean Nixon took a kickoff out of the end zone that cost the Packers time and field position.

There were not as many mistakes as some year’s past may have had, but those were two game-changing plays that went against Green Bay.

Grade: D

Coaching

With the team trailing 31-26 late in the game, LaFleur did not learn from the mistake he made in the 2020 NFC Championship Game against Tampa Bay.

Facing fourth-and-5 from the 8 midway through the fourth quarter, LaFleur opted to kick a field goal. Narveson’s 26-yarder pulled the Packers within 31-29 with 7:52 remaining.

The Packers did get the ball back, but only after the Eagles drained 7:25 off the clock and kicked a field goal.

LaFleur gets dinged for his decision.

In addition, the sloppiness is on the players, but discipline is typically attributed to coaches.

Two specific instances come to mind. Alexander intercepted a pass of Hurts in the middle of the end zone. Instead of taking a knee, he returned the ball and effectively lost the Packers yardage.

Ditto for Nixon, who inexplicably returned the final kickoff of the night from 8 yards deep in the end zone. The decision cost the Packers 16 yards and 5 seconds.

Combine that with 10 penalties, a missed two-point play and poor execution all around, it was not a banner night for the Packers’ coaching staff.

Grade: D

More Green Bay Packers News

Packers-Eagles: Offense stumbles in red zone | Will injured Love start vs. Colts? | Packers lose, Love injured | Four Downs | Live updates

Friday’s pregame transactions | Four crucial matchups | Latest on Tucker Kraft | Packers-Eagles three reasons to believe | Packers-Eagles three reasons to worry | NFC North power rankings | Narveson two-stepped his way to Green Bay | Three reasons for optimism in 2024 | Three reasons for disappointment in 2024 | Picking every game (and Super Bowl) | Consensus power rankings | Stokes healthy, smiling | Another new running back | Watson “ready to rock”

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Jacob Westendorf
JACOB WESTENDORF