Packers coach Matt LaFleur said referee’s call on sideways pass was ‘baffling’, plus other Monday takeaways
GREEN BAY − In their sixth loss of the season, a 23-19 defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Green Bay Packers defense gave up more than 200 yards on the ground and quarterback Jordan Love threw two interceptions in the end zone.
It followed a 20-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams, in which the Packers held the Rams to 68 yards rushing and Love has his best passer rating of the season. It’s a week-to-week league, though, as coach Matt LaFleur reminded everyone Monday.
“It’s the National Football League. You can’t rest on what you’ve done lately. Every week is a new challenge,” LaFleur said.
Here are the six things that stood out from LaFleur’s Monday news conference.
Matt LaFleur baffled by referee’s decision on sideways pass
Toeing the line between making his disagreement clear without irking the NFL office, LaFleur stated his goal when asked about referee Scott Novak’s decision to not overturn an incompletion from Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett to a game-changing lateral Sunday.
“I’m not going to get fined,” LaFleur said.
It might be tempting. In Sunday’s first half, Pickett threw a sideways pass to Steelers running back Jaylen Warren near the right sideline. Officials blew the play dead on the field, ruling Pickett’s pass incomplete. Rashan Gary quickly scooped the bouncing football off the ground inside the Steelers 5-yard line and bounded into the end zone for what could have been a touchdown − if the whistle hadn’t already sounded.
LaFleur challenged that it wasn’t a forward pass. On review, Pickett released his pass at the 9-yard line, where Warren made contact with the football, indicating it didn’t travel forward.
Novak ruled the call on the field of an incomplete pass stood after his review.
“The rule is it’s got to be clear and immediate,” LaFleur said of Gary’s recovery, “and it was clear and immediate. But that’s not, to my understanding, why it wasn’t overturned.”
With advancements in technology, LaFleur was asked if the NFL should be able to able to mark the flight of a football, rather than leaving it up to potential referee error. LaFleur did not take the bait, but offered one word that can encapsulate the entire situation.
“Baffling,” he said.
There’s blame all around for poor rush defense
The Packers defense gave up 205 yards on the ground, including 183 (along with two touchdowns) to Warren and Najee Harris. At times, the running backs were sprinting untouched through wide-open lanes. At other times, they were bouncing off and out of tackles with ease. After watching the tape, LaFleur said there is blame to place on a number of factors, all within the Packers control.
“It was a combination of missed tackles, missed assignments,” LaFleur said. “There were a couple of times where we got, where we were playing single-high defense, where it’s solo-gap football, and you had two guys in one gap. There were a couple of times they got us in two-safety looks and when you do that, you’re gonna be a little bit short in terms of your front. And they took what should be 5-, 6-, 7-yard gains, and they made them into explosion plays. So there was a lot of things that we could’ve done a much higher level.
“We threw some different looks at them. We played base to 11, we played penny. Obviously you always play nickel; they’re a big 11-personnel team. So we threw some different looks at them, but obviously the execution, certainly some of the play calls could be better, but the execution needs to be better as well. We need to tackle better. So I think there’s plenty of blame to go around there.”
Packers red-zone issues persist
When teams get in the red zone, everything becomes condensed, but it’s expected that offenses come away with points. The Packers have struggled in that area, especially of late. Through nine games, they have scored while inside the 20-yard line 46.9% of the time. That is 27th in the league. However, in goal-to-go situations, the Packers score 91.7% of the time, tied for first in the league.
Even with the goal-to-go statistic, the red-zone woes are plaguing an offense that has little margin for error. The team has five rushing touchdowns (one for AJ Dillon, two each for Aaron Jones and Jordan Love) and LaFleur wants to see more production.
“It’s disappointing,” LaFleur said. “I think when you really look at it, especially in particular this game, we had some opportunities where, quite frankly, if you wanna be a good red-zone team, you typically have to run the ball effectively down there. We had a couple of (opportunities) that we weren’t as effective and it put you in third-down situations and it’s always a struggle on third down down there. So I think it starts with our run game.”
Christian Watson will have to show talent on tape
When the Packers used a second-round draft pick on Christian Watson last season, there were thoughts of taking tops off of defenses and him winning 50/50 balls. Watson has had stretches of brilliance, including nine touchdowns in a rookie season during which he was injured for nearly half the schedule.
Now in his second season, through six games (Watson was injured for three games), he has 14 catches on 33 targets, a 42% catch percentage. He has 16.9 yards per reception, which leads the Packers, but has only one touchdown.
“I think he just needs to go out there and play fast, play decisive and play confident,” LaFleur said. “He’s a guy that has all the ability. He’s a big guy that can run and we need him to show that every opportunity on tape.”
Watson is 6-foot-4 and 208 pounds, and coaches want to see him use his big frame to not only control the catch point, but take over a play from the snap.
“If guys are gonna get up in your face, and wanna bump you, you gotta be in attack mode,” LaFleur said. “You’ve gotta come off the line of scrimmage with a great stance and start and try to work people’s edges and get on top of them that way.”
Three times, Love has targeted Watson in the end zone, including twice Sunday, leading to interceptions. Of Love’s 10 interceptions this season, five have come on Watson targets. The first interception against Pittsburgh had a lot to do with the defense, LaFleur said, yet there was still a chance to score.
“I think if (Love) throws a perfect ball, there’s an opportunity there,” LaFleur said. “I think there’s a lot things that could’ve gone differently on that play. We gotta make sure that when we’re running a double move, you always wanna run the first move first and get your eyes back to the quarterback to maybe get the defender to bite. But gotta give it up to Patrick Peterson, he made a hell of a play on the play and did a good job of batting that ball back to Keanu Neal.”
Because of the bracket coverage by the defensive backs, though, LaFleur would like Love to make a different decision next time.
“Do I think it was necessary? Maybe, maybe not,” LaFleur said. “He was decisive and we gotta live with it. But I’d say typically when they are playing in a shell defense, usually that’s not where it goes.”
Missed opportunity on missed point-after attempt
Peterson blocked an extra-point opportunity that had the Packers chasing for the rest of the game. Josiah Deguara, who was on the left edge of the line, took the blame for the whiff on Sunday: “It’s my job to punch the outside guy, and he got a good jump on it and I didn’t get enough arm on him. One-hundred percent put that on me. I’ve got to get a little more on him.”
LaFleur echoed Deguara on Monday, telling reporters, “we gotta get our eyes on our work and make sure that we punch the near shoulder of the widest rusher.”
Tom Silverstein:Matt LaFleur must get Jordan Love to stop forcing the ball to Christian Watson, use other options
Packers make pair of transactions
On Monday, the Packers released safety Innis Gaines, who had been signed off their practice squad Saturday. Following the Gaines release, the Packers claimed defensive back Kyu Blu Kelly off waivers from the Seattle Seahawks.
Because Gaines was signed from the practice squad, the Packers still has an open roster spot. If Gaines clears waivers, the Packers can sign him back to the practice squad Tuesday afternoon.