We are nine games into the 2025 season, and the pendulum has already swung from euphoria to panic for the Green Bay Packers. They were on top of the world with a 2-0 start, knocking off a pair of serious NFC contenders fresh off the blockbuster trade for Micah Parsons. Things were so good that left tackle Rasheed Walker bluntly stated, “I think we can go undefeated.”
The first blemish followed shortly after – an inexcusable loss in Cleveland.
Rather than an aberration, it was a harbinger of things to come for a Green Bay team with potential but that has demonstrated nauseating inconsistency. After back-to-back home losses to the Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles – ones in which the defense held opponents to 16 and 10 points, respectively – head coach Matt LaFleur is suddenly on the hot seat. While defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley auditions to be Brian Daboll’s replacement in East Rutherford, LaFleur will be coaching for his job.
It’s hard to attribute Green Bay’s offensive struggles to one thing. The offensive line play has been poor, and the wide receiver room has suffered significant attrition. Tucker Kraft’s torn ACL is already reverberating through the lethargic passing attack, and Love has flashed some of the inconsistency that plagued his early career. However, the thing that fans and media have seized on has been LaFleur’s mind-numbingly conservative play-calling.
On the headline-stealing final play (of significance), an Eagles lineman called out “inside zone this way,” an indication that the simple play had been called one, or perhaps a dozen, too many times Monday night. To be fair, it didn’t help that a rattled Josh Jacobs tried to improvise and run the other way. A defense can know what’s coming, but they still have to stop it. That’s a core tenet of a run-first offense.
However, by holding Jacobs to just 3.5 yards per carry on 21 totes, Philadelphia very much did.
As fans and media alike begin to panic about this Packers team that, until recently, felt primed to contend, there is a tug-of-war over who to blame: LaFleur or Love.
On the one hand, most fans argue that Love has demonstrated elite passing metrics, yet it still feels like the training wheels are on. Those training wheels keep games close against inferior opponents and create potential disasters, as we saw against the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers.
On the other hand, a take I have seen from many opposing fans expresses shock that the Packers might consider dumping an elite, proven head coach just because he’s game-planning around his quarterback’s limitations.
Entering the year, much was made of new team president Ed Policy’s decision not to extend LaFleur. Suddenly, folks are coming around to the idea of gaining as much information as possible before moving forward. Love, who signed a four-year, $220 million extension in the offseason, feels entrenched.
For LaFleur, the plan to keep his job feels quite simple. All he has to do is call plays more aggressively. He can have his idea of a productive offense, but by cooling down on the inside zones and inventive bubble screens and letting Love drop back and sling it, he can illuminate who’s truly holding this offense back.
It doesn’t mean Jacobs and the running game can’t be the focal point; it just means we need to see Love earn his $55 million salary, just as Jacobs earns his $12 million.
I also don’t think it would hurt to see the rookie Matthew Golden get involved. His lack of involvement would be bizarre on any other team at this point, and it’s beginning to get bizarre in Green Bay.
His selection produced the most electric Packers draft moment in recent memory, and LaFleur could surely earn some brownie points by scheming him up some touches. After all, Brian Gutekunst and the front office brought him in specifically to be the alpha, not another WR2.
Xavier McKinney called Sunday’s contest at MetLife Stadium a must-win. Given all of the noise that has come out of the recent skid, it feels pretty hard to argue with that. Jameis Winston will be under center for Big Blue, the first spark interim head coach Mike Kafka initiated. All eyes will be on LaFleur and his play sheet, and it will be fascinating to see if he goes back to his bread and butter or opens up the playbook a little bit at the behest of the mob.