Matt LaFleur gets bad marks in loss to Eagles

Everyone, put your pens down!

The Green Bay Packers have completed their first test of the season, with the Packers' report card reflecting a litany of self-inflicted wounds in a 34-29 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday night in Brazil.

With 1 for 4 in the red zone and only nine points from three takeaways, “you’re not going to get anywhere,” as coach Matt LaFleur said after the game.

To make matters worse, Jordan Love did not finish the game and was forced to leave the game on the second-to-last play due to an ankle injury, the severity of which is yet to be determined.

If Love is out for an extended period of time, the Packers are in trouble, as would be any team that loses its starting quarterback.

Here are our grades on the opening defeat.

Attack attack

Josh Jacobs struggled early on, averaging less than 1 yard per carry in the first half with six carries for 4 yards.

While Jacobs didn't have much room for much of the first three quarters, the turning point seemed to have come when Emanuel Wilson entered the field.

Wilson found some space to roam and ran 37 yards on a drive that ended with a 2-yard pass to Christian Watson, giving the Packers a 12-7 lead.

By the end of the night, the Packers backfield had completed 20 carries for 130 yards. Jacobs had 84 yards on 16 carries, with runs of 32 and 22 yards being the highlights. Jayden Reed scored a 33-yard touchdown on his only carry.

Jordan Morgan and Sean Rhyan share time at right guard. The Packers should abandon the rotation once someone steps up at that position and let him play.

Of all the phases, the running game was the most encouraging, despite the late start.

Grade: B-plus

Pass attack

The biggest story of this game is about the passing offense, not the team's performance on the field. Jordan Love left the game with an apparent ankle injury.

LaFleur was quite blunt when asked about it.

“I don’t know,” LaFleur said.

When Love played, he was inconsistent, more like the player he was in the first half of the 2023 season than the one who took the league by storm in the final eight games of the regular season and the playoffs.

If this game had taken place in 2023, Love's performance would have been considered good.

This is no longer the world we live in.

Love is the proud new owner of a recording contract. Some of the mistakes he made against the Eagles were those of a rookie.

Mistakes happen. Every quarterback makes them. Love made too many and his accuracy was completely mixed.

Ultimately, to those to whom you give a lot – in this case $220 million – a lot is expected.

Love wasn't good enough and is a big part of the reason the Packers started 0-1 instead of 1-0.

The receiver group was led by Jayden Reed, who scored a 70-yard touchdown in the first half, and he should be more involved in the passing game as the season progresses.

Grade: C-minus

Rush Defense

The only thing that saved them from an F is the fact that they were able to keep Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in check for most of the game.

His biggest performance of the night, however, was a huge first down that allowed the Eagles to run out more time during their decisive drive.

The star of the night, however, was Saquon Barkley. Until the Eagles tried to run the ball and run down the clock, which made them more predictable, Barkley averaged 6 yards per carry.

The Packers' run defense is oddly similar to those of years past. Those units weren't good enough. This one won't be good enough either.

Grade: 4-minus

Pass defense

The numbers for the Packers' pass defense look solid. Jalen Hurts completed 20 of 34 passes for 278 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, although one of the touchdowns was a 67-yard pass to AJ Brown to Jaire Alexander on the Eagles' first series of the second half.

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

Rashan Gary had the only sack of the game, which came on a standard dropback. The other came from Keisean Nixon, who made a nice play as Hurts tried to escape.

Alexander's interception in the fourth quarter could have changed the game, but Green Bay's offense couldn't be rewarded with a touchdown. The same goes for Xavier McKinney's interception in the first quarter.

Grade: B

Special teams

The kickers changed, but not much else changed. Brayden Narveson scored the first two field goals of his career.

Of course, things didn't go well for the rookie, as he missed a 43-yard field goal that would have brought the Packers within two points late in the third quarter. Instead, it was an uphill battle for the Packers from then on.

The new kickoff rules didn't have a major impact until late in the game, when Keisean Nixon kicked outside the end zone, costing the Packers time and field position.

Although there were not as many mistakes made as in some past years, there were two game-deciding plays 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 a fourth-and-5 attempt from the 8-yard line midway through the fourth quarter, LaFleur opted for a field goal. Narveson's 26-yard strike cut the Packers' deficit to 31-29 with 7:52 left.

The Packers got the ball back, but not until the Eagles took 7:25 off the clock and scored a field goal.

LaFleur is criticized for his decision.

Furthermore, sloppiness is the fault of the players, while discipline is usually attributed to the coaches.

Two specific examples come to mind. Alexander intercepted a pass from Hurts in the middle of the end zone. Instead of dropping to his knees, he returned the ball, effectively costing the Packers yardage.

The same goes for Nixon, who returned the last kickoff of the evening from an inexplicable distance of 8 yards into the end zone. The decision cost the Packers 16 yards and 5 seconds.

Combined with ten penalties, a missed two-point play, and overall poor execution, it was not a particularly good night for the Packers coaching staff.

Grade: D

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