Packers managed to lose decisively while making the Eagles look like a team that nobody else needs to be afraid of. What happened to A.J. Brown? Did the Packers do a great job of covering him, or was he playing hurt? I suspect the latter.

I don't think Matt LaFleur is to blame for Jordan Love not running the ball more. Love has had plenty of chances to run and has almost always refused to do so. I hope this is a temporary thing, due to his injuries. When I watched the other playoff games I saw QBs constantly running for first downs. We were the only team yesterday whose QB was unwilling to do that. Love ran the ball plenty last year. He needs to do it again next year. His durability has now become a major concern.

The opening kickoff was the key play of the game. It showed that the Eagles came to play. I was relieved when I saw on the replay that Keisean Nixon clearly recovered his own fumble....then the refs said the call stands! Still, that play set the tone. Even more concerning was seeing Elgton Jenkins getting blown up by a smaller player and knocked out of the game. Isn't our O-lineman supposed to be dishing out the punishment and not taking it? Jordan Morgan was our only O-line depth early in the season, and without him, our O-line depth was unfortunately zero. Not sure why they put the rookie in there first, rather than Kadeem Telfort.

So many things. What we need most is a really good wide receiver. Every single one of them had a disappointing season. And Jordan Love needs to get back on track.

There is little cause for optimism for the next couple of years. we are saddled with an at best very mediocre qb, whose throwiing mechanics are bad, decision making bad, accuracy woeful. and what to say about the depth of the roster when the two stiffs sent in for jenkins were utterly unfit to play in the nfl. the league has MLF figured out, and he does not adjust. he is a poor in game manager, and just does not get his team prepared. their does not seem to be any discipline. and management will do nothing as usual; not the Green Bay way. but at present this team is woefully behind in talent and organization compared to the Lions and Vikings, the Vikings winning with Sam Darnold, who outplayed our Love by a long shot. we are stuck with a third tier qb, just quiz yourself by running down the starting qb's in the league and at least half of them you would prefer to Love.

I was prepered for a loss because the Packers are not that good. Yes they are good but they have shown this year that they cannot beat the top caliber teams. What hurts me is that they lost a game they could have won. The defense was great. The offense was terrible. So let's cast blame on the offense being bad. We need to start with MLF. He is the HC and play caller. It is his job to make sure that the offense has a game plan to win. Last week and yesterday were prime examples that he is over his head and should not be HC and play caller. Then we need to blame Love. He did not practice during training camp because he wanted to get paid because he thought he deserved it. The Packers are going to pay him so he needs to prove that he is worth it. He needs to learn he cannot put the game on his shoulder like Favre and Rodgers. He is not that good. Take the check down or at least take what the defense gives you and hope the other player can make something happen. Then there is the offensive line. Yes Jenkins went down but those penalties have to be cleaned up.

Ok I have been writing that I believe MLF should not be calling plays. There is too much to do as HC that he does not have the bandwidth or capability to plan the offense and there is too much going on the sidelines and too many distractions. The problem is I believe he would be a better OC than HC. It would be difficult for the Packers to hire an HC and demote him to OC. So the probably solution is to keep him as the HC but take play calling away from him and hire an OC. Here are a few options. They could hire Tommy Rees, Nick Carley, and Josh McCown. Of those three the first two have the most experience. I do not know how much experience Josh McCown has calling plays and developing a game plan but he was a QB for many teams. They could also hire a good OC from college.

Hiring an OC would allow the Packers to have both play callers in the booth away from all the activity and provide them the best view to see what is going on. It also allows the play callers to collaborate and tell each other what they see. That would free up MLF to spend all his energy on managing the game. During the weeks game preparations that will allow him to work with the offense, defense, and special teams. Providing the coordinators another set of eyes on their game plan and make sure all three phases are working together.

Get it done.

GAME BALLS
I agree with the game balls, and I will add my notes to them.

Josh Jacobs —
That run that was almost a TD was insanely good. I wish we could have had a bit more of that earlier in the game, but Jacobs essentially put the team on his back on that run. He brought the game to within 6 points. Just an incredible run.
Something I think they maybe discovered for next year as well is his ability to be used as a WR. He really looked good out wide.

Jayden Reed —
He broke 4 tackles for a 20 yard gain. He was sure handed and made the plays when they needed them. I think next year he is going to explode! Hopefully his dislocated shoulder will be a one time thing.

The defense —
This was a hell of a job by the defense. Once Hafley started bringing pressure the defense really shut down the Eagles.

UNSUNG HERO

Gary —
Gary played his ass off. i get he doesn't get the stats, but he does play really hard. He also drew a holding penalty against one of the best RT's in the league. He got the only sack against him all year in week 1. And he was close a few times in this game.

LAME CALLS

Jordan Love —
The final interception should have been DPI but he shouldn't have tried throwing it there. There was nothing there. But they were down 2 scores with 2 minutes left. i don't fault him for that. The Baun interception was just bad. I don't know what he was looking at or what, but that was right to him. The interception on the right side I just felt he didn't get enough on it. He had it open if he could have gotten it on the outside. At the same time I feel like Wicks has to work harder to try and break that up. Love simply wasn't good. He needs to be better. I have no idea how much injuries have affected him. But he needs to clean up the mental part of the game.

Refs —
The refs set the tone very early. The very first play in fact. Nixon fumbles the ball and clearly recovers it and is down. Yet they don't overturn it. It should have been Packers ball instead Philly gets it and scores a TD and the Packers are basically shell shocked. They called a number of holding calls on GB's OL. Which ok, but the Packers just scored a TD to make it 16-10. Its 3rd and 1 at the 49 yard line. The Eagles fake the tush push and throw it deep to Brown. Incomplete. Great right. Except Barkley completely tackled Evan Williams in the backfield and there was not a call. WTF? If he doesn't tackle him I think Williams gets to Hurts for a sack. It should have been 3rd and 11 at the 39. With 13:40 left in the 4th. Instead the next play they get a first down. They then go and take 5 more minutes off the clock and kick the FG.
Also, How the hell do they not call DPI on the last throw of Loves? yes it was intercepted. That doesn't matter. You can't just tackle a guy.
And the Personal foul on Nixon was horrible.

Injuries —
Already without Watson, they then lost Doubs and Reed. They lost Jenkins which was a massive loss. At the end of the game they lost Myers. They also lost Wyatt. And at the end of the game Jacobs got hurt.
When they finished the game they didn't have their star RB. Their top 3 WR's. Their best OL, and their starting C. They didn't have a starting DL as well.

FINAL WHISTLES

More like, final questions, the main one being: How good is this team?

This is a good and fair question. They lost 7 games this season. 6 of the losses were against 3 teams. Eagles, Vikings and Lions. The last game against the Bears was more of a I simply didn't care. If they wanted to win I think they would have. But the 6 games they lost. They lost by 12 to the Eagles, 10 to the Lions, 5 to the Eagles, 3 to the Lions, 2 and 2 to the Vikings.

This is a good young team. Key word young and they are prone to making mistakes. They are the youngest team in the league for a 2nd straight year.

The inconsistency on offense ended up biting them. In 2 of the final 3 games they didn't have Watson and it just made the offense different. The offense is just different with him on the field. They really missed him in this game. Unfortunately they most likely won't have him for half next season.
Love was inconsistent on the year. But he was also injured and playing through injuries. hopefully he can get healthy and stay healthy next year.
Jacobs was really damn good. He changed the offense and should be even better next year. Hopefully Lloyd can come in healthy. He will provide a boost I believe.
The OL overall was good. We will have to see what they do with Myers. They need depth for sure. Yesterday after Jenkins went out the backups had 4 penalties.

The Defense improved each and every week. The way they played yesterday was really damn good. Probably the best they played all season. Now they need some pieces. They need better pass rusher, and more CB's. I'm hoping they can go get the pieces that Hafley wants to make his scheme better.

The Packers to me are not far off from competing. They get a couple of pieces next year and they are competing for the trophy! They will need help at WR, OL, DL, and CB.
They should get a boost from the young players. Morgan, Lloyd, and Hopper really didn't help much. Morgan and Lloyd were injured. Hopper was basically a special teams only player. I think next year this draft class could make a big impact.
Morgan could be a starter. Cooper could take a big step. Bullard also could take a big jump. Lloyd could add a big time play making element that we lacked and would compliment Jacobs well. Hopper maybe moves into a starting role. Williams should be better. Oladapo I think could be a guy to really watch. He played well in his only action after missing a lot of time early in the year. Kalen King is another guy to watch.

Good season overall. Not the way we wanted to end.

I'm already excited for next year!

Go Pack Go!

As someone who grew up playing Rugby, I'd dearly like to know when the Nfl is going to crack down on tacklers leading with their heads. Jenkins' and Reed's injuries were both caused by contact from the helmet, as was Nixon's fumble (don't know how he wasn't evaluated for a concussion after that one).

No-one wants to watch a bunch of backups on the field, and the league owes these guys a duty of care. How do they keep turning a blind eye to defenders flying down the field and diving head-first into the ball carrier?

Despite the score, Philly gave us plenty of time to take this game. We couldn't. We didn't have the talent nor recognition to make the step up. The biggest positive out of that loss is that the gaps and failings of this team are very evident.

As much as Matt LaFleur bumbled through too many games this year much of the ceiling for this team rests at the feet of Brian Gutekunst. Average O-line with zero depth won't go far in this league. Lack of experience and number one talent at WR makes defending the Packers offense rather simple. Having the youngest team in the league is about budget and little else. Philly shows what well placed veterans do for a team.

Second good outcome from this game is A Jeff Hafley defense. He made chicken salad out of a lot of average talent. If we ever draft some decent D-linemen and generate a pass rush we might have a defense to fear.

The biggest challenge rests with a front office that needs to do better.

Agree with the the Game Balls and the Lame Calls. I don't understand how the fumble on the opening kickoff was ruled in the Eagles favor even after a booth review. Totally blown call. The bigger issue is why is Nixon running the kickoff back out of the end zone. Where is the coaching telling him to stay in the end zone and take the ball at the 30 yard line. That eliminates the fumble and gives the ball to the Packers offense to start the game. Terrible decisions by the Packers right from the start.

The Packers organization needs to be reviewed from Gute down through every player in every position group. The team ended the season with more questions than answers looking forward to 2025. Coaching, QB, OL, WRs, DL and CBs are all question marks at this point. The draft and FAs can help turn things around quickly but the Packers have numerous decisions to make during the upcoming off season. 3 bad losses to end the season has been very disappointing.
Thanks, Since '61

The broadcast team noted that Wicks had a problem with drops this year, leading the league in that dubious category. They then said the team should address this in the off-season. But, Wicks had the same problem last year, they had an entire off-season to address the problem. They didn't. This is on the coaches.
LaFleur seems to be getting worse as a play caller, and doesn't seem to understand that timeouts do not carry over to the next half of the game. This is on him.
The OL keeps making mistakes at crucial times. It is past time the team puts Stenavich back in charge of the OL; give him the title of co-coach with emphasis on the OL, and see if that helps. Keep him at the same salary, but find someone who can run the offense and help with play calling and time management.
Finally, try to find a younger kicker who can take over for McManus. This is not a criticism of the guy, but he's not going to be around forever. Stash the replacement on the practice squad, and have McManus mentor him, along with the new ST's coach.

MLF totally lame. Team wasn't ready.

Offense lame.

Defense came up small when needed.

At the end of the day, we had too many guys not on the field: Wyatt, Jenkins, Watson, Doubs,Reed.

In the playoffs, you're going to be playing against good teams, and the teams that advance are the ones that can score against good teams, and the ones that can't, go home. We weren't able to score points against the Eagles with the guys that we had on the field.

After it stops stinging, the Packers will decide how they have to improve. Obviously, a deeper line, since every single year we end up with our #8 or #9 offensive lineman on the field in the the playoffs.

Lots of uncertainty about the future of Watson and Doubs, IMO, over their health and the fact they'll be in the final year of their contracts. We're probably going shopping on Day 2 of the draft for our next superduper WR.

I have not studied the play of Jordan Love yet, saving that for later. My initial impression is that he didn't have a very good game. Nonetheless,he's going to be our starter next year and we'll have to hope he improves a little.

I got to tip my hat to Saquon Barkley for his class act slide at the end of the game. In this day of egos, that type of gesture and sportsmanship is rare. Hope he has a great playoff run.

This team was never going to have a deep playoff run. They only functioned on offense vs poor teams although the defensive improvement throughout the season was refreshing.

The long term success of the Love/Lafleur combination hinges on the 2025 season, Love's third as a starter.

Is wish one frickin time a reporter would ask laflower if he needs to give up the play calling

Jonathan you wrote an Interesting piece on CHTV following Green Bays Shut Out win vs the Saints.
you said that Jordan Love didn't look sharp and you were right. He missed open receivers
and his decision making was suspect. I agreed with your observations and look what happened!

I have read all the comments in this article and agree with most of them and disagree with a few.

It seems like the offense is just struggling to perform and the level it should based on last year and the improvements made this year. I love our running back. He has a winning attitude. I have been a big Love supporter but I do not like his attitude. To me, it is like he is just going through the motions. I believe he needs an attitude adjustment immediately. More like the attitude of Buffalo's qb. I don't want him to run headon into defenders but he needs an attitude that screams we will win and I will make sure of it. An example would be him telling/showing the team that they will get the needed first down by him running or passing. Take the game on his shoulders much like our rb. It appears to me that he is just going through the motions and 'hoping' they win.

I think we all agree that we are so disappointed how the year went after how last year went, the draft and the signing of two excellent free agents. So disappointing.

Oh and one more thing. I saw the replay of Nixon's fumble and it sort of looked like he recovered it but I don't think he ever had control of it and that is why the refs call stood!

Regression is the word I would use for this Packer team, especially in areas that were suppose to be a strength. Yes they had a better record, but the sloppy, undisciplined way they played bit them in the ass far to many times.

Head coach - regression
QB - regression
WR - regression
Offense (even with Jacobs running like a man possessed) - regression
Play calling - regression
Pass rush - regression

Name me a player who was better than last year? Tucker Kraft is about the only player I can think of. Unfortunately, it seems like once our draft and develop players get into their second contract things seem to fall apart for them.

Love will hopefully improve; I have little hope for La Fleur. He does too many things wrong to be a head coach or even an OC. I don't know how he got the reputation as a brilliant play-caller; he may be the most vanilla playcaller we've had in GB in decades. He looks overmatched most of the time; he can't manage a game, call a game, or field a disciplined team. I don't think you can excuse his divisional record (1-5) or his record against top teams (0-6). As long as he's the head coach, I don't care how much improvement in talent we add next year; there is little faith that he will know how to utilize it.

MLF actually said that being down 7-0 was too much to overcome!
Unbelievable!!!

game ball for the defense minus Nixon , lame calls Nixon.

"There is no position group that the Packers can claim is in the top five in the league except running back and maybe tight end."

It seems the TEs are being ignored. I can't believe Love didn't see Kraft when he was wide open in the endzone. He should be the first read in situations like that. If they'd have used the TEs more, it would have forced the Eagles to adjust. Look how well it worked to throw to Jacobs, but they still didn't keep trying it. After Jacobs caught one of his passes it opened up his big run up the middle.

Jordan Love’s last two playoff game quarterback ratings: 74.5 against San Francisco and a putrid 41.5 against the Eagles. The 41.5 is the worst in franchise history with a minimum 20 attempts.
This goes along with 2 touchdowns and 5 interceptions in that span.
But for me the deal breaker was a SHORT 4th down pass he threw over Malik Heath’s head. Nobody in his face, a simple pass to complete, the season on the line.
Paired with a soft , overwhelmed MLF, I’m not sure this team is even a playoff team next year.

Solid review, Jonathan.

I guess some can feel 11-7 is an improvement over 10-8. The additional win being due to Brooks' finger to defeat the lowly bares.

The team is stuck in neutral. When the D was unable to get critical stops to win games for 3 years...Hafley was brought in to fix it...so the O is now unable to get critical scores to win games. Meanwhile STs have been dismal for all 6 LaFleur seasons. He has feet of clay when it comes to replacing ineffective coaches. Seems terrified to upgrade his staff.

I was going to hope LaFleur could convince me he is a good HC this season. Now I don't believe he is even that good of an OC. Timid in his game week prep (they always have one of the longest injury lists and those guy rarely practice), game day play calling and decision making, and clock management.

I am 50% in agreement with this, Jonathan: "There is no position group that the Packers can claim is in the top five in the league except running back and maybe tight end."

RB group yes...RB Coach Ben Sirmans is a good coach and is the longest tenured coach on the team. TE group? No. Outside of Kraft, the other 3 had 16 total receptions and just 87 yards. However the S group may soon be top 5 with X, Williams, Bullard...and Oladapo may yet rise. LBs may be with Cooper and Walker who is finally playing with his speed and strength and not his slow diagnosing. Hopper will get his chance next season.

3 bad losses in a row and how they lost sure has a different feeling about LaFleur as HC now.

The Nixon fumble was recovered by Nixon—and the video evidence was clear. The telecasters agree and the dunce ex-official in the booth also agreed—recovered by the KR. The spineless officiating crew and their lapdog pals in NY were too corrupt to offend the Eagles and their criminal antic fans. Nixon actually recovered the fumble twice—
Go Packers!!!

It actually looked like the Eagles were playing defense with more guys than us.

For me, and this year was the first i didnt even try and predict win loss. I said let it be. I wanted to see if Love was the guy from the playoffs who came around and was going to lead this team to the playoffs.
I wanted to see if the new D coach could instill a pass rush and do something with our god awful pass defensive scheme. So I was an open minded as I've been with this team going forward.

Not so anymore. My reality says, this team based on all the other teams I watched talent wise et al, is below avg. Receivers are who we thought they were. Reed can go missing in action for games on end, drops a lot of passes and all of them run crap routes and dont have great hands.
Run game is the only highlight but football is a passing game then run not the reverse.
If it wasnt for McKinney and Bullard and Ballintine we would be terrible at best but with them we just suck. McKinny got fout interceptions just standing in the right place and having an over thrown ball come to him. But he is out best. and you cant rebuild this unit in one draft like your getting all the talented ones that no one else gets.

If this team is 7-10 next year it would not surprise me in the least. No pass rush, no o line protection, not pass d. Run stopping was better but Gaffney aint no d coach folks. Its Barrys bend dont break passing defense but rushing four or five. They do not play man. Ya we had turnovers but they never amounted to points. We just re turned it back over most times.
Not once this year did we dominate anyone. Every game was a battle except the good teams, six on them that made us look the average I said we were.