The Green Bay Packers' dominant defensive effort against the Minnesota Vikings allowed for a classic Matt LaFleur conservative game plan.
It was a smart call on LaFleur's part, as the Packers could take the air out of the game and ease up with only a four-day gap separating this contest and a huge Thanksgiving showdown against the Detroit Lions. However, this performance wasn't anything new. LaFleur has called surprisingly conservative games all season, and it had Greg Olsen's attention on the TV broadcast.
Olsen called out the Packers after running the ball on 3rd-and-3 in the red zone, with Emanuel Wilson losing a yard. Green Bay kicked a field goal to make the score 20-6, but the lack of aggressiveness cost the team a chance to make it 24-6. If the Vikings had a better quarterback, it could've come back to haunt them.
"They had a chance to make the knockout punch here and make this an 18-point game. Now, they settle for a field goal and keep it at 14. The whole drive was very consersative," Olsen said on the FOX broadcast. "You have a shot there to be aggressive. They didn't throw the ball one time. Seven straight runs. You could've made it an 18-point game, three scores, with a touchdown."
Greg Olsen calls out the one concern Packers fan have with Matt LaFleur's offense
Again, this week, much of LaFleur's play-calling made sense. The Packers took control of the game early, and the J.J. McCarthy-led Vikings offense looked like no threat to Jeff Hafley's defense. Olsen acknowledged that on the broadcast.
"You can play a more conservative offensive approach when you know the opposing team's threat to score — today, the threat to score, 10 feels a lot — let alone in the 20s," Olsen said. "You keep people under low-20s and teens, you're going to win a lot of games."
But Olsen also noted that the more you attack on offense early, the more one-dimensional your opponent becomes. It's something the Packers have lacked for much of this season.
This week, sure. The plan was fine. Green Bay's defense allowed minus one yard in the second half while forcing two turnovers. That allowed LaFleur to run the ball on offense, avoid Jordan Love taking any hits to his injured left shoulder, and drain the clock.
But it's a similar run-heavy, snail-pace approach LaFleur has taken too often in other games this season, and it has prevented them from putting opponents away. That's where Olsen is 100 percent correct.
Rewind to the Carolina Panthers game. Olsen was again on the broadcast, where he called out the Packers' decision to run the ball with under a minute left in the second quarter. Green Bay played too conservatively in that game and ended up losing by three.
The Packers are at their best when they allow Love to attack, especially early in games, and put the team in command. When opponents have to chase, as the Vikings did on Sunday, it allows Micah Parsons and the pass rush to dominate.
LaFleur's run-heavy, conservative game plan works when J.J. McCarthy is leading the opposing offense. But with tougher tests coming up, the Packers must show a willingness to hit the gas and attack.