Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur didn't mince words in the immediate aftermath of a disappointing 16-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers. He was unhappy with a lot of things, though nothing ostensibly frustrated him more than his team's shortcomings in scoring position.
LaFleur candidly highlighted how the Packers' self-inflicted wounds contributed to the Panthers pulling off an upset in Green Bay when addressing the media postgame. More specifically, he voiced exasperation with his club's struggles inside the 20-yard line on offense and delivered the message in a not-safe-for-work manner.
"We deservingly got our a-- beat," LaFleur told reporters. "We obviously had a fumble on the first drive. We had three possessions in the first half: a nine-play drive, a nine-play drive and a 10-play, and we had six points. So, it's going to be tough if we can't figure s--- out and score in the red area; it's just going to be tough to win football games like that."
Matt LaFleur sends loud and clear NSFW message to Packers' offense after disappointing loss to Panthers
Going 1-for-5 in the red zone, among other miscues, demonstrably isn't sitting well with LaFleur, and reasonably so. However, as the Packers' leader and play-caller, he's not without blame. His conservativeness, excluding a questionable aggressive decision in the fourth quarter, proved costly in hindsight.
Trailing by seven points with roughly 11 minutes in the final frame, LaFleur decided to go for it on 4th-and-8 on Carolina's 13-yard line. The Packers failed to convert before forcing the Panthers to punt on the ensuing drive. Green Bay found the end zone to tie the contest after making a stop, though they could've taken a lead.
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Of course, hindsight is always 20/20, and you'd have to imagine LaFleur would do it differently in retrospect. Moreover, he cited that penalties have been an issue, and Week 9 was no different, considering they committed seven infractions that cost them 42 yards.
Nevertheless, that doesn't take away from some atrocious blocking at times, the aforementioned turnover by rookie wide receiver Savion Williams, and other mistakes.
Packers superstar pass rusher Micah Parsons tried to warn himself and his teammates not to take the Panthers lightly. While he was cognizant not to overlook an inferior opponent heading into the matchup, the performance on the field didn't match up. Green Bay played with its food, and LaFleur seemingly knows it.