You can question the Green Bay Packers' consistency, unforced errors, or inability to put teams away when they are in control of the game. You can never question their heart and fight.
Matt LaFleur's team never quits, no matter how choppy the waters get.
After losing Jordan Love to a groin injury and trailing the Jacksonville Jaguars by four points, the Packers came to life. Josh Jacobs put the offense on his back and the defense forced a key turnover to give Green Bay the lead, and when Jacksonville fought back to tie things up, Malik Willis stepped up with a 51-yard completion to Jayden Reed to set up the game-winner.
The Packers' win over the Jaguars required a never-quit attitude. LaFleur is one of the best offensive minds in the game, but his teams also have steel. They fight until the end.
Following their win over the Jaguars, LaFleur delivered an emotional message to his team in the locker room.
"Here's the deal, men: You talk about a (expletive) total team victory? Holy (expletive), we faced some adversity today. Holy (expletive), did people step in and we didn't miss a beat. That was a total team effort. We knew it was going to be a four-quarter battle. Give it up for yourself, man," said LaFleur.
The strength of our team -- IS our team pic.twitter.com/zKeYVp9DBj
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) October 27, 2024
Matt LaFleur was fired up in the locker room after Packers' last-second win
LaFleur was fired up, and who could blame him? The Packers didn't just lose Love, but rookie star Evan Williams left the game with a hamstring issue, and many others played hurt.
"We had a lot of guys playing through some (expletive). Jordan Love playing through some (expletive). Evan Williams playing through some (expletive). Josh Myers playing through some (expletive)," LaFleur told his team. "This is a total team game, man. The strength of our team is our (expletive) team."
With messages like that, it's hardly surprising that the Packers never quit.
READ MORE: Updated NFC playoff standings after Packers' win over Jaguars
Rewind to Week 4, and the Packers trailed the Minnesota Vikings 28-0. They fought back to lose by two points and could've won the game. It's not a new thing, either. LaFleur's Packers didn't lose back-to-back regular-season games until his fourth season with the team. They always bounced straight back up after a loss.
The Detroit Lions are the team to beat in the NFC North. They are making a habit of running up the score on their opponents and will present quite the challenge at Lambeau Field next week.
But LaFleur's team is winning the hard way, and fighting through this kind of adversity will set them up for success when the games count the most later in the year.