The dream of going 17-0 has been dashed for the Green Bay Packers after they were handed their first loss by the winless Cleveland Browns, of all teams. It was an embarrassing outing for the Packers, who led 10-0 with nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and went on to lose the game in the final seconds.
Head coach Matt LaFleur didn't hesitate to point the finger at who he believed was the culprit in the loss. While speaking with the media after the game, LaFleur was not pleased with his offensive line and said that Jordan Love was "under duress for a majority of the game" and really put that entire unit on blast.
"From my perspective, he was under duress for the majority of the game," LaFleur said. "We've gotta look at some of the things we're asking our guys to do in terms of protection scheme. We've gotta come up with better stuff for our guys to put them in better positions to go out there and compete."
Matt LaFleur wasted no time blaming O-line after Packers' ugly loss
LaFleur isn't wrong with what he's saying. The Packers' offensive line was hot garbage for most of this game, and the fact that Zach Tom was even out there at all was a foolish choice on their end.
Jordan Morgan ended up coming in for Tom and did not play well, allowing three pressures and a sack (per Pro Football Focus). Sean Rhyan also allowed three pressures and a sack, and Elgton Jenkins surrendered two pressures and two sacks. Those aren't good stats, folks.
In total, Love was sacked five times, the most in a single game this season. It was a pitiful outing by the Green Bay O-line, and when the offensive line can't do its job, it's going to make it difficult for the rest of the offense to do its job.
All in all, this was a gross outing by the Packers' offense, and while the offensive line's performance was rough, football is a team sport. LaFleur has to figure out a way to get the offense back to the way it was in the first two weeks of the season, or Green Bay could be sitting at .500 before anyone can even blink.