3 moves Matt LaFleur must make to save Packers fading playoff hopes

Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next

Only this year's Green Bay Packers could defeat the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs and then lose to the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Welcome to the rollercoaster ride.

Two straight losses significantly hurt the Packers' playoff hopes. According to the New York Times' predictor, Green Bay has only a 25 percent chance of reaching the postseason. It's a dramatic decline from where they were after beating the Chiefs two weeks ago.

Green Bay entered Week 15 as the NFC's seventh seed but has fallen out of the playoff positions and is a game behind the Los Angeles Rams. But there's still enough time to turn things around. If they win out, the Packers will give themselves a tremendous chance of securing a wild-card berth.

But what changes must they make to run the table?

3. Bench De'Vondre Campbell

Green Bay put together arguably its most embarrassing defensive performance under Joe Barry on Sunday. It largely came down to a mismatch the Buccaneers attacked repeatedly. They punished the Packers' linebackers in coverage all day, especially De'Vondre Campbell.

Campbell regularly matched up with wide receiver Chris Godwin. He was never going to win one-on-one against the former Pro Bowler.

Unfortunately, Campbell has struggled since returning from injury. He gave up a 25-yard catch to receiver Wan'Dale Robinson in the loss to the Giants last week on a pass that should've been intercepted.

And his issues in coverage continued against the Bucs. It didn't matter the down-and-distance. When the Bucs needed a play, they had Godwin line up opposite Campbell. Second-and-18? No problem. Baker Mayfield made one of his easiest completions of the day to a wide-open Godwin for the first down.

The Packers may need to make changes at linebacker, which could mean starting Isaiah McDuffie over Campbell.