Matt LaFleur shares honest thoughts on how refs' mistake impacted Packers in loss to Eagles
It certainly felt like the Green Bay Packers lost to the Philadelphia Eagles on the very first play of the game in the wild card round on Sunday. Keisean Nixon fumbled the ball, and while every available angle seemed to indicate it would be a Packers ball, referees confirmed the call on the field and […]
It certainly felt like the Green Bay Packers lost to the Philadelphia Eagles on the very first play of the game in the wild card round on Sunday. Keisean Nixon fumbled the ball, and while every available angle seemed to indicate it would be a Packers ball, referees confirmed the call on the field and gave possession to the Eagles.
Head coach Matt LaFleur confirmed after the game that the coaching staff thought it would be a Packers ball.
"I thought we recovered the ball," LaFleur said. "Just what they showed on the big board. What I was hearing from our guys up stairs, I think (assistant quarterbacks coach) Connor Lewis is spot on the majority of the time. They all thought it was our ball, but obviously the league felt differently."
Even though LaFleur said he disagreed with the call, the coach made a fair assessment of the situation. In the playoffs, especially, good teams should be able to overcome such things, and the Packers couldn't.
"You have to be able to overcome things, bad things happen in games. You just gotta be resilient and bounce back," LaFleur added. "We just didn't do enough to do that. You're not gonna win many games when you're -4 on the turnover battle. (Nick) Sirianni has a heck of a record when they have the turnover battle, so that was one of the points of emphasis, it's always is every week, a lot of these games come down to that. You can't be -4 and expect to win a football game."
After going to the divisional round in 2023, the Packers end their 2024 run in the wild card round. Referees had a part in the loss, but it goes well beyond that, and acknowledging that is important if the Packers want to improve next season.
Packers’ biggest issue cost them the season, and they need it to change in 2025
Lack of blue-chip talent on offense is evident
