Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur turned down a chance to make the Super Bowl.- Trailing the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers by eight with just two minutes remaining, LaFleur sent out the field goal team, cutting the Packers deficit to 31-26. - The Packers never got the ball back and lost the game.
- Congratulations, LaFleur. You had a chance to go to the Super Bowl and politely declined.
What was Matt LaFleur thinking?
That is the question on the minds of football fans across the country after his Green Bay Packers lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship game.
There are plenty of other questions. What happened to the Packers' red zone offense? Why start calling pass interference in the final two minutes of regulation? But more than anything, what was LaFleur thinking?
After trailing the entire game, the Packers had a shot to tie things up and potentially force overtime late on Sunday. Down 31-23 with just over four minutes left, the Packers took over possession at their own 34-yard line, needing to drive the length of the field for a touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the game.
Rodgers and the Packers offense got right to work, eventually earning a first-and-goal from the Buccaneers eight-yard line with 2:22 left on the clock. Rodgers threw three straight incompletions, including two on plays that he probably could have rushed for a significant gain.
With the Packers facing fourth-and-goal and trailing by eight, it felt like the game would come down to one final throw to the end zone. Instead, LaFleur sent the field goal team onto the field.
Buccaneers 31, Packers 26.
It was a baffling move, even in the most generous read of LaFleur's decision-making abilities. Yes, the Packers still had three timeouts remaining, meaning that the Packers could potentially hold the Buccaneers to a three-and-out and get the ball back with more than a minute left on the clock. But even then, they would still need a touchdown to win.
Eight yards away from a potential game-tying touchdown, LaFleur decided to roll the dice, thinking his team had a better chance at getting a stop, retaking possession, and then scoring a touchdown from roughly 70 yards away instead.
On Twitter, fans were despondent with LaFleur's call.
—Thor Nystrom (@thorku) January 24, 2021
—Davis Mattek (@DavisMattek) January 24, 2021
—Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) January 24, 2021
—Nick Kostos (@TheKostos) January 24, 2021
There's simply no way to justify this. LaFleur might argue that he was "trusting his defense to get the stop," but if that's the case, then you can trust them to get the stop if you fail to score the touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the eight-yard line.
Congratulations, Matt LaFleur. You were eight yards away from taking your team to the Super Bowl, and you politely declined the invitation.