GREEN BAY, Wis. — There weren’t many hotter groups coming into the playoffs final season than the Inexperienced Bay Packers.
This yr, not a lot.
Two duds to complete the common season, together with Sunday’s last-second 24-22 loss to the Chicago Bears, punctuated by a training miscue from Matt LaFleur, despatched Inexperienced Bay into the postseason as chilly because the sub-freezing circumstances at Lambeau Area.
“Clearly, we’re not moving into with momentum,” Packers quarterback Jordan Love mentioned. “However who cares?”
There weren’t plenty of good emotions that emanated from the house workforce’s locker room Sunday afternoon.
“Dropping to those f—ing guys proper earlier than the playoffs, it is a kick within the intestine,” Packers guard Sean Rhyan mentioned. “We have to flush it and begin a brand new season. That is all we will do.”
Mentioned LaFleur: “The fellows had some robust phrases within the locker room. I believe their thoughts can be in the correct place, and all of it begins with our power, how we assault it coming into the constructing. We mentioned this fashion again when, throughout coaching camp. It is ‘requirements over emotions.'”
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Security Xavier McKinney, who snagged his team-leading eighth interception of the season Sunday, was among the many gamers who spoke up within the locker room after the sport. McKinney would not reveal the small print of his message however felt it was necessary to be heard.
“Proper now, it is not ok,” McKinney mentioned. “So I’ve acquired to return and take a look at what I’ve acquired to do higher to ensure that we’re not having these similar outcomes once we’re arising quick in these video games.”
Tight finish Tucker Kraft mentioned the concept within the postgame locker room was to “ensure that everybody’s nonetheless collectively.”
“I did not go into nice depth, however there’s issues I mentioned to guys,” Kraft mentioned. “We will not get down on ourselves. We will not level fingers, as a result of reality of the matter is we’ve got extra soccer to play, and we have to do it. Forty-eight guys on the sector, one heartbeat. That is the best way we have got to maneuver ahead.”
Sunday’s end result might need been totally different had LaFleur not known as a timeout with 58 seconds left earlier than he opted to ship out kicker Brandon McManus for a 55-yard area objective try that gave the Packers a 22-21 lead.
If LaFleur had not known as the timeout, the Bears virtually definitely would have. However it could have left Chicago and not using a timeout throughout its ultimate drive. As an alternative, the Bears used their final one with 28 seconds left to assist place themselves for Cairo Santos’ 51-yard walk-off area objective.
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“That is squarely on me,” LaFleur mentioned. “Simply acquired caught in a scenario the place we have been planning on going for it. They felt like Brandon might make that area objective. Hindsight’s 20/20, and I want I would not have taken the timeout as a result of it gave them, clearly, means an excessive amount of time to go down and function. Like I informed the workforce, that is on me, that may’t occur. So we have got to wipe this as quickly as doable. It is a new season now.”
The Packers would’ve ended up because the No. 7 seed within the NFC no matter Sunday’s end result, however they did not know that for positive till the sport was practically over as a result of Washington beat Dallas to provide the Commanders the No. 6 seed. It means the Packers will play on the second-seeded Eagles to open the playoffs.
They have been the identical seed final season after they went to Dallas and knocked off the second-seeded Cowboys earlier than dropping to the top-seeded 49ers within the divisional spherical.
However final season, they received three straight video games and 6 of their final eight heading into the postseason, together with a Week 18 win over the Bears that put them into the postseason.
This time, they go in on a two-game dropping streak, and with losses in three of their ultimate 5, plus they’ve loads of questions on what went fallacious in opposition to the Bears. Regardless of their 11-6 report, the Packers went 1-5 in opposition to groups within the NFC playoffs and had just one win in their very own division.
On Sunday, it wasn’t simply LaFleur’s timeout that buried them. They acquired duped on a punt return for a landing within the first quarter, and even earlier than Love and Christian Watson left due to accidents within the second quarter, their offense was going nowhere.
And their protection could not get a ultimate cease to stop the Bears from kicking the successful area objective.
“I believe the whole lot’s honest recreation proper now, I imply, when it comes to simply all of us,” LaFleur mentioned. “It is a collective, and it at all times begins with me. And like I mentioned, I am upset that I put our workforce in that scenario on the finish of the sport as a result of simply being indecisive. And you’ll’t try this in these vital moments as a result of it got here again and burned us.”
