Matt LaFleur Excuses His Poor Play Call Because Of Officiating

Matt LaFleur made a poor play call

The Green Bay Packers offense played a poor first three quarters against a bad Chicago Bears defense. The Bears had several starters in the secondary out with injuries against the Packers. The Packers had 10 points through three quarters. One drive had their momentum stifled by a poor play call by head coach Matt LaFleur.

On the first drive of the second half, the Packers seemed to be able to move the ball easily on the ground. The Packers had a successful run on first down for seven yards. On second down, running back A.J. Dillon tripped and was called down for a two-yard gain. Television replay showed that Dillon was never touched when he was down, and the whistle was blown. The Packers should have gotten the first down but instead were stuck with needing one yard to gain on third down.

LaFleur dialed up a pass, and Aaron Rodgers threw a low-percentage deep ball to Allen Lazard that fell incomplete. The Packers then punted. It was an obvious running situation, and once again, the Packers went with a more challenging play to make a first down.

LaFleur explained the play call

LaFleur was asked about the play call after the game. According to Ryan Wood with USA Today, the Packers couldn’t challenge missed call on Dillon’s run. He admitted the officials’ error affected his next play call, which forced the Packers to punt.

Matt LaFleur says officials blew AJ Dillon down on second down when Bears defense didn’t touch him. They removed any opportunity for him to challenge the play. “I was not happy about it,” LaFleur says.

He admitted it affected his 3rd & 1 call, the deep shot to Allen Lazard.

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) December 4, 2022

LaFleur continues to come up with clever excuses for poor play calls. This one definitely starts with him, not the officials. It’s baffling to see LaFleur continuing to make the same mistake on third-and-short plays.