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For his first few years as head coach of the Green Bay Packers, Matt LaFleur was one of the more aggressive coaches in the NFL on fourth downs. After a slow start as a rookie head coach in 2019, he spent three straight seasons in the top three for go rate when doing so would add at least 1% win probability when the Packers were not significantly trailing. In 2023, however, something happened and he dropped to the middle of the pack, and then in 2024 he ended up being one of the most conservative coaches in all the NFL.
And although LaFleur had some questionable decisions earlier in the season — like the early 4th-and-2 against the Cowboys — he has been back to being more aggressive so far this season. According to RBSDM.com, LaFleur has kept the offense on the field 3 times out of his 4 advantageous opportunities the first six games of the season, and Sunday’s win over Arizona put those aggressive tendencies on full display. He kept the offense on the field three times on 4th downs in Sunday’s game alone: twice on the Packers’ opening drive and most significantly late in the game, when a field goal would have tied the score.
That last decision is one of two big ones that LaFleur should be earning some praise for coming out of the 27-23 victory. The other was the call to be aggressive with just seven seconds and a timeout left in the first half, when he called for a pass over the middle to try to set up a field goal. “All gas, no brake” indeed — that plan worked to perfection and Lucas Havrisik hit a franchise-record 61-yarder, which meant that the Packers’ go-ahead touchdown late in the game put them up by a 4-point margin instead of a single point.
We’ll never know if he read the posts or listened to the podcasts criticizing him for being too conservative in recent years. And maybe the reason for that approach was that he was still breaking in a new quarterback and learning to trust him. But he certainly did that with the game on the line on Sunday, and Jordan Love delivered with a strike to Tucker Kraft. Josh Jacobs and Micah Parsons did the rest, and Green Bay now sits at 4-1-1 on the season.
Rapid reaction: Packers’ big fourth-down call sent a message | Packers.com That message is that he trusts his offense and his quarterback, seemingly much more now than he had in either of Love’s first two seasons as a starter.
How 2 aggressive decisions helped Packers beat Cardinals: ‘Scared money don’t make money’ | Packers Wire The touchback on the kickoff just before halftime gave the Packers a chance. LaFleur, Love, and Romeo Doubs took it, and Havrisik delivered a jolt of energy.
Lucas Havrisik may force tough decision and other bonus takeaways from Packers’ win over Cardinals | Packersnews.com
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