Questions linger about Matt LaFleur’s field goal decision

© Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports With just over two minutes remaining the Green Bay Packers and head coach Matt LaFleur faced a decision. The Packers trailed by eight and faced a 4th-and-goal. Do they take the points and try and stop Tom Brady, or do they try and tie the game up right then and there? LeFleur sent his kick team onto the field, and Mason Crosby converted to cut the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ lead back to five. But their defense would need to stop Brady one more time to have a chance at the win. We know how that turned out. Thanks to a defensive pass interference call on Kevin King – who is probably not going to sleep well tonight – the Buccaneers picked up a critical first down and were on their way towards running out the clock. From LaFleur’s perspective the decision probably makes sense. After all, Brady had thrown three interceptions in the game and the Packers defense had stepped up with some critical plays in the second half to allow Green Bay to cut into what had been an 18-point lead. Yet, making the decision to give the ball back to Tom Brady, even when he was struggling, almost never seems wise. Especially now with the benefit of hindsight.

In the world of baseball there is a belief that when a team loses a one-run game, then it is on the manager. Whether a pitching change, a decision to bunt, a decision to steal, or something else, a poor choice by the manager led to the loss.

If you hold a similar belief in football – that one-score losses are on the shoulders of the head coach – then you probably still have some lingering questions about Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and his decision to kick a field goal right before the two-minute warning, with the Packers trailing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by eight points.

Facing a 4th-and-goal situation LaFleur sent kicker Mason Crosby into the game, and while he converted the short kick the decision gave Tom Brady and the Buccaneers offense a chance to run out the clock, and they did just that. Aided in part by a defensive pass interference penalty on Kevin King, on of two bad plays from the cornerback on the afternoon.

One of those who seems to have questions about the decision is quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Some questioned the quarterback’s decision not to try and run for a touchdown earlier in the sequence, as it seemed like the QB had nothing but the goal line in front of him. After the game Rodgers had a lot to say, including this:

Rodgers was even more pointed with his words during his comments:

LaFleur tried to explain his thinking, pointing to failures early in the goal-to-go sequence as well as the impending two-minute warning, which in essence gave the Packers a fourth chance to stop the clock:

As you might expect, the decision has been met with a ton of criticism on social media:

Perhaps making matters worse is that the decision, and the ensuing Packers’ loss, has opened the door to speculation about the future of Rodgers in Green Bay. LaFleur was adamant about wanting to run it back with the quarterback next season, who is under contract through the 2023 season. But with the Packers having drafted Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft – and trading up to do so – could Rodgers’ days in green and gold be numbered?

Rodgers seemed to wonder himself:

It is shaping up to be a cold winter in Green Bay, and I’m not talking about the weather.

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