Matt LaFleur sets the record straight on what comes next for the Packers after a humbling loss that forces tough reflection

Saturday was nothing close to what the Green Bay Packers expected. Beyond quarterback Malik Willis’ performance, there wasn’t much to highlight after what head coach Matt LaFleur called a “humbling night” after a 41-24 loss to the Baltimore Ravens at Lambeau Field.

With injuries mounting and the NFC North title out of reach, the Packers have to regroup thinking about the playoffs.

How to overcome a tough sequence

The Packers were one of the top teams in football, but things started to fall apart in Week 15 in Denver, when Micah Parsons tore his ACL. Since then, injury issues got worse, Jordan Love suffered a concussion, and the Packers have lost three games in a row.

Now that Green Bay has locked the seventh seed, the roster and the coaching staff have to look themselves in the mirror.

“I think we’ve got a pretty proud group in there,” LaFleur said. “I think they’re all disappointed in our performance tonight. These are grown men, and I don’t think they’re going to shy away from this. Knowing that group, it sucks, it hurts, it’s extremely disappointing, but each individual has to look in the mirror and ask whether we’re doing what we need to do on a daily basis to give our team the best chance to go out there and compete against good football teams. When you don’t do that, you have nights like tonight.”

For Matt LaFleur, though, it wasn’t necessarily an effort issue. The Packers had a poor performance, and that’s what happens sometimes in the NFL.

“I want to go back before I say anything that might be a little off base,” the head coach added. “I just think we’ve got to go back and take a look at this. I want to make sure we were putting our guys in position to make plays and whether we made the plays or didn’t make the plays. All in all, we all see the end result. It just wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t up to our standard.”

Now, the Packers have a meaningless game in Week 18 against the Minnesota Vikings, Saturday or Sunday, and the preparation includes what has to happen two weeks from now, in their first playoff game. Based on what the past three weeks showed, the reality isn’t any promising.