GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Packers coach Matt LaFleur has no plans to give up playcalling duties but said he will continue to search for ways to jumpstart an inconsistent offense that has scored just 20 points combined in the past two games -- both losses.
LaFleur has called the plays since he became the Packers' head coach in 2019. Before that, he had only one season of playcalling experience, in 2018 with the Tennessee Titans. LaFleur's offenses have ranked in the top 11 in four of his first six seasons, including fifth in 2024.
Just two weeks ago, the Packers (5-3-1) were tied for fifth in the NFL scoring, but after a 16-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 9 and the 10-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday, they fell to 15th in scoring heading into Sunday's game against the New York Giants. They also fell from seventh in total yards to 12th this week. They rank 20th in rushing yards after finishing last season ranked fifth.
Quarterback Jordan Love has not thrown a touchdown pass in back-to-back games. No Packers starting quarterback has gone three straight games without a touchdown pass since Brett Favre in 2005, when Green Bay went 4-12.
"You have to look inward," LaFleur said Wednesday. "Like I told the team today, I don't care if we win 3-0 or 49-48. Bottom line is we have to find a way to get it done, otherwise you get criticized, and that's just the way it is. So I think that, especially as the playcaller, you're trying to put people in the best position possible to go out there and have success. And when we're not having collective success ... you have to challenge yourself to do better, to find something else in order to go out there and move the ball and score points."
LaFleur has come under criticism of late because the Packers have an NFL-high three losses this season allowing 16 or fewer points. Their three such losses are already the most in a season by a Packers team since 1978. Green Bay is trying to avoid its third straight game with 13 or fewer points scored, something that has not happened since the 1999 season.
"As frustrated as anybody may be out there, I promise you that you're not as frustrated as I am," LaFleur said. "I believe in our guys and so it's all about just finding solutions, and I can't worry what has happened in the past. ... You better have a short-term memory and you gotta move on.
"Not to say that you don't take that into account. Certainly you study the tape and you try to be critical of everything from yourself to just the play and everything in between. We're working hard at it. I promise you. We're working hard and bottom line is on Sunday we have to go out and perform better."
The Packers have other coaches on staff with previous playcalling experience for other teams, but it did not go well for senior assistant Luke Getsy, who has returned to the Packers after getting fired as a playcalling offensive coordinator with the Bears and Raiders, or Nathaniel Hackett, who was hired as a part-time consultant this offseason.
Hackett was fired as the Denver Broncos' head coach and demoted as the New York Jets' playcalling offensive coordinator last season. LaFleur brought in Hackett to work with the defensive coaches, giving them an offensive perspective.
When asked whether he would seek Hackett's input into the offense, LaFleur said, "We always talk so he always glances over and gives me feedback."
Not only did LaFleur receive heavy criticism after Monday's loss, he also became an internet meme, when cameras caught him on a tablet with his back to the field while the defense was in the game.
"I was not ordering a pizza," LaFleur said when told of the many social media memes. "I've done that since I've been here, similar things. It just happened to be that I was taking the tablet [back] and wanted to write something down and I thought that whatever that cart was or whatever was a good desk, so I wrote some things down and kept it moving."
