Green Bay Packers: 5 Reactions to first loss of 2019 season

The Green Bay Packers suffered their first loss of the 2019 season against the Eagles, so what can we take away about this team from the tough defeat?

Aaron Rodgers finally had his first big game of the Green Bay Packers 2019 season on Thursday Night Football. Taking on the Philadelphia Eagles, Rodgers threw for over 400 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for just shy of 50 yards. And yet, the Packers suffered their first loss of the season, falling 34-27 at Lambeau Field in Week 4.

The Packers defense had been the talk of the NFL through the first three weeks of the year but didn’t look the part against the Eagles. Doug Pederson called a terrific game but, outside of a few instances, Green Bay’s defensive stars didn’t step up as they were needed to in this tightly contested game.

Considering their hot start, dropping to 3-1 after a perfectly winnable game is disappointing for Rodgers and co. Having said that, it’s a long season with 12 games left on the schedule. With that in mind, let’s react with five big takeaways for the Green Bay Packers to keep in mind moving forward.

5. LaFleur needs to improve in red zone

For the majority of the game on Thursday night, it felt as if the Green Bay Packers offense could do whatever they wanted, particularly through the air. They made seven trips to the red zone against the Eagles. However, a telling part of the loss is the fact that they came away with just three touchdowns in those seven trips on the night.

While they did score two field goals among those seven trips as well, Matt LaFleur’s play-calling should be called into question. The most egregious example of this was in the fourth quarter when the Packers had four downs from the Eagles 1-yard line and proceeded to run four-straight pass plays that had little to no creativity to them. That resulted in a turnover on downs that may have proven to be the difference in the outcome.

Even if the run game was ineffective largely on Thursday night, LaFleur is entirely too predictable on the whole in the red zone with his play-calling. Yes, having Aaron Rodgers will help any team in those situations as, despite bad calls, he can still pull through. But if he’s going to put the team in the best position to succeed, LaFleur has to display more imagination and diversity whenever his team gets in close.