The almighty Green Bay Packers humiliated.

GREEN BAY PACKERS

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers were embarrassed by the Giants. They were embarrassed by the Buccaneers. They almost were embarrassed by the Panthers.

Green Bay escaped Carolina with a 33-30 victory on Sunday. It was a huge win – not just for its playoff hopes, but it guarantees one more hugely important game. At some point, Jordan Love and this abundantly talented group of youngsters are going to be in the playoffs. This big-game experience will help get them ready for the moment.

Here are this week’s Three Overreactions.

1. LaFleur Flirting With Disaster

Coach Matt LaFleur had good reason to fire Joe Barry after last week’s loss to the Buccaneers but decided to keep the embattled defensive coordinator. Why? Who knows. LaFleur likes to say this is a results-based business, and it is, and the results on defense have been horrendous.

Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito beat the Packers and was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week. Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield beat the Packers and was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week. Had Panthers quarterback Bryce Young been able to complete the comeback, he might have been named NFC Offensive Player of the Week, as well.

At this point, Kirk Cousins might beg the Vikings’ coaches to let him face the Packers next week, even if he needs a cane. Josh McCown, Cade McNown and the entire list of failed Bears quarterbacks from the past couple decades might get into a fistfight outside Soldier Field for the right to face Green Bay in the finale.

After a semi-encouraging first half on Sunday, Green Bay got destroyed over the final 30 minutes. The Packers didn’t win the game so much as they were saved by the bell. After failing to reach 20 points in four consecutive games, the Panthers scored 30. After failing to get in the end zone the last two weeks, they scored four touchdowns.

This isn’t just about Sunday’s defensive collapse.

The coin flip, of all things, was a debacle. Cornerback Jaire Alexander, back after a six-game absence, wasn’t one of LaFleur’s three captains. He went out, anyway, for the opening coin flip.

“I don’t think Coach knew I was from Charlotte,” Alexander said.

Oh, he probably knew and didn’t care.

Making matters worse, Alexander botched the flip. Instead of deferring the decision to the second half, he said the defense wanted to go on the field. That’s not the same thing. Fortunately, a pregame talk between LaFleur and the officials saved the embarrassment of kicking off to start the game and the second half.

“I said, ‘I want our defense to be out there,’ and they all looked at me like I was crazy,” Alexander said. “It’s pretty simple what I said. ‘I want the defense to be out there.’ They like, ‘You mean defer?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I guess.’”

The Packers have a young team. Young often means impressionable. With Alexander going rogue, it’s time – no, it’s past time – for LaFleur and the people at the top of the organization to seize control. It’s time to clean house. Replace the defensive coordinator. Get rid of the defensive assistants. And trade Alexander and anyone else who isn’t fully committed to building the next championship team.



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2. Packers Need a Running Back

One of the big stories of the game was Aaron Jones’ blast-from-the-past performance. Dogged by injuries for most of the season, Jones rushed for 127 yards on 21 attempts. He set season highs for carries (by one), yards (by 54) and average (by 1.4). More than the numbers, he set the tone as Green Bay raced to a 13-3 lead.

It was Green Bay’s first 100-yard rushing or receiving performance of the season. With the Packers desperately needing a win and with the pass-catching corps riddled with injuries, it couldn’t have come at a better time.

“That’s huge,” quarterback Jordan Love said. “Obviously, we all know what type of player Aaron Jones is. Just being able to get him back 100 percent healthy was huge, and he had a great day rushing the ball, made some plays in the pass game, too. Whenever we can get him back 100 percent, try and get him the ball as much as possible. We know what type of player he is.”

When healthy, Jones remains a top running back. However, Jones is 29; at this time next year, he’s going to be 30. The past four years, Jones missed a total of four games, so it’s not as if he’s an injury-plagued runner. Nonetheless, 30-year-old running backs generally don’t get better or healthier.