Packers’ Matt LaFleur reveals ‘point of reflection’ of season after Eagles loss

The The Green Bay Packers had chance after chance to pull off an upset over the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round on Sunday, but injuries and mistakes throughout the game cost them a 22-10 loss to end their season.

The Packers were behind the 8-ball right from the start after Keisean Nikon fumbled a kickoff and the Eagles immediately hit it for a touchdown. From there, the Packers couldn’t get anything going the entire first half on offense as Jordan Love struggled, the run was scattered and The Packers gave up a big goose egg in the first half.

After the game, the head coach Matt LaFleur dealt with the team’s slow starts and said it’s one of the big topics of conversation coming into the offseason in Green Bay, per ESPN’s Rob Demowski.

“That’s going to be a great point to think about this offseason,” LaFleur said, per Demowski.

Slow starts have been a theme this season for the Packers, and not just on Sunday. Sleepwalking cost them both a loss to the Minnesota Vikings and their first loss to the Detroit Lions. If the Packers could have turned even two of those three games around, they would have had a good chance of bringing home the division title and hosting a playoff game this season. Instead, they found themselves on the road against one of the best teams in the NFL.

The Packers need to find blue chip players this offseason

There is no question that the foundation is there for this Packers team, which is still very young. Jordan Love fought hard on Sunday, but he still showed enough to give Packers fans faith in his progress. The team is very well coached with Matt LaFleur at the helm and new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has done a very good job this year.

Green Bay even got some internal progress from some figures on that side of the ball. Security Xavier McKinney blossomed into an All Prolinebacker Edgerrin Cooper looks like a future star, and several other young pieces around the roster have had promising campaigns.

Now, the Packers have to go out and make a splash. Another star or two would make a huge difference for this team and give them some more juice that the coaching staff doesn’t have to generate. Imagine a true star receiver on the team to complement Jaden Reed and Christian Watson. When the going gets tough, Love needs one guy he can turn to on the outside, and the Packers don’t have that right now.

Defensively, the Packers could use a kicker who can really turn a game around in one play. Whether that comes in the form of a pass rusher or a top linebacker, that should be a top priority for the Packers front office this offseason. If they can add some top talent to their already deep roster, this could be a contender in the NFC next season.