A 1-2 start after a home-opening loss was not what Matt LaFleur and the Green Bay Packers expected to happen after the first three games of their latest season. However, their first game of the 2026 campaign at Lambeau Field was a 35-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, with not much looking good on either side of the ball for the Packers. LaFleur reacted to the disappointing loss at a press conference calling out the team for their latest performance.
"Well, that was a humbling night. Certainly, I don't think anybody's pleased about this, and we've got a couple extra days here, and everybody's gotta take a long, hard look at themselves, and we've gotta find solutions and just come back ready to work," LaFleur told reporters. "But that was a tough night." More news: Lions’ Amon-Ra St Brown Has Blunt Reaction to Hefty NFL Celebration Fines The Falcons benefited from a huge night from running back Bijan Robinson, who had 194 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
In addition, Michael Penix Jr. made his first start of the season, completing 18 of 25 passes for 256 yards and a touchdown. Atlanta finished with 498 yards of offense in their 35-14 win, and the home team simply didn't have enough to keep up. Jordan Love had 312 passing yards and two touchdowns, but was also sacked and threw an interception.
The Packers couldn't get anything going on the ground, with MarShawn Lloyd and Kaleby Johnson combining for 17 yards on eight carries. The Packers' offensive line didn't protect well amid injury woes, and Atlanta got to Love often, recording 12 quarterback hits, including a sack. Green Bay also had the ball for under 23 minutes while the Falcons controlled possession for over 37 minutes.
"I think we've got to continue to work with these guys and try to figure out what we do well. Because right now I don't know what we're doing well offensively," LaFleur said postgame, per ESPN. So far this season, Green Bay has suffered a rough loss in a big Minnesota Vikings comeback to start the season, and then followed it with a three-point win over the New York Jets in overtime.
They added in Thursday night's home-opening loss, which looked terrible to everyone. Many believe the Packers coach is in the hot seat this season, with LaFleur currently leading all NFL coaches in first-out predictions at Kalshi. He's now searching for answers fast as he attempts to turn things around early in the season.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
