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Two aggressive decisions from coach Matt LaFleur helped the Green Bay Packers beat the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at State Farm Stadium.
“Scared money don’t make money,” LaFleur said following the Packers’ 27-23 win. “Sometimes you have to shoot.”
The end result of two important decisions was 10 points in a game the Packers won by only four.
The first came with seven seconds left in the first half. After scoring a touchdown to go up 13-3, the Cardinals kicked the ensuing kickoff through the end zone, giving the Packers a chance to take over at the 35-yard line. Instead of just going into the half, LaFleur called a pass, and Jordan Love hit Romeo Doubs for a 22-yard gain to Arizona’s 43-yard line. After calling timeout with a second left, kicker Lucas Havrisik came on and drilled a 61-yard field goal to cut the lead to 13-6.
LaFleur could have easily killed off the final seven seconds and gone into the half, especially after the disaster that unfolded late in the first half in Dallas in Week 4. But he trusted his quarterback, got an explosive play and set up a scoring opportunity late, providing three crucial points.
The 61-yard field goal by Havrisik was a franchise record.
The second decision determined the outcome.
Down three points and facing 4th-and-2 with just over two minutes to go, LaFleur originally sent out the field goal unit in an attempt to tie the game. But he changed his mind after seeing Love come off the field and called timeout, and the offense went back onto the field for the game’s biggest play. Love converted, hitting Tucker Kraft for a 15-yard gain with 2:26 left. Three plays later, Josh Jacobs was in the end zone with a go-ahead touchdown with 1:50 left.
A field goal would have been the easy, safe play. Tie the game, survive to fight another round. But LaFleur went the aggressive route, and it paid off in a big way. The Packers got the touchdown and won in regulation.
“When our quarterback is coming off and I can see the disdain on his face…I looked up at the clock, saw how much time was left,” LaFleur said. “It was one of those deals where I was like, no matter what we call, this guy is going to make it work. And that’s exactly what happened.”
Aggressiveness is only possible when a coach has confidence in players. And the Packers rewarded the confidence with terrific execution in huge spots.
“It was a great job of our guys going out there and executing. And if you don’t have confidence in your guys, you don’t do it,” LaFleur said. “Those guys made a hell of a play.”
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