Matt LaFleur fumes over missed calls, but will his gripes actually help the Green Bay Packers succeed against the Chicago Bears in their upcoming rematch?
It was a close game, and it was a close game that the Green Bay Packers ended up winning. With that said, the Packers were also a bad Caleb Williams throw away from perhaps going into overtime or even losing to the Chicago Bears in Week 14 at Lambeau Field.
The end result was a 28-21 win for Green Bay, and the Packers made the play they needed to make when it mattered most.
That's ultimately what matters most. That and the Packers' long-awaited climb back up to the top of the NFC North rankings.
These two rivals will see each other in just two weeks, though, so complaining about the officials and the lack of holding calls against star pass-rusher Micah Parsons isn't all that productive.
Still, after the win, LaFleur made his complaint known via the media.
“I don’t know. I don’t know,” LaFleur said when asked about the arguments he was having on the sideline with the referees about the clear holding penalties on Parsons that the Bears were getting away with (h/t Pro Football Talk). “I thought there was one that certainly was questionable, to say the least, but apparently the officials disagreed, so it is what it is and we’ve just got to continue to fight and try to get to the quarterback.”
The head coach was pressed a bit and more frustration leaked out.
“I’m not going to get into what we were talking about,” LaFleur said. “Officials, I don’t think their jobs are easy by any stretch — I think it’s a difficult job — but I guess I don’t know what holding is anymore because I thought it was a pretty clear and obvious hold. But I guess I don’t know what that means.”
Anybody with eyes could see that Parsons was being held often in this one. It was a bi-product of Chicago's offense as well. Williams isn't the greatest pocket passer in the world but he's a tremendous athlete, extremely quick and he was clearly comfortable rolling out to his right in order to avoid Parsons and the Packers' pass-rush.
It worked, too. Parsons and the Packers got plenty of pressures, but they recorded just one sack (Kingsley Enagbare). Meanwhile, Williams was able to get out of the pocket and pick apart Green Bay's secondary with impunity in the second half of the game. That, plus a strong rushing attack, was the main reason the Bears were able to make a comeback in the second half and almost tie (or win) the game at the end.
“I thought he got grabbed, and I thought that was a penalty, but again, I’m not an official,” LaFleur said, speaking about another play in which Parsons was mugged but didn't draw a penalty.
LaFleur is obviously fighting for his player in the postgame, but ultimately, fretting about the calls Green Bay is or isn't getting is not productive. Complaining about the officials won't help the Packers hold on to the NFC North.
What will be productive is LaFleur and defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley putting their heads together and figuring out how they can actually get Williams on the ground a few more times.
You can bet that Chicago head coach Ben Johnson is going to take what worked from this game and use it in two weeks at Soldier Field.
The Packers can do the same thing, but they also have to figure out how to free up Parsons and the pass-rush a bit more while keeping contain on the edges.