Matt LaFleur clearly wasn't happy about his Green Bay Packers' 16-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 9 of the 2025 NFL season.

How could he be?

The Packers were almost a 14-point home favorite, heading into the game at 5-1-1 and holding onto the top seed in the NFC. The Panthers, in the meantime, were 4-4 and coming off a tough, 40-9, loss to Buffalo Bills.

This was a matchup that Super Bowl-contending teams win, and win handily. 

A close win would have been reason for concern. A loss, though? That was an unacceptable option, and for now, these Packers can no longer be considered one of the elite teams in the NFL.

Still, after the game, LaFleur broke it down to simple Xs and Os, like he typically does. He also credited the Panthers for winning the game, rather than calling out the fact that his team simply wasn't prepared and that led to the loss.

"Give credit to Carolina," LaFleur said, according to FOX Sports. "They played the game that they had to play in order to beat us in regards to trying to run the football consistently throughout the course of the game and just make us dink and dunk the ball down the field, which we were able to move the ball. And then played good defense in the red zone. …

"We did enough things just to, you know, we deservedly got our a** beat."

It was a beatdown of the Packers, but the dirty secret here is that anyone who has watched any of LaFleur's losses over the last seven seasons could have told you that it was coming. It also had nothing to do with Xs and Os, though his offensive play-calling was suspect and disjointed, like it often is.

The dirty secret in Green Bay is that this was a "trap game" sandwiched between two huge games. Last week, it was the huge and emotional Sunday Night Football game against Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Next weekend? It's a matchup on Monday Night Football against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

Matt LaFleur lacks leadership or the ability to keep the Green Bay Packers focused on playing disciplined football 

The players themselves have no problem "getting up" for those types of moments, but it's these games against what should be considered lesser opponents not in primetime in which the Packers struggle.

That's because LaFleur, as a coach, is not the type of leader who can keep a young team focused. That has been a constant problem during his tenure in Green Bay.

This team is not focused, and it doesn't play discipline football.

Just look at the penalties. The Packers were plagued by seven penalties in the loss the Carolina. In their similar loss to the Cleveland Browns earlier this season, they committed an astronomical 14 penalties. 

They have now been dinged for 62 penalties on the season. That's the ninth worst mark amongst all NFL teams this season, but some of those teams ahead of them have also played one more game due to the bye week.

So yes, LaFLeur is right. The Packers were on the wrong end of a beating in Week 9. The Panthers knew their own strengths and knew how to exploit Green Bay's weaknesses.

That comes down to coaching, though. LaFleur was by far and away outcoached by Dave Canales, who is now 10-16 through one-and-a-half seasons in Carolina.

LaFleur, to his credit, is 72-35-1 all-time and he's taken the Packers to the playoffs in all but one season as head coach.

His severe lack of leadership and his inability to adapt when things get tough is going to kill this team when it really matters, though, and that's in the NFL playoffs.