Matt LaFleur needs to get his Green Bay Packers to focus and start playing disciplined football before this 2025 season gets away from them

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur needs to do something. After coming out gangbusters in the first two games of the season, his team has stalled spectacularly. A 13-10 loss in Week 3 to the Cleveland Browns was supposed to be the low point of this early season for the Packers, but then they went out on Sunday Night Football this past weekend and played to a tie against the Dallas Cowboys.

Sure, it's not a loss, but it sure felt like a loss after the game. That's feelings and not facts. The facts are even worse than the feelings, though. The Packers got a rare defensive stop in overtime and held Dak Prescott and the Cowboys to a field goal. Jordan Love and the offense got the ball back with 4:40 to go in the overtime period and immediately started driving.

The Packers found themselves at the Dallas 40 with two minutes remaining, but somehow managed to run only six more plays before a field goal from Brandon McManus that tied the game with no time remaining. Two of those plays went for negative yards.

Throw in the seven more penalties that the Packers committed in this one (not including two that were declined by the Cowboys) and it sure seems as if the Packers have either a discipline problem or a focus problem.

Potentially both.

And yes, they're still a very young team. That shouldn't be an excuse, though.

“I mean, every year’s a new situation,” LaFleur explained, according to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. “You got a lot of new players out there, so it’s never the same. I think any time mistakes happen, it’s disappointing, whether it’s Year 3 with your group of guys or you got a rookie in there. It really doesn’t matter at the end of the day, because nobody cares. Bottom line is you gotta get it right.”

It's on Matt LaFleur to get the Packers to focus 

LaFleur is right in saying that the Packers have to get it right, but perhaps it's time he looks in the mirror. He is the coach of this thing, after all, and if this team is struggling with focus and discipline, it's a direct reflection of him.

Things like holding and defensive pass interference happen in the heat of the moment, and it's easy to be more forgiving with those penalties because you've got guys out there trying to make plays.

This team has been plagued by penalties like false starts and ineligible players down the field, though, and that has nothing to do with trying to make a play. That's a lack of focus and discipline. 

Throw in two game-changing blocked field goals in two weeks, and it's clear that this team is struggling to do the little things well.

If they can't block a point after attempt correctly, why should there be any faith in this team being a legitimate Super Bowl contender?

Ultimately, LaFleur has time to turn this thing around, and the bye week is a perfect opportunity to get his players to focus. 

Do the little things well and the big things will come together. That has to be LaFleur's message to the Packers if he wants to get them back on the winning track.