LaFleur expresses regret for his decision to kick FG late in game
Matt LaFleur put the game in the hands of his defense instead of All-Pro quarterback Aaron Rodgers in a decision that will be questioned in Green Bay for years.
With a spot in the Super Bowl on the line, LaFleur opted for a field goal on fourth-and-goal from the 8 when trailing by eight points with just over two minutes remaining in the NFC championship game.
Rodgers never got the ball back in his fourth straight title game loss as Tom Brady and Tampa Bay ran out the clock in a 31-26 win Sunday.
“The way our defense was playing it felt like the right decision to do,” LaFleur said. “It just didn’t work out.”
The key moment came after Green Bay rallied from 18 points down in the second half to get into position to send the game into overtime late in regulation.
The Packers drove down to the 8-yard line with 2:22 to play before
Rodgers threw an incomplete pass to Allen Lazard followed by two more to Davante Adams.
That left LaFleur with a decision to make with 2:09 to play and he went with the field goal instead of shot into the end zone for a possible TD and 2-point conversion to tie the game.
“Any time it doesn’t work out, you always regret it,” LaFleur said. “It was the circumstances of having three shots and coming away with no yards and knowing that not only you need the touchdown, but you need the 2-point (conversion). We essentially had four timeouts with the two-minute warning. We knew we needed to get a stop.”
Rodgers never had a chance to lobby his coach to go for it as soon as he saw the field-goal team run on the field.
“I didn’t have a decision on that one,” Rodgers said before pausing. “That wasn’t my decision, but I understand the thinking, above two minutes with all of our timeouts, but it wasn’t my decision.”