2. LaFleur regrets the final play call.
Facing third-and-20 with less than two minutes left from their own 46-yard line, trailing by two points, the Packers went for it all. QB Jordan Love’s deep shot for receiver Samori Toure hung in the air too long and was intercepted by Broncos safety P.J. Locke cutting across the field.
Just like in Vegas, another late rally was denied when the Packers went for broke.
“I put that last one on me,” LaFleur said. “I probably should’ve just called a safer play, get half of it, try to set yourself up for a manageable situation on the next down.
“We took a shot and obviously didn’t come through.”
Love said he didn’t see Locke heading that way from his normal position and was surprised he was able to get to the ball. It wound up being the only turnover of the game.
“We dialed up a play, it’s made for that coverage,” Love said. “Tried to get a shot over the top for Samori, but the backside safety made a good play on it.
“You can look back on it and say we could’ve did so many different things … who knows? One of those things, what if.”
Whatever it takes, the bottom line is what needs to change.
“Everyone’s very frustrated,” Love said. “We’ve gotta find a way to win, gotta find a way to win these games.
“We’ve been put in these positions multiple times on the offense to go win the game, and we haven’t capitalized on it. We’re not capitalizing on these end-of-game situations, and the situations are going to keep coming.”
3. Two other mistakes in particular stuck out in this one.
First, rookie kicker Anders Carlson missed his first kick of the season in the first half, hooking a 43-yard field-goal try wide left when the Packers desperately needed to get points on the board before intermission.
Then, on the final drive, the reason it was third-and-20 was due to a holding penalty on Pro Bowl guard Elgton Jenkins when the offense ran a QB draw – which worked splendidly on the previous TD drive – on second down.
The Packers were at the Denver 44-yard line, and Love’s run up the middle appeared to get inside the 40, but the penalty wiped out the play and put Green Bay back on its own side of midfield, in a long-yardage situation.
The offense might not have needed another first down to give Carlson a shot at a long field goal to retake the lead, but after the penalty the Packers were out of range and never got back in.
“That was critical, another critical penalty at the end of the game,” LaFleur said. “It seems like there’s a lot of those critical mistakes that keep popping up. Those are things that cost you.”
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