As the Green Bay Packers suffered a crushing 41-24 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 17, it carried major consequences. The Packers had already clinched a playoff spot after the Detroit Lions lost 23-10 to the Minnesota Vikings this week. But tonight’s defeat marked Green Bay’s third straight loss, which allowed the Chicago Bears to clinch the NFC North title. But after the game, Packers’ head coach Matt LaFleur revealed that his team still had plenty at stake when they played in Week 17. 

“I don’t think anybody was relieved we made the playoffs,” Matt LaFleur said in the presser after the Week 17 game. “We still had a ton to play for. It was the same routine with how we went about our process to prepare for a game. It just wasn’t good enough. That’s the bottom line.”

Matt LaFleur shut down any suggestion that the Packers felt relieved after securing a playoff berth. But his comments also pointed fingers at the Packers’ locker room. And why not? In the Week 17 game, at times, the Packers appeared capable of fighting back and keeping their division title hopes alive. 

One bright spot for the Packers in the game came from quarterback Malik Willis. He hardly got any reps before starting the game in place of QB Jordan Love, who was sidelined with a concussion. Still, Willis delivered the best performance of his NFL career against the Ravens as he threw for 288 yards and one touchdown. His efficiency also jumped off the screen as he completed 18 of 21 passes before he had to exit with an injury.

“He [Willis] made play after play after play out there,” LaFleur said after the game. “He was one of the few bright spots on the night. And he made plays, threw the ball accurately.”

Unfortunately for Green Bay, the defense unraveled in the Week 17 game. The Packers allowed 30 first downs and watched Baltimore control the ball for more than 40 minutes. Ravens’ running back Derrick Henry was also the difference in the game. 

The Ravens out-rushed Green Bay 307-79, with Henry amassing 216 yards on 36 carries and four touchdowns. Late in the fourth quarter of the game, Henry sealed the Ravens’ victory with a 25-yard touchdown after he ran down the left sideline. 

Baltimore also piled up 175 rushing yards in the first half of the Week 17 game alone, averaging six yards per carry. And while Matt LaFleur later said his team expected the Ravens to come in running the ball, for him, that was still “tough to watch.” 

And let’s not forget, this came a week after the Packers’ defense gave up 150 rushing yards to the Bears. The trend is alarming for Green Bay. And the injuries to key defensive linemen like Micah Parsons and Devonte Wyatt only explain so much. The Packers defense has to be better fast as the first round of the playoffs approaches. So, the frustration from LaFleur was evident, and accountability now sits squarely with Green Bay’s players.

Matt LaFleur shares his views on the Packers’ complacency issues

Early turnovers also cost the game for the Packers. Twice in the first half, the Packers had to give away the ball, which led to six points for Baltimore. Then, a late turnover with Baltimore up by 10 points all but ended the game for the Packers. Still, after the game, Matt LaFleur denied the idea that his team was complacent when they started the game.

“That’s the natural thing to say, the easy thing to say,” Matt LaFleur said in the post-game presser. “I don’t think I saw a team that was flat. I saw a team that just got beat. They got whipped. I would not say that because our guys did compete. They were battling, you saw it in the first half.”

‘Battled’ is one way to put the Packers’ performance in the Week 17 game. They lost six players to injury in the game, and none of them returned. Malik Willis was also in the midst of a great game when, midway through the fourth quarter, he had to leave the field with a shoulder injury. Then, Willis’ exit forced the Packers’ third-string quarterback, Clayton Tune, into action. But Tune’s first pass in the game was tipped and intercepted. And that moment just about summed up how the night went for the Packers.

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Moreover, now the Week 17 loss locked Green Bay into second place in the NFC North and the No. 7 seed in the playoffs. So, any Super Bowl hopes will require the Packers to win entirely on the road. With one regular-season game left against the Vikings, Matt LaFleur now ultimately needs to decide whether to rest players or push for momentum before the playoffs.