{"id":860199,"date":"2026-09-25T13:30:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T13:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/860199\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T13:30:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T13:30:11","slug":"packers-shocking-blowout-loss-to-falcons-should-put-coach-matt-lafleur-on-the-hot-seat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/860199\/","title":{"rendered":"Packers’ shocking blowout loss to Falcons should put coach Matt LaFleur on the hot seat"},"content":{"rendered":"

Too early to panic over Packers’ collapse vs Vikings, Bengals still concerning despite win | FTF<\/a> <\/p>\n

Nick Wright, Chris Broussard, Kevin Wildes and Greg Jennings discuss whether it is too early to panic over the Green Bay Packers’ collapse, then break down the Philadelphia Eagles’ first win under a new offense. They then break down whether they are buying stock in the Cincinnati Bengals and react to Myles Garrett going on IR. (00:00) Intro
\n(00:30) Packers Collapse
\n(04:40) Eagles’ First Game with New Offense
\n(10:28) Buying Stock in Bengals?
\n(14:36) Myles Garrett to IR
\n(19:43) MNF Prediction<\/p>\n

The Green Bay Packers finally opened Lambeau Field for the first time this regular season, where they hoped to make it 14 straight home openers where they\u2019ve come away with a victory on Thursday night against a struggling Atlanta Falcons<\/a> team.<\/p>\n

Instead, the Packers<\/a> were blown out by an 0-2 team on their home turf, and now a big question arises.<\/p>\n

This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX News may be compensated. This content was created by a team that works independently from the FOX newsroom.<\/p>\n

Should head coach Matt LaFleur be on the hot seat?<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGE<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Matt <\/p>\n

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur takes the field before a game against the Atlanta Falcons at Lambeau Field on Sept. 24, 2026, in Green Bay, Wis. (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

LaFleur signed a multi-year contract extension at the beginning of this year, which wasn\u2019t considered a “prove-it deal,” per ESPN.<\/a> But what happened in this 35-14 loss certainly warms his seat as the Packers fall to 1-2 to start the year.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t just this performance, either. In Week 1, a second-half collapse resulted in a Vikings victory to open the season. Then, the Packers were close to falling to the New York Jets<\/a> on the road in a game they were heavily favored. It took overtime in rainy conditions to escape New Jersey with a 20-17 win.<\/p>\n

As for Thursday night\u2019s performance, it was more of the same that was seen in the first two weeks: a lack of diversity between the run and pass games, poor offensive line play and quarterback Jordan Love<\/a> not being able to handle the pressure in his pocket.<\/p>\n

THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW\u2013UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!<\/a><\/p>\n

The sold-out Lambeau Field crowd was raining down boos and jeers from the stands throughout this contest, as Love and his receivers couldn\u2019t get on the same page, drives stalled and the Falcons started to find their offensive spark now that Michael Penix Jr. was finally healthy enough to play.<\/p>\n

Oh, and Bijan Robinson once again proved why he is one of those rare NFL talents with his ability to totally take over a game when he has the ball in his hands.<\/p>\n

Before we get to the Falcons\u2019 positives in this game, back to LaFleur\u2019s situation in Green Bay. Since last year, including the Wild Card Round, the Packers are just 1-7 in their last eight contests. As the fan base collectively shakes their heads at the start of this season, and audibly shows their frustration at the first home game of the season, could the thought of keeping sustainability at the head coach position change in Green Bay?<\/p>\n

LaFleur entered his eighth season with the Packers this year, and he is the only active head coach that has been with his team that long and not reached the Super Bowl. Yes, it\u2019s still early in the season, but just food for thought.<\/p>\n

On the other sideline, there were tons of smiles, and none more infectious than that of Robinson, who finished the game with 194 rushing yards and two touchdowns. All week long, the Packers preached stopping Robinson, understanding that\u2019s exactly what happened in Weeks 1 and 2, when the Falcons struggled to get anything going on offense.<\/p>\n

\"Bijan <\/p>\n

Bijan Robinson of the Atlanta Falcons celebrates with Olamide Zaccheaus after scoring a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers during the first quarter at Lambeau Field on Sept. 24, 2026, in Green Bay, Wis. (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Well, Robinson torched this Packers defense with chunk runs, including a 55-yarder, and that also made life easier for Penix\u2019s return under center.<\/p>\n

The Falcons\u2019 signal caller, whom they wished could\u2019ve been healthy to start the year but hadn\u2019t been fully recovered from his torn ACL in 2025, found his rhythm after opening the game with an interception on Atlanta\u2019s first drive. The Falcons drew up quick passing plays for Penix to get going, and once the Packers had to respect Robinson\u2019s running ability, play-action passes were Penix\u2019s bread and butter.<\/p>\n

Most of them went to Drake London, who also had his breakout game of the season. Like Robinson, he also had 194 yards, though through nine receptions, including a 68-yard catch-and-run that sealed the deal in the fourth quarter for the Falcons. He may not have had a touchdown, but this was the performance Penix needed after not finding anything with Cooper Rush in the first two games of the year.<\/p>\n

\"Matt <\/p>\n

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur runs onto the field before a game against the Atlanta Falcons at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., on Sept. 24, 2026. (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

OUTKICK IS NOW AVAILABLE ON THE FOX NEWS APP: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD<\/a><\/p>\n

For the Falcons, perhaps they simply needed competent quarterback play all along, and new head coach Kevin Stefanski can put together wins now that he has one in place, especially if the defense continues to play the way they did in an incredible performance.<\/p>\n

But for the Packers, tough questions need to be asked already this year because it seems to be picking up where it left off in the worst ways possible.<\/p>\n

Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Too early to panic over Packers’ collapse vs Vikings, Bengals still concerning despite win | FTF Nick Wright,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":860200,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[1327,2205,1804,1813,31117,349,259870,99],"class_list":["post-860199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-atlanta-falcons","tag-betting","tag-green-bay-packers","tag-jordan-love","tag-michael-penix-jr","tag-nfl","tag-outkick-sports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=860199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860199\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/860200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=860199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=860199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=860199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}