The Green Bay Packers played well and surprised a lot of people this season but ultimately fell short as they lost in the NFC Divisional Round to the San Francisco 49ers. However, one of the bigger talking points is not what happened on the field, but instead something coach Matt LeFleur said on the sidelines.
While reporting on the game between the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers, Tom Rinaldi paraphrased that Matt LeFleur told him that he does not have trust in kicker Anders Carlson.
“When he goes out there, I just pray”
Matt LaFleur doesn’t have a lot of faith in his kickerpic.twitter.com/fWQtniissi
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) January 21, 2024
To be fair, kicking is an imperfect science as kickers can go from dominant to terrible without any reason. Anders Carlson struggled this season as he ranked outside the top 20 in every kicking statistic. He went 27-of-33 (81.8 percent) on field goal attempts, including 7-of-12 on kicks from 40+ yards. He also missed five of the 39 extra point attempts.
He missed a pair of kicks throughout the playoffs as he went 7-of-8 on extra point kicks and connected on 2-of-3 field goals, with the one miss being in the fourth quarter of their 24-21 loss.
The Green Bay Packers had an unbelievable season as they were able to get a playoff spot as the seventh seed in the NFC to be one of the wild card teams. The team was able to dominate the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Wild Card Round and had controlled a majority of the game against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Packers have the youngest roster in the sport and have a bright future in terms of draft picks as they have the New York Jets 2024 second-round pick to finalize the Aaron Rodgers trade. With some experience under their belt and an estimated $8 million of cap space in 2024, this team can continue to improve.
They have a strong coach in Matt LeFleur and an outstanding quarterback in Jordan Love. Things are going to continue to look up for the team as the years go on.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!