GREEN BAY – Matt LaFleur certainly wasn't going to complain about a victory when it was the Packers' first in six weeks.
As the head coach reviewed the film of the 20-3 triumph over the Rams, though, he saw a game the Packers should have put away much sooner than they did.
"There was a lot of progress and still there was more opportunity out there for our offense where we didn't capitalize on some short fields," LaFleur said Monday.
Four times when the Packers were sitting with seven points they had drives reach LA territory but came up empty. The offense eventually kicked two field goals and scored a touchdown from the late third and into the fourth quarter to hit the 20-point mark for the first time since Week 4.
But a contest the Packers felt they controlled was still a one-score game until almost midway through the fourth quarter.
So whether the miscue was a penalty or turnover or missed field goal, the potential points left out there were the focus of a "Victory Monday" in name but not in celebration, as the players were brought in to keep after the details rather than receive any extra time off.
"I don't think we're in any position right now to take an extra day," LaFleur said. "One of the things I talked to the team about was … when you do win, how critical can you be of yourself? There's always something you can do better. When you do have some success, that's when you have to be the most critical.
"So, (we) challenged those guys in that regard. I think those guys take that to heart and challenged our coaches to do the same. I just think that's how we're going to get the most out of this team."
LaFleur stressed that what allowed the offense to get away with those missed opportunities was the defense standing tall and not allowing any points after the back-to-back fumbles in the third quarter when the Rams had prime chances.
Digging further into the details, he's even looking at the successful plays critically, such as on special teams. Keisean Nixon had a 51-yard kickoff return and 15-yard punt return, while Jayden Reed added a 22-yard punt return, but LaFleur felt those could have been more impactful.
"There was more opportunity out there to make them even bigger plays, where we're like one block away," he said.
Other notes:
On the injury front, LaFleur said receiver Christian Watson was not diagnosed with a concussion following his contested 37-yard reception late in the game, but he's still being monitored closely. The potential chest and back injuries also being evaluated don't appear to be any major concern.
Regarding the two offside calls on guard Jon Runyan for lining up in the neutral zone on fourth-and-1, LaFleur said the team will engage in some dialogue with the league about how those are being called.
"We should have made that adjustment before the second time … after it gets called one time," he said. "We'll get clarification hopefully from the league on that and whether or not they think those were valid calls."
Also, when Sean Rhyan replaced Runyan for one possession at right guard, that was due to Runyan being looked at briefly for a possible injury.
LaFleur also discussed at length quarterback Jordan Love's issues with deep ball accuracy – more specifically trusting the read and throwing the deep ball far enough to give his receiver a chance to make a play – and he boiled it down to this prescription: "He's got to shut his mind off and let it rip."
