Aaron Rodgers believes the Green Bay Packers must find a way to keep matters simple after suffering a second straight defeat, though Matt LaFleur's assessment was blunter.
The Packers slipped to a 10-27 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday, a week on from Green Bay having a three-game winning streak ended by the New York Giants.
Those defeats leave Green Bay 3-3 for the season, with the Packers second in the NFC North, trailing the 5-1 Minnesota Vikings.
Quarterback Rodgers, the NFL's MVP for the last two seasons, believes the solution is to go back to basics.
"Simpler. Simplify some things," Rodgers, who was sacked four times against the Jets, told reporters. "All of it. I don't want to get too specific.
"I'm not attacking anything, I think based on how we've played the last two weeks it's going to be at our best interest to simplify things for everybody... the line, the backs, the receivers, especially with [Randall] Cobb's injury.
"Just need to simplify some things and maybe that will help us get back on track.
"[The offense was] very inconsistent. That's why I think we need to simplify things, because on a couple drives we didn't move the ball because it was very simple things.
"It was very simple plays, no motion. So we need to look at everything and the guys that we got and what we can accomplish with them and let's be smart about moving forward."
Coach LaFleur, however, did not hold back in his criticism of the Packers' offense, which has averaged 17.8 points per game through the opening six weeks of the season.
"That's about as frustrating of a game that I've ever been a part of from an offensive perspective," he said.
"We're in a pretty bad predicament right now."
For his part, Rodgers puts no blame onto the coaching staff.
"Nobody works harder than Matt on the plan each week, and nobody comes with better ideas than Matt and his staff," the 38-year-old added.
"If it's not working it's not because those guys aren't grinding, it's because we are not executing. If you think we have the right players, then we need to simplify things. If you don't, that's a whole other conversation."
David Montgomery hat-trick lifts Detroit Lions over Green Bay Packers
Three touchdowns from running back David Montgomery lifted the Detroit Lions to a 34-20 victory over the Green Bay Packers.
Montgomery found the endzone twice in the first half and again in the fourth quarter to clinch the visitors’ third win of the season.
The Packers were able to impact the scoreboard early, gaining a 3-0 lead with a field goal from their opening drive.
However, they had to wait a long time between drinks from there, as the Lions hit back with three touchdowns and two field goals to take a 27-3 lead into half-time.
Green Bay were able to stem the tide in the third quarter, holding Detroit to nil while picking up a touchdown through wide receiver Christian Watson.
They inched closer at the start of the fourth thanks to a nine-yard touchdown run from quarterback Jordan Love, but their comeback bid was officially ended when Montgomery picked up his third touchdown with six minutes remaining.
Love finished with 246 passing yards to go along with a touchdown and two interceptions, while Detroit quarterback Jared Goff threw for 210 yards, a touchdown and an interception of his own.
Philadelphia Eagles turn up the Hurts on Tampa Bay to remain unbeaten
The Philadelphia Eagles maintained their perfect start to the season, proving too strong for previously unbeaten Tampa Bay.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts led his team to a 25-11 win as he masterminded a game-deciding drive that lasted nine minutes.
Hurts threw for 277 yards and scored a touchdown while running back D’Andre Swift racked up 130 yards on 16 carries.
The Eagles are 3-0 for the second successive season and join Miami and San Francisco as the only unbeaten sides.
Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow shook off a calf injury to throwing for 259 yards to beat the Los Angeles Rams 19-16 for the Bengals’ first win of the season.
Burrow, who picked up the injury in pre-season and aggravated it against Baltimore last week, only returned to training on Thursday.
Running back Joe Mixon’s 14-yard touchdown run in the third quarter gave the AFC North champions their first lead of the season.
Logan Wilson intercepted Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford twice and he was sacked six times.
Chargers wide receiver Williams out for season with torn ACL
The Los Angeles Chargers will be without star wide receiver Mike Williams for the remainder of the 2023 season after an MRI confirmed he tore his ACL in Week 3, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Monday.
Williams went down in the third quarter of the Chargers’ 28-24 road win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday after recording seven catches for 121 yards and a touchdown.
Williams entered Monday’s action ranked 12th in the league in receiving yards (249), tied for 12th in targets (26) and tied for 13th in catches (19).
Since being selected seventh overall by the Chargers in the 2017 NFL Draft, Williams has 309 receptions for 4,806 yards and 31 touchdowns.
Los Angeles lost its first two games by a combined five points before defeating Minnesota.
The Chargers went 10-7 last season and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2018. They led by 10 points after three quarters in the wild-card round at Jacksonville before the Jaguars rallied for a 31-30 victory.
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