JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Name one thing from the colossal stinker that was the 2021 season opener that gave any indication the Green Bay Packers are a Super Bowl contender, as advertised.
Heck, Packers coach Matt LaFleur couldn’t even list one positive to emerge from his team’s 38-3 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon at TIAA Bank Field.
“None that come to mind right now,” LaFleur said.
LaFleur used words like “embarrassing” and “humbling” to describe this dumpster fire. He admitted the Packers got their butts whipped, though he used slightly more colorful language.
Aaron Rodgers and Co. are 0-1 for the first time since 2014 and it’s no time to panic, not with 16 games remaining in the regular season. But this team is one game into a season that began with enormous expectations and already is in need of a gut check.
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“We talk about in the face of adversity staying together and not flinching,” LaFleur said. “That’s exactly what we have to do and we have to get back to work. This isn’t going to magically repair itself. The only way that I believe that you bounce back from any defeat, any setback, whether it’s in football or in life, is you put in the work and so that’s what we’ve got to do.”
LIVE: Head Coach Matt LaFleur meets with the media following #GBvsNO 🎥 https://t.co/5dA4VsVZ3h
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 12, 2021
How could this happen, something so rancid that a smoky smell that made its way through the press box long after the Packers had left for the airport didn’t even the top the foul odor they left on the field?
There are multiple possibilities, starting with Rodgers’ admission that perhaps the Packers — particularly the offense — arrived in Florida with their chests puffed out a bit too much.
“I think there’s probably some of that,” Rodgers said after going 15 of 28 for 133 yards with two interceptions — a passer rating of 36.8 — prior to getting pulled in the fourth quarter. “We probably felt like we were gonna go up and down the field on whoever they had out there and that obviously wasn’t the case today.”
Another theory: There was a correlation between LaFleur’s decision to rest almost all of his starters during three preseason games and how flat his entire team was in the opener.
Rodgers dismissed that notion and I expected his coach to do the same, but LaFleur seemed willing to at least entertain the possibility it was a mistake on his part.
“Hindsight is 20/20, you can look at a million different things that went on,” LaFleur said. “I think those are all justified, how we approach the preseason. You feel good going into a game having the majority of your guys healthy and available and then you go out there and put a performance like that together, I think you’re right to question everything that we decided to do.”
It’s typically pretty easy to point the finger at certain players or one side of the ball for a loss, but that wasn’t the case this time because it was a disaster on several fronts.
Start with the defense, which was awful in defensive coordinator Joe Barry’s debut with the Packers.
The Saints established the run early and kept pounding away, piling up a massive time of possession cushion and keeping Rodgers on the sidelines.
Ten-minute drives just don’t happen in the NFL, but New Orleans had one Sunday. It came on the heels of one that lasted nearly 8 minutes.
“I am disappointed,” nose tackle Kenny Clark said after the Packers allowed 171 rushing yards. “I am. It just wasn’t good enough today. It just wasn’t. Just by everybody, it just wasn’t good enough.”
The defense was so atrocious that the Packers’ only chance of staying in the game was getting one of those Superman acts from Rodgers that we’ve seen so often during his previous 13 seasons as the team’s starting quarterback.
What he offered instead was a dud that came on the heels of a drama-filled offseason in which he wanted a trade and considered retirement.
Rodgers’ issues started on the second series of the game when he took a sack for an 11-yard loss, killing a promising drive early in the second quarter. By the time Green Bay got the ball back, it was trailing 17-0.
His bigger mistake came early in the third quarter when the Packers had a chance to cut their deficit to one score. His interception came on a pass intended for Davante Adams and Rodgers later admitted he either should have tried to hit Aaron Jones earlier in the sequence or thrown the ball away.
But Rodgers didn’t get much help in the play-calling department from LaFleur, who admitted he abandoned the run too early and never gave Jones and AJ Dillon the opportunity to do what Alvin Kamara and Tony Jones Jr. were doing to the Packers’ defense.
Case in point: Dillon began Green Bay’s second series with back-to-back gains of 6 yards. Instead of continuing to run the ball and give the defense a much-needed break, LaFleur got cute and called a pass play that resulted in the aforementioned momentum-killing sack of Rodgers.
“It was just an all-around poor performance that starts with myself,” LaFleur said. “I obviously didn’t get these guys ready to play.”
Much easier than ranking what went wrong for the Packers in the opener is to list what went right.
In a word, nothing, a shocking start for a team with designs on being super.
Photos: Packers stumble out of the gate as Saints dominate season opener

Green Bay Packers fans watch players warm up before an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

Green Bay Packers fans are seen during an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Sep. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

Green Bay Packers fans watch players warm up before a game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

Green Bay Packers fans watch players warm up before a game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

A Green Bay Packers fan holds up a cutout of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers before a game against the New Orleans Saints Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

New Orleans Saints players gather before the the first half of a game against the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

A New Orleans Saints fan holds up a sign before a game against the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

Green Bay Packers fans arrive at TIAA Bank Field to watch a game between the New Orleans Saints and the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston throws a pass during the first half Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston looks for a receiver against the Green Bay Packers during the first half Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston tries to avoid a tackle by Green Bay Packers linebacker Krys Barnes during the first half Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston throws a pass during the first half Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, left, and Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur greet each other before a game, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston scrambles for yardage as Green Bay Packers linebacker Jonathan Garvin gives chase during the first half Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers scrambles as he is pressured by New Orleans Saints linebacker Tanoh Kpassagnon during the first half Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones is stopped by New Orleans Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport during the first half Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers throws a pass as New Orleans Saints outside linebacker Demario Davis rushes during the first half Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara gains yardage against the Green Bay Packers during the first half Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) celebrates his touchdown against the Green Bay Packers with teammates including wide receiver Marquez Callaway (1) during the first half Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

New Orleans Saints outside linebacker Demario Davis breaks up a pass intended for Green Bay Packers tight end Robert Tonyan during the first half Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is hit by New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan as he releases a pass during the first half Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

Green Bay Packers players take the field before the first half of a game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

The New Orleans Saints line up for a play against the Green Bay Packers during the first half Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers looks for a receiver during the first half Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara makes a reception and is stopped by Green Bay Packers outside linebacker De'Vondre Campbell during the first half Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams catches a pass as New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore tries to stop him during the first half Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson makes a touchdown reception in front of Green Bay Packers strong safety Adrian Amos during the first half Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson celebrates his touchdown reception against the Green Bay Packers as he points to a TV cameraman during the first half Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers throws a pass as he is pressured by New Orleans Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport during the first half Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

Green Bay Packers tight end Josiah Deguara is looked at after he was injured during the second half Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

Green Bay Packers defensive tackle T.J. Slaton looks up at the scoreboard during the second half Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers prepares for a play against the New Orleans Saints during the second half Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.
Contact Jim Polzin at jpolzin@madison.com.