Matt LaFleur regretted the play call. Jordan Love said he didn’t see the defender. Both the coach and quarterback of the Green Bay Packers took the blame for a game-turning interception during the fourth quarter of the Packers’ stunning 13-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
On 3rd-and-7 with 3:18 left in the fourth quarter, Love attempted to throw quick to Dontayvion Wicks on a slant against man coverage, but Browns defensive back Grant Delpit fell off his coverage on Tucker Kraft and intercepted the pass in front of Wicks, setting up a return inside the 5-yard line that helped the Browns tie the game just seconds later.
LaFleur credited Delpit for making a great play but also bemoaned his call in the situation.
“They were playing man coverage, the guy, Delpit, did a hell of a job, he passed off (Tucker Kraft) to the inside backer and he fell off into hte window,” LaFleur explained. “That’s a bad call. We shouldn’t have called that play. That’s on me.”
While the triple slant concept is a man coverage beater, and it actually beat the coverage for a big gain to Wicks earlier in the game, teams like the Browns can run a variation that puts the offense is a dangerous situation if a defender falls off coverage. And the result of Delpit’s impressive play was a crucial turnover.
“A lot of teams will do that when they are playing man free. They’ll pass off an inside breaking route and fall into that next window. So, that’s just a bad call,” LaFleur said. “What’s unfortuante is our defense was doing so well and we knew we couldn’t make a deadly mistake like that offensively to give them a short field, and that’s exactly what happened.”
Love said he never saw Delpit falling off into the window and blamed himself for not recognizing the coverage wrinkle in real time.
“It’s quick game,” Love said. “You have to be able to see him falling off. He did a great job making the play. I didn’t see him. But it’s something I’ve seen before. I gotta find a way to see him.”
The interception snapped Love’s streak of nine straight regular season games without one. It was also the Packers’ first turnover of the season.
With a completion to Wicks, the Packers would have moved the sticks and had 1st-and-10 with under three minutes to go, potentially icing the game. Instead, Delpit put the Browns offense back on the field with 1st-and-goal from the 4-yard line, and Quinshon Judkins powered in from one yard out two plays later to tie the game.
Blame for the game-changing mistake can probably be split between playcaller and quarterback. The Browns had the right coverage adjustment to stop LaFleur’s call in a big spot, and the quarterback didn’t fix the problem post-snap and ended up making a crucial mistake.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Matt LaFleur and Jordan Love both take blame for game-turning INT vs. Browns
Reporting by Zach Kruse, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
