Stephen A. Smith isn’t waiting around to see whether the Green Bay Packers turn this thing around.
After a 35-14 blowout loss to the Falcons, Smith went on Friday’s edition of First Take and said he thinks Matt LaFleur’s time in Green Bay could be running out fast. Smith, speaking with his longtime debate partner Skip Bayless, called the Packers’ season effectively “over” and said LaFleur may not even get through the first half of it.
“I think it’s the end of Matt LaFleur. I think Matt LaFleur will be lucky to finish the first half of the season with the job as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers,” Smith said.
“They looked like a soft team. They looked like a team that could be pushed around… They ended the season last year on a five-game losing streak…”
That was the headline-grabber, but the criticism didn’t come out of nowhere. Smith pointed to a Packers team that has been stumbling since blowing a lead against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1.
The next stop was MetLife Stadium, where Green Bay was supposed to handle a New York Jets team many expected it to beat soundly. Instead, the Jets controlled the game for three quarters, and the Packers needed a late rally and some galaxy brained coaching by the Jets to escape with an overtime win.
That result kept Green Bay from opening 0-2 for the first time in 20 years. But the relief didn’t last long.
Back at historic Lambeau Field, the Packers were supposed to get a clean reset against an 0-2 Atlanta Falcons team. Instead, Atlanta took over from basically the second quarter on and rolled to the lopsided win.
LaFleur’s résumé still carries plenty of weight. He has never lost more than nine games in a season and has taken the Packers to the postseason in six of his first seven years at the helm. But the broader picture is harder to ignore: Green Bay has just one playoff win since 2021, and the team has not reached the level it hit in LaFleur’s early seasons, when Aaron Rodgers was still putting up MVP-level play.
If the Packers decide LaFleur has already taken this group as far as he can, Smith’s prediction could end up looking pretty sharp.
Next up is a road trip to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a game that now looks like it could decide just how shaky things really are in Green Bay.
In Other News...
A.J. Terrell Injury Triggered A Falcons Move With Unexpected Fallout
A.J. Terrells groin injury forced the Falcons to make a quick roster adjustment, and the ripple effect reached well beyond Atlanta. With Terrell moved to injured reserve, the Falcons added cornerback Robert Longerbeam from the Eagles practice squad, a straightforward solution for a team trying to keep the secondary stocked while one of its top defenders recovers.
Kenny Moore II ended up being the unexpected beneficiary on the other side of the transaction, landing with Philadelphia on a one-year practice squad deal after Longerbeams departure opened a spot. For Atlanta, the move is about surviving the short term without Terrell, but it also shows how one injury can set off a chain of personnel decisions that affects more than one team and may still shape the Eagles cornerback depth from here. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Road Trip Took An Unusual Turn After Lambeau Game
The Falcons trip to Lambeau Field ended up carrying a strange off-field wrinkle after Green Bays Week 3 win, when Ronika Stone said her camera and a luxury handbag went missing following the game. Stone, the wife of Packers quarterback Jordan Love, said the items had been left in a clear bag that was later found by security, but the two valuables were gone.
Stone has since asked the public to keep an eye out for her Sony camera and said she is hoping the belongings make their way back to her. It is the kind of postgame story nobody in Atlanta expected to follow a road trip, but it has quickly become one more odd note from a weekend that already ended with the Falcons leaving Wisconsin without a win. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Fans Should Start Watching This QB Search Now
The Falcons have already spent plenty of time chasing a long-term answer at quarterback, and the next wave of possibilities is starting to take shape on the college schedule. The 2027 NFL Draft class is being discussed as a deep one at the position, which means Atlanta fans have reason to keep an eye on more than just the usual Sunday headlines. This is the kind of evaluation season where future franchise decisions begin in September, not in April.
Arch Mannings Texas-Tennessee matchup is one of the first stops, while Dante Moore against Jayden Maiava in Oregon-USC gives scouts another chance to compare top arms in a high-profile setting. Trinidad Chambliss and Ole Miss facing Florida adds another name to the mix, and for a team still hunting for stability under center, these games matter because they help shape how the quarterback board looks long before the draft board is final. [Read more 🡒]