GREEN BAY – Matt LaFleur's explanation for why the Packers' field goal in the final minute of Sunday's game got blocked wasn't complicated.
It was all about leverage, and not the illegal kind.
The Browns got both a surge of push up the middle and penetration off the edge to stuff Brandon McManus' 43-yard try that would've given the Packers the lead with less than 30 seconds to go.
"Unfortunately we got lifted, and we played with poor pad level, we didn't take the correct steps and just didn't perform the right technique," LaFleur said Monday of the protection unit. "So if you don't do that against a really good team that's going to rush hard, you're susceptible to having a catastrophic event occur."
Cleveland's block was credited to Shelby Harris, who now has blocked six kicks in his career. It was one of a handful of blocked field goals around the NFL on Sunday, but that doesn't excuse what LaFleur referred to as a lack of discipline when it comes to the protection techniques taught.
LaFleur also thought Denzel Ward coming around the edge might've "nicked" the kick as well, so the breakdowns were multiple.
"All in all, it wasn't good enough," he said.
That was the summary of the offense's day, too, as the Packers put up only 10 points and were undone by a rash of penalties and an untimely interception.
Aside from the killer turnover, which LaFleur discussed at length Sunday, he was bothered by a number of other mishaps.
For one, with Cleveland shutting down the run game and getting pressure on QB Jordan Love, the offense was trying to run some quicker passes, but Love was getting hit or sacked even on those.
For another, one of Love's five sacks came on a third-and-short on the final play of the third quarter, when the Packers could've let the game clock expire and when Love could've thrown the ball away when he got outside the pocket.
Neither happened, and LaFleur took the blame for giving Love a play call in the first place rather than just letting the quarter end.
Last but not least, LaFleur lamented the Packers' third and final possession of the first half, when they had driven from their own 12-yard line to Cleveland's 38, on the edge of scoring range.
The offense was then "bludgeoned" (LaFleur's word) back 20 yards by a false start, sack, illegal block in the back, and another sack, and the half ended with the Packers leading just 3-0. It was a squandered chance against a tough defense that wasn't giving the opponent many shots to score.
"When you put yourself in a scoring position, you can't take yourself out of it and that's exactly what happened on the third possession," LaFleur said. "It was a whole bunch of errors that can be spread to everybody, myself included.
"Bottom line, we've got to be more consistent and we've got to take advantage of our opportunities when we do get into scoring position. You've got to make sure you're going forward and not backwards."
On the injury front, LaFleur said safety Javon Bullard is in the concussion protocol and defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt is "day to day" after exiting late in the game with an unspecified injury.
Right tackle Zach Tom reaggravated his oblique injury on the first play of the game and was done for the day, but the good news is LaFleur didn't suggest anything had gotten worse. Tom simply felt after absorbing a Myles Garrett bull rush on the first snap that he wasn't healthy enough to play.
"It's tough," LaFleur said of the decision-making process when a player is right on the edge of playing or not. "I would chalk it up to it's hard to simulate what these guys are going to go against in the game. We did our best in terms of trying to put them through enough and certainly had them going in practice, but still the game's a different speed."
Tight end Tucker Kraft also played despite a knee injury sustained during practice last Thursday and appeared to get through the game fine.
