The Green Bay Packers put up a valiant effort against the No. 1 seeded San Francisco 49ers on Saturday. But ultimately, Matt LaFleur's squad came up just short as the Packers failed to advance to the NFC Championship game following their 24-21 loss to San Francisco. A string of errors cost Green Bay's chances to pull off the upset, including rookie Anders Carlson missing on a 41-yard field goal that would have given the Packers a 24-17 lead. During the broadcast, Fox Sports reporter Tom Rinaldi revealed that whenever LaFleur's kicker went on the field, the Packers coach “just prays.”
The clip gained traction around social media and Matt LaFleur did not hide his discontent over Tom Rinaldi's in-game report.
“That was extremely disappointing that that’s how that message got portrayed,” the Packers coach said during a press conference. “I’ve been a part of production meetings ever since I became a coordinator and I’ve never had an experience like that.”
“It is what it is… I think anytime something's out of your control, you kind of say it in jest, and it got portrayed that way. And that's a learning lesson for me.”
Matt LaFleur is not happy with Tom Rinaldi: “That was extremely disappointing that that’s how that message got portrayed. I’ve been a part of production meetings ever since I became a coordinator and I’ve never had an experience like that.”
LaFleur talked to Carlson about it. pic.twitter.com/fDYqp4GKUp
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) January 22, 2024
For those who missed it, here is what Rinaldi said during the broadcast after Carlson's 41-yarder went left.
INSANE… #Packers HC Matt LaFleur talking about his kicker Anders Carlson
“WHEN HE GOES OUT THERE, I JUST PRAY”
💀💀💀💀pic.twitter.com/TT5O0gRPUe
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) January 21, 2024
Had the Packers rookie made the field goal, what would up being a game-winning touchdown by 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey would have instead sent the game into overtime.
Nonetheless, it's hard to put the blame entirely on Carlson. Packers quarterback Jordan Love also made a costly error after Dre Greenlaw picked off his cross-body pass to put the game to bed for Green Bay.
The Packers now look forward to the offseason, while San Francisco takes on the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship game.
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