The Green Bay Packers, coming off a nip-and-tuck Week 3 win over the New Orleans Saints, approached their Week 4 matchup against the Detroit Lions with anticipation, hopeful of starting the season with a 3-1 record. However, the Packers, as a collective, were disjointed on Thursday night. Quarterback Jordan Love was not at his best, giving away the ball for a pick twice, and the offense simply wasn't able to get into a rhythm.

In fact, one offensive statistic weighed heavily in favor of the Lions in their 33-20 win over the Packers; a cursory glance at the yardage tallies show that the Lions demolished the Packers in the running game. The Packers, led by the primary rushing duo of Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, only mustered a grand total of 27 yards on 12 carries — a terrible output especially compared to the Lions' 211 total rushing yards on 43 attempts.

Thus, it's no surprise to see Packers head coach Matt LaFleur try to light a fire underneath his running backs, calling them out in a passive-aggressive manner during his postgame presser.

“We've got to find a way to run the football,” LaFleur said, per Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated.

Now Packers fans will be throwing their hands up in the air at that statement, since it's Matt LaFleur's responsibility to call plays. With Jordan Love not exactly being his best self on Thursday night, the onus was on LaFleur to reshuffle his offensive playbook just to find a way to put some points on the board in a more effective manner.

Even then, the Packers have not particularly prioritized the running game thus far in 2023. After four games, they rank 27th in rushing yards per game, with 74.5, so despite their 2-2 record, it hasn't been the bread and butter that has carried them to victories.

Of course, both Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon must perform better for the Packers. But Matt LaFleur must also do his part in putting them in much better positions to succeed. Their Week 5 matchup, the Las Vegas Raiders, have also had their fair share of leaks in defending the running game, so perhaps the Packers could get that part of their offense going on October 9.