It was a tightly-contested encounter between the Green Bay Packers and the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. In the end, it was the Colts that escaped with a 34-31 victory, and for some Green Bay fans, they were quick to place the blame on Packers wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling for a costly error late in the loss.
So much so, that some fans allegedly started sending death threats to the 26-year-old, which obviously did not sit well with Valdes-Scantling as he took to Twitter to express his frustration:
Death threats over a football game? Jesus you people need help. It’s actually sick. I’m good. My team got my back. ✊🏾
— Marquez V-S (@MVS__11) November 23, 2020
It was indeed a costly error by the Packers' wide receiver, and one that ultimately cost Green Bay the game. However, as Valdes-Scantling said in his tweet above, this is just a football game. Never should a game amount to any individual's life.
Sunday night's miscue against the Colts was actually Valdes-Scantling's first fumble in his entire career. Nevertheless, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur remained steadfast in his confidence in his embattled wide receiver:
“I know he’s really hurting right now,” LaFleur said of Valdes-Scatling's error, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com (h/t Josh Alper of NBC Sports). “He made so many plays for us and not only in the pass game but in the run game, stuff that you guys probably don’t even notice that we’re not getting the yardage that we get if he’s not blocking his ass off. So I can live with MVS. I’ve got more confidence in him now than probably ever. I think he continues to get better each and every day. Every time we go out there, he’s providing big plays. . . . I can live with MVS, and we’re going to continue to live with him and just hope that he can continue to get better and better and better. And I’ve got all the confidence in the world in him.”
It's certainly great to have your coach's full backing after such a controversial error., and that's what the Packers' receiver has in this situation.
For Valdes-Scantling, this is an undeniably tough period in his career, but one that he should have no problem recovering from moving forward.
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