Two promising drives for the Green Bay Packers were short-circuited by rarely called offensive offsides penalties during Sunday’s 20-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams. Both penalties negated successful quarterback sneaks by Jordan Love and led to punts by the Packers near midfield.
Coach Matt LaFleur is hoping to get more information from the NFL on the two penalties.
“We’ll get clarification, hopefully, from the league on that, and whether or not they think those were valid calls,” LaFleur said Monday.
Both happened in the first half and LaFleur said the Packers should have made the adjustment before the second call. The first came on 4th-and-1 from the 41-yard line on the Packers’ first drive. The second came on 4th-and-1 from the 49-yard line on the Packers’ fourth drive. Both were called on right guard Jon Runyan Jr., although the first was incorrectly called on the field as on Yosh Nijman.
LaFleur said the Packers will have to coach the sneak play differently if the NFL is emphasizing offsides on the offensive line.
“I think so, absolutely,” LaFleur said.
The five-yard penalties turned 4th-and-1 situations into 4th-and-6, and LaFleur decided to punt each time.
By definition, offsides occurs when a player from either the offense or defense is lined up in the neutral zone.
