Matt LaFleur’s poor track record on challenges may be evidence of a bigger game management problem

A familiar scene played out at Lambeau Field on Sunday.

On a 2nd-and-12 play late in the first quarter, Jared Goff found Amon-Ra St. Brown for a deep completion along the right sideline. St. Brown made what appeared to be a terrific catch on the sideline, narrowly getting down both feet to haul in Goff’s pass, giving the Lions their first substantive gain of the day.

It was a bang-bang play, one that had potentially saved the Lion from a 3rd and long with Micah Parsons and the rest of the Packers’ pass rush ready to tee off. And it was close — so close, in fact, that Packers’ head coach Matt LaFleur elected to challenge the completion.

And he lost.

Far more often than not in recent seasons, LaFleur has come out on the wrong end of challenges. Dating back to the start of the 2023 season