By Tori Wittenbrock
Associate Sports Editor
ASHWAUBENON – After one of the biggest comeback wins in franchise history, the Green Bay Packers said they are already preparing for the next game.
The Packers had a fourth-quarter, 17-point comeback victory against the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 24, but said they are only giving themselves one hour to celebrate before beginning to prepare for their Thursday night game against the Detroit Lions.
“[A win like this] makes us 2-1, but on to next week. It’s a short week,” said outside linebacker Rashan Gary. “We already locked in, talked as a team, and we’ve got one hour to enjoy it.”
Gary said that the culture a win like this builds is irreplaceable.
“Everybody, after going to war like that for 60 minutes, everybody is in a good mood, but one thing I can say is that we are already focused on next week. We are probably only going to enjoy this for like an hour, and then it’s on to next week,”said Gary.
Because the turnaround time between games is so short, Head Coach Matt LeFleur said the team is already preparing to play catch-up for the next game.
“[It’s] obviously a short week. We’ll be right back in the office. It’s basically Wednesday on our timeline. We’ve got a great opponent coming in with Detroit,” said LaFleur.
LaFleur also said that the team would head straight to study the film after the game as part of their next-up mentality.
Although they have got to prepare to move on, LaFleur said that he is taking the time to be proud of what the Packers have built and to celebrate their accomplishment.
“I’ve never been a part of a win like that before. It looked so bleak,” said LaFleur. “The resilience of that locker room was incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s hard not to get too emotional about it […] When that momentum flips, it’s a crazy phenomenon that you just can’t explain.”
Because the game was so rough for the Packers throughout the first three quarters, LaFleur said that he acknowledges the extreme effort it took for his players to fight to the end of the game, on both offense and defense.
“That’s all you can ask of anybody, is to continue to fight, and continue to battle. It certainly wasn’t pretty from an offensive standpoint, “ said LaFleur. “It was like a nightmare that went to a dream.”
Packers Quarterback Jordan Love said that he, too, is already preparing for the next game as soon as one wraps up.
“It’s a great win and it feels good, but obviously we’ve got the turnaround. We have a really short week ahead of us, and we play a team that is really good as well. We’re going to enjoy this win, but just know that we’ve got a tight turnaround and we’ve got to get ready for this week,” said Love.
Love agrees that there is a lot to work on after a game in which they went scoreless in the first three quarters.
“We hurt ourselves more than we helped ourselves, but you’ve just got to have that next play mentality,” said Love. “I think it just builds confidence for our whole team. We all stayed together and no one flinched.”
After playing the Detroit Lions at home on Thursday, Sept. 28, the Packers will head west to face the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday, Oct. 9, at 7:15 p.m.