The Green Bay Packers finally found a way to win a football game. Still, they lost a key player to a scary injury. However, while they escaped an upset scare, they still haven’t escaped fraud watch in the loaded NFC.

In comeback fashion, the Packers pulled off a 20-17 overtime victory on the road against the Jets. Kicker Trey Smack delivered the game-winner midway through the overtime period.

Improving to 1-1, the Packers ended a six-game losing streak. They also avoided an 0-2 hole that could have been a crushing blow.

Are the Packers losing confidence in HC Matt LaFleur?

Green Bay simply isn’t doing things that well-coached teams do. They went one-for-nine on third-down conversion attempts. Also, they fumbled five times, but managed to recover four of them. Furthermore, on one second-half drive, tight end Tucker Kraft and left tackle Jordan Morgan got a holding penalty. And guard Donovan Jennings gave up a strip sack.

The only thing LaFleur could do? Give his players credit for overcoming what has become a culture of losing. He said he hopes it creates momentum, according to ESPN.

“For our guys to continue to battle, hopefully that will give us some momentum moving forward,” LaFleur said. “It was tough sledding there for about three quarters.”

Yes, the Packers did what they needed to do. NFL wins aren’t graded on style points. Any week at 1-0 is what matters — unless there’s some kind of season-changing injury in a win. Quarterback Jordan Love knows the importance of finally moving forward.

“It’s a huge win,” Love said. “It’s one of those games where you just have to keep fighting. It wasn’t pretty, a lot of that game.”

However, looking forward, the problems of sloppy play paint a gloomy forecast. The Packers seem unable to stop shooting themselves in the foot.

“In two weeks, we’ve had a lot of penalties that have put us back,” Love said. “Those are things that stop drives, put you behind the sticks. It’s tough to overcome.”

And the inability to play sound football falls directly on the shoulders of LaFleur. He has to own them, not whine about them in the postgame, like he did according to Fox Sports.

“Matt LaFleur on the penalties: ‘The ones that are really mind-blowing are the false starts, jumping offsides and lining up offsides.’ Also said they need to emphasize celebrating plays with their teammates instead of taunting.”

That is all you, Coach. Who else is going to sculpt smoothness out of chaos? It’s a demand a coach must make. And it only happens if the coach has the players’ respect.

Why are the Packers struggling so much?

Is it the roster build? That’s perhaps some of it. The Packers ranked No. 16 in roster strength entering the season, according to CBS Sports.

The biggest problem is the defense appears to be somewhat unstable without edge rusher Micah Parsons. When an entire unit is tilted to one player, an injury is devastating.

“In the four full games without Parsons last season, Green Bay was 0-4, allowed more touchdowns per game, and, for this conversation, saw their sack numbers cut by nearly two-thirds (from 2.4 sacks per game with Parsons to 1.0 without him),” Jordan Dajani and Tyler Sullivan wrote.

The Packers knew this entering the offseason. And yet this is the defensive build Brian Gutekunst put on the field. For what it’s worth, LaFleur said the defense provided the path to the victory over the Jets, according to Packers.com.

“I can’t give enough credit to our defense,” LaFleur said. “Our defensive staff, Jonathan Gannon, just calling a very aggressive game. I’m sure glad we’ve got him. Because I think he’s an elite defensive coordinator, football coach, and just a great leader.”

He also put his signature on the receiver room, which looks shaky at best. Christian Watson has to stay healthy (good luck with that), and Matthew Golden has to emerge.

If the Packers are going to get things right and have a realistic playoff shot, they have to start doing things much differently, according to a post on X by Matt Schneidman.

“We can’t let a win mask our problems,” tight end Tucker Kraft said. “(And) we have to be aggressive. We have to look in the mirror and set a standard for ourselves and each individual.”

It’s pretty simple for the Packers coming up. They have the woeful Falcons next, followed by the Buccaneers, and then the Bears — who may not have Caleb Williams back by then. The Packers have to go 3-0 to reset their confidence. Then they would get a chance to put their season on extremely solid footing against the Cowboys.

If they go 2-1 and then lose to the Cowboys, they’re sitting at 3-3. And all of the questions remain. LaFleur still has a chance to work his way out of this. But time isn’t on his side. The Packers have to find a better rhythm on offense if the team is going to find ways to win consistently.