Packers Morning Buzz: Can Green Bay match 49ers' firepower?

Welcome to your Morning Buzz, rounding up news and views regarding the Green Bay Packers from around the web and here at PackersNews.com.

We'll start with Packers coach Matt LaFleur arriving late to his postgame news conference Sunday after a 20-15 victory over Washington so he could watch San Francisco win a wild one at New Orleans, 48-46 on a last-second Robbie Gould field goal.

"I was just talking to a bunch of our players," LaFleur said when asked about the 49ers-Saints game. "I may have caught the end of that."

What LaFleur caught was a 49ers team known for its dominant defense that on this day used an explosive offense to outgun the potent Saints.

As Ann Killion of the San Francisco Chronicle writes:

The 49ers have been making statements all season. But perhaps none was as loud at the one they made on Sunday afternoon in the deafening Superdome.

They can beat you with their offense, not just their defense. They have an elite quarterback. They aren’t easily intimidated.

And they can convert a big fourth down on the road when needed.

“That was as cool a game as I’ve been a part of,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said. “The guys just kept battling.”

In a game that surpassed its hype, the 49ers survived a wild shootout, Jimmy Garoppolo outdueled a quarterback legend, Shanahan out-schemed Sean Payton and the 49ers were on the winning side of a 94-point roller-coaster, beating the Saints 48-46.

“You could see it in guys’ eyes — this game meant a lot,” Garoppolo said. “It was a playoff-atmosphere game. I think it will serve us well going forward.”

You can read the entire column here:

Could the Packers match the firepower of either of those teams? LaFleur said they're working on it.

“I mean, I think if we had the answers right now you wouldn’t be seeing what you saw today," LaFleur said of the Packers' erratic offense. "... I don’t think it’s up to our standards. We’ve got to go back, look critically, and make the corrections and make sure we’re putting our guys in good position.”

The Packers admit they're far from perfect, but there's no denying they're a 10-win team, writes Tom Silverstein:

Pete Dougherty writes that the Packers need to be doing better now that the calendar has turned to December:

Aaron Jones produced his highest rushing total of the season. Should the Packers be leaning on him even more?

Much like it did early in the season, the Packers' defense took control of this game:

Packers defensive lineman Kenny Clark finally broke through:

The Smiths talk about the Packers' progress:

Tyler Ervin made an impact in his first game as Packers' kick returner:

Few would have suspected it at the time, but this wound up being the Packers' final touchdown of the day:

Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins was injured early but stayed in:

Lori Nickel takes you inside the NFL's blue tent:

Former Packers fullback John Kuhn sounds confident that Green Bay will be playing home games deep into January:

Packers kicker Mason Crosby honored his wife and his late sister-in-law by wearing these cleats Sunday as part of the NFL's "My Cause, My Cleats" campaign:

Three Packers so far have been named to the NFL 100 All-Time Team:

Charles Woodson didn't make it, despite a rather impressive resume:

Ryan Tannehill has been lights out since joining the Titans (who loom as another tough test on the Saints' schedule):

And finally: With Josh Sitton and T.J. Lang back in town for the weekend, the Packers enjoyed an offensive line reunion:

Contact Stu Courtney at (920) 431-8377 or scourtney@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @stucourt