The Packers departed for Los Angeles two days before they played the Chargers on Nov. 3, deviating from their normal travel schedule.
This week the Packers play on the West Coast again. This time, they will stick with leaving the day before their Sunday night showdown with the 49ers, coach Matt LaFleur said Monday.
“We’re going to leave on Saturday,” LaFleur said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.
Following the Packers’ 26-11 loss to the Chargers, quarterback Aaron Rodgers questioned the decision to leave a day earlier for Los Angeles.
“We’ve got to be honest about our routine and decisions we made the last 48 hours and make sure that our heads are in the right place the next time we come on a big road trip, which will just be in three weeks,” Aaron Rodgers said at the time, referring to the game at the 49ers.
LaFleur said he consulted with the Packers’ medical staff, strength and conditioning coordinator Chris Gizzi, team nutritionist Adam Korzun, head athletic trainer Bryan Engel and “some other people” before making final travel plans for this week. Those “some other people” very well could have included Rodgers.
“What I came to find out was just that the two-hour time difference really doesn’t affect our guys a whole bunch,” LaFleur said Monday as the Packers returned from their off week. “It’s harder on teams going from West Coast to East Coast, so coupled with the fact that how I felt the Chargers trip went, I just thought this was the best route to go for our football team.”