Acme Packing Company
Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur doesn’t care who is in the backfield. He’s going to run the football as much as he possibly can.
In their first stress-free win since Week 2, the Packers ran 65 offensive plays in a 23-6 win over the Minnesota Vikings. Of those plays, 42 of them were rushing attempts, or 64.6 percent of their offensive play calls, and that’s despite the usual starting running back in Josh Jacobs being inactive as he recovers from a knee contusion.
It’s not like the Vikings are this bottom-tier rush defense, either. They were 12th in the NFL in defensive DVOA against the run heading into this week, according to FTN Fantasy. However, LaFleur seemed determined to keep establishing the run, maintaining possession, and chewing the clock while his defense kept taking advantage of an ill-equipped quarterback in JJ McCarthy.
There are completely valid reasons for running the ball so much, most notably to preserve Jordan Love prior to a short week before playing the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving. Prior to the game, it was revealed that Love was dealing with an AC joint sprain in his non-throwing shoulder, and was dealing with significant discomfort to play through the injury.
While Love was efficient on the day, completing 14-of-21 passes for 139 yards, it was clear on the broadcast that the shoulder was bothering him. The Packers quarterback was even having to adjust how he was handing the ball off.
It’s not like the run game was completely ineffective, either. Emanuel Wilson had a career game, carrying the ball 28 times for 107 yard and two touchdowns in a career game for the former undrafted free agent. Some of the runs showed some solid vision, while others showed his ability to shake off poor tackle attempts to carry defenders for extra yards.
However, some of Green Bay’s shortcomings in the run game, as well as tendencies, continued to show up. The Packers ran the ball 22 times on first downs, compared to just seven pass attempts. The Packers also remain quite predictable on third and short situations, opting the consistently run the ball.
At the very least, the Packers had more success than usual on those situations. Of seven instances of the Packers running on 3rd and 3 or shorter, they converted on four of those attempts. But the unsuccessful attempts all came in the second half, with some ugly attempts that led to the Packers settling for field goals instead of touchdowns.
It will be interesting to see what lessons LaFleur takes away from this game. Will he realize that he is over-reliant on the run on first downs and in short-yardage situations? Will he adjust once Love’s shoulder is finally healed? Or will he continue establishing the run come hell or high water, regardless of the results?
Only time will tell, but for now, Packers fans can celebrate a convincing win that keeps them in the thick of the NFC playoff race.
