Acme Packing Company
Digging into the big 51-yard play to set up a Packers victory in Jacksonville
With 1:13 remaining in a tie game, the Green Bay Packers faced 2nd & 6 from their own 34-yard line with backup quarterback Malik Willis under center. But let’s back up for a second. In fact, let’s back up to exactly 1 quarter earlier.
With 1:13 remaining in the 3rd quarter in a game in which the Packers were trailing 17-13, they faced 1st & 10 on their own 42-yard line with Willis. They’re in 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR) in a tight formation (if I’m not mistaken, the name of this formation is Deuce LT Off, signaling that the strength of the formation is on the left and telling the TE to align off the ball instead of on the line). Jayden Reed [11] is aligned in-line (but off the ball) on the right, away from the strength of the formation. This will be important in precisely 1 quarter.
At the snap, the Packers run their standard PA Boot concept (in their playbook, this concept is simply known as “Keep”). They fake a wide zone run to the left, then Malik Willis [2] boots to the right to find a Sail concept waiting for him (a three-level flood concept, with a deep corner/Sail route, an intermediate crosser and a flat route).
Off the right side of the line, Reed is running a Slam route. Basically, he has an initial down block, then releases to the boot side. This route works in the space created by Ben Sims [89] on the slide route to the flat. The idea is that Sims will drag the defense horizontally to the sideline, which will leave space behind him. Reed’s job is to simply work in that space and be open if Willis works back to him.
Willis is looking to thrown downfield, but it’s not there and pressure is in his face so he scrambles for 20 yards.
The way Willis boots is really interesting. Usually, the QB continues his boot to the sideline and throws on the move. On this play, Willis pulls up short, even though there isn’t any pressure off the edge forcing him to do so. Based on how the Packers teach this play, I have to assume this was intentional. We usually only see this type of pull-up on the boot on a designed throwback concept that plays off of PA Boot. So stick a pin in that for the briefest of seconds.
Now we fast-forward exactly 1 quarter and end up back where we started.
With 1:13 remaining in a tie game, the Green Bay Packers faced 2nd & 6 from their own 34-yard line with Malik Willis under center. Once again, the Packers are in 11 personnel, Deuce LT Off formation. Jayden Reed is - once again - aligned in-line (but off the ball) on the right, away from the strength of the formation. They show wide zone to...
