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The Detroit Lions’ Christmas Day loss to the Minnesota Vikings secured a playoff berth for the Green Bay Packers, who certainly played without any urgency in their Week 17 game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Although the Packers have secured their spot in the postseason, they are beginning to struggle at the worst time. The Week 17 loss was Green Bay’s third consecutive, giving the team its longest losing streak of the year.
The Packers clearly played with caution after clinching a postseason berth and rested quarterback Jordan Love, right tackle Zach Tom and defensive lineman Collin Oliver. All three players populated the injury report all week and were in danger of missing the game regardless, but Green Bay had no reason to push either after locking up a Wild Card berth.
However, the Ravens also entered Week 17 shorthanded. Baltimore, which needed a win to keep its slim playoff hopes alive, was without Lamar Jackson. The game certainly meant more to the Ravens, but neither team had the injury excuse on its side.
Perhaps the Packers are coasting to the end, but their current form is concerning during the most important time of the year. Green Bay is sliding fast, and fans should be particularly worried about the handful of players who failed to show up in its Week 17 loss to the Ravens.
With neither Jordan Love nor Lamar Jackson playing, fans were prepared to see Derrick Henry and Josh Jacobs duke it out in an old-fashioned running back battle. Henry showed up with a ridiculous 216-yard, four-touchdown game, but Jacobs decided to take the night off.
While Henry ran wild to set multiple NFL and franchise records, Jacobs was almost nowhere to be found. Despite carrying no questionable tag into the game, Jacobs only fielded four carries for three rushing yards.
Jacobs started the game and played just 12 offensive snaps, but it might as well have been zero. He contributed nothing as a runner, pass-catcher or pass-blocker.
Jacobs’ inefficiency almost seemed to be by design. He was only out-snapped by backup Emmanuel Wilson 17-12. It did not take long for Matt LaFleur to practically abandon the run game altogether, even with Malik Willis in the game for Love.
By the end of the night, Henry had more touchdowns than Jacobs had yards. Willis had the passing game going, and nearly every other member of the Packers’ offense did their job. Jacobs was supposed to be the team’s engine, but he instead became a three-ton anchor it had to pull.
Without Lamar Jackson active, everybody knew what the Ravens would do. Jeff Hafley knew it as well, but did not bring nearly enough to the table to stop a one-dimensional offense.
Jackson or not, the Ravens are one of the most run-dominant teams in the league. They are at their best when they establish the run early and struggle when Jackson is forced to...
