The Green Bay Packers enjoyed a much-needed bye last week. Sitting pretty at 9-3 and in first place atop the NFC North, this was an ideal time to rest up and take stock before the home stretch of the season.
Not much changed for the NFC race while the Packers rested. They still hold the No. 2 spot in the NFC below the 10-2 Arizona Cardinals. But with a Minnesota Vikings loss to the Detroit Lions, who are trying their best, Green Bay has a chance to clinch the NFC North soon.
With five games left in the regular season, including three divisional games, the Packers have an excellent chance to push for the crow’s nest of the NFC. But they can’t get cocky yet. Despite having a spectacular season thus far, there are plenty of adjustments to be made. Here are the most crucial changes Matt LaFleur’s squad needs to make to finish the season strong.
Special teams
Unfortunately, when was the last time the Packers’ special teams weren’t viewed as a problem? Special teams already cost Green Bay one victory, giving Jordan Love his first loss as a starter. And a missed field goal was ultimately the difference-maker in the loss to Minnesota.
After not missing a single field goal last year, Mason Crosby sits atop the missed field goal leaders this year with nine. Field goal blocking and a lack of chemistry between the new punter and long snapper are certainly factors, but Crosby needs to compensate. Thankfully, he rebounded against the Los Angeles Rams on a windy day. While he missed one, he made his other three.
“I’ve always said two of the best kickers that I’ve seen over the years are Mason Crosby and Robbie Gould because of the conditions those guys have had to kick with,” Aaron Rodgers said following the game. “As far as clutch goes, those are two of the clutchest kickers I’ve ever seen.”
Ideally, comments like this and a chance to prove himself in the elements will help Crosby get back to his old Mr. Reliable self. His ability to bounce back was surely a focus during the bye week.
Crosby isn’t the only issue on special teams. Corey Bojorquez and Steven Wirtel need to clean up field goal operations. Green Bay is still looking for reliability on kick and punt returns, as even Randall Cobb, who I believe can never do anything wrong, had a muffed punt return against LA. Maurice Drayton has a lot of work to do before the Packers face the Chicago Bears in Week 14.
Run game blocking
The run game is key to the Packers’ offensive identity, something the head coach and quarterback seem to forget at times (see below!). Green Bay has one of the best one-two punches at running back in Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon, who each have over 800 total yards on offense this season. Both have over 500 rushing yards. Yet they only have five total TDs between them this season.
While the gold zone issues have been a problem all year, the run blocking has mostly been bad this season. Adam Stenavich has done an admirable job playing Tetris with the moving pieces of his offensive line this year, and he’s earned offensive coordinator and head coaching buzz because of it. But while pass protection has been mostly good, the run blocking has suffered on the interior. Against the Rams, Jon Runyan, Lucas Patrick, and Royce Newman were three of the five lowest-graded offensive players by PFF. Their run- blocking grades were atrocious, in particular, and this isn’t an uncommon occurrence.
Newman particularly struggles week after week in the run game. David Bakhtiari‘s return should bolster the line as a whole, but without Elgton Jenkins at left guard, the Packers will need to get better performances from who they have. Ideally, Josh Myers can return at some point.
Sticking to the plan
At times, the Packers’ offense looked like the late-era Mike McCarthy group. Rodgers holds the ball forever, looking for a big play as he waits for his receivers to win their one-on-ones. The offense will look stale because there has been less presnap motion than last year.
The Packers will start poorly, and then Rodgers and LaFleur remember how the offense works and come alive in the second half. No more empty formations, no more abandoning the run game.
It’s an understatement to say that Rodgers and LaFleur are really good. But sometimes, they’ll abandon what works and forget to stick with their plan. The Minnesota loss is the perfect case study. The first-half offense was mostly bad, but Rodgers played MVP-level in the second half. Next Gen Stats offered the following data on that game:
LaFleur’s offense works best when Rodgers plays in rhythm and blends with the running game. The Packers started games strong last year, something they need to get back to in the final stretch of this season. We’ve seen the flashes. Now both quarterback and play caller need to commit for full games.
December is the ideal time for a team to get hot, and the Packers have been one of the best teams in the league, despite a few hiccups. However, these hiccups are fixable. We’ve seen Crosby win clutch games, and we’ve seen the peak LaFleur offense only a season ago. And while the offense looked better last season, this year’s team is more complete. Every team has issues, but Green Bay’s are less egregious than most. The prospect of them righting the ship when that ship is already a luxury yacht should scare the rest of the league.
