Without Davante Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Allen Lazard, the Green Bay Packers were as thin as they could be at wide receiver on Thursday night against the Arizona Cardinals. Matt LaFleur had to alter the game plan from weeks past, and it seemed evident that the Packers would try to run the ball more. They did, and they did so effectively. And by the end of the game, Green Bay found an identity on offense.
It’s tricky to have the reigning MVP at quarterback and say the running game is the offense’s calling card. Yet, that might be the solution for Green Bay.
This isn’t a knock against Aaron Rodgers, who’s still playing at an elite level. It’s a byproduct of the Packers having a two-headed monster at running back in Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, along with an offensive line that consistently makes holes in the run game.
Against Arizona, it didn’t take a genius to recognize the scenario Green Bay was in: It was more than likely they would rely heavily on the run game. Even with that perception becoming a reality, Dillon still had 78 yards on 16 carries, and Jones had 59 on yards on 15 rushes. Green Bay played a smash-mouth style of football, and it proved to be highly efficient.
This year, there have been numerous times in different scenarios where the Packers have entirely abandoned the run game for one reason or another. It’s puzzling considering the thunder-and-lightning element they have with Dillon and Jones. But it makes some sense, considering how good their quarterback is. It could turn into a tightrope act for LaFleur, but this Green Bay team may go as far as the running game takes them.
Time and again against the Cardinals, both Dillon and Jones had powerful runs in big moments. With the Packers trailing 7-0, Dillon was hit behind the line of scrimmage on a huge 4th and 1 to start the second quarter. He still carved out enough space to move forward for the first down.
The drive was capped off by Jones. He was contacted behind the line on a 3rd and 1 inside the five-yard line and kept churning his legs as he bulldozed into the end zone.
The Packers have two legitimate backs who can carry a heavy workload as they did on Thursday night. As the temperatures continue to plummet and Lambeau Field turns frigid, Green Bay will need to lean on them more. This isn’t to suggest taking the ball out of Rodgers’ hands completely. He’s one of the greatest ever to do it for a reason. But Thursday night was an indicator of a shift for the Packers’ offense, and it showed how lethal they can be when they keep it simple and run the ball.
This could not have been more clear than in a sequence midway through the second quarter. The Packers had a drive stall out and punted. On the punt, Cardinals return man Rondale Moore muffed the catch, and Green Bay pounced on it at the three-yard line. Up to that point in the game, the Packers had hammered the Cardinals on the ground.
After recovering the muffed punt at the three, the Packers went incomplete pass, incomplete pass, incomplete pass on the following three plays and settled for a field goal. It was some bizarre play-calling given the successes of the ground game up to that point. When you have the MVP at quarterback, the balancing act of leveling out the offense must feel impossible to juggle at times for LaFleur. However, not running even once from a drive that starts at the opposition’s three-yard line is pretty baffling.
What made the running game even more impressive was that Arizona had to see it coming from a mile away and still couldn’t stop it. When you’re able to dominate at the line of scrimmage and feed your backs when the opponent knows it’s coming time and again, it’s not a fluke — it’s a revelation. That’s what happened with the Packers’ running game on a national stage against a previously undefeated Arizona squad.
Green Bay will need Rodgers to be the same QB he’s been throughout his career. They go as he goes. That doesn’t mean there can’t be a shifting of the weight on offense. The Packers discovered an identity on Thursday night in the desert as they moved to 7-1 and atop the NFC standings. That identity revolves around allowing the running backs to feast and letting every opponent know this is more than a one-trick pony on offense for Green Bay.
