What the Green Bay Packers have been able to maneuver up front on their offensive line this year is nothing short of magnificent. Entering their Christmas Day matchup against the Cleveland Browns, Green Bay will roll out a group with four backup linemen among the starting group. Even without David Bakhtiari again, it may not matter.
The Browns are being put through the wringer right now with a combination of injuries and a COVID outbreak. Positive COVID tests got so bad for Cleveland this past week that not only did their game against the Las Vegas Raiders get pushed back, they had to start Nick Mullens at quarterback. Now the defensive line is going through all of it.
On Tuesday night, Takk McKinley was helping to fill the void left by Jadeveon Clowney, who landed on the COVID/Reserve list. McKinley suffered a ruptured Achilles in the game and will be out for the year. As for Clowney, there’s plenty of doubt about whether he will be available on a short week with a quick turnaround. A 10-day COVID isolation would mean Clowney isn’t available until Dec. 29. It’s possible he could test out and be ready for game day on Dec. 25, but that is far from a sure thing.
Then there’s Myles Garrett. Garrett is one of the frontrunners for Defensive Player of the Year. He’s been a monster all season for Cleveland, and he has been the leader of that unit no matter who’s in the lineup. The disruptive defensive end is third in the NFL this year with 15 sacks, but his presence is felt in just about every other category that involves causing hell for the opposing quarterback. In the same game that McKinley suffered a season-ending injury, Garrett suffered a groin injury. While he could gut it out, it was apparent in the fourth quarter that the injury was limiting the explosiveness he routinely displays. As for his status on Sunday? It depends on who you ask. Garrett certainly has little doubt he will be out there.
“It was tough. It hurt, but everybody’s hurting. I don’t want to say I’m special. Everybody’s fighting through something and you’re going to have to kill me to take me off that field or you’re going to have to break my leg, you’re going to have to take me completely out, because I’m going to go out there until I can.”
“Everybody has to play through pain, injury…. Everybody’s dealing with something. So I don’t feel sorry for myself, I don’t want anybody to feel sorry for me. I’ve gotta get right, get ready for Christmas day. We’ve got another game.”
While Garrett’s attitude is admirable, his head coach, Kevin Stefanski, tried to wrap his mind around all of the moving parts up front on the defensive line.
“Losing Takk is very unfortunate,’’ Stefanski said. “He’s been giving us some really good reps and production. There’s some uncertainty with Jadeveon, with Myles. We’ll see how that goes throughout the week. We obviously are always looking to apply pressure to the quarterback, and those guys have done a nice job. We’ll see who’s available to us and come up with a plan based on people that are available.”
More specifically, Stefanski said, “Myles has a groin injury. I still have results pending on that one.”
All the misery and uncertainty could not come at a better time for the Packers. Green Bay has held up well with a slew of backups. Much of the credit goes to Matt LaFleur for scheming around the lack of depth on the offensive line and Aaron Rodgers for recognizing the situation and working around it. However, guys like Jon Runyan Jr., Lucas Patrick, and Yosh Nijman deserve praise for how well they have played in expanded roles — for Patrick, specifically, kicking over from guard to center in the absence of Josh Myers. In large part, it hasn’t been an issue or a weakness for the Packers this year.
Even if Garrett does play, given how the injury is described, it seems highly optimistic to expect him to be 100%. Even a Myles Garrett at 75 or 80% is better than most defensive ends. But make no mistake about it, Green Bay would be catching a break if the chips fall that way. What went from being a real challenge for the Packers in facing Clowney, Garrett, and McKinley now looks like a scenario where they won’t see Clowney, surely won’t see McKinley and may see Garrett at less than full strength.
David Bakhtiari’s absence once again seemed like it might catch up to the Packers in this game. Instead, the Browns are scrambling to piece together a defensive line just as much as Green Bay has had to cobble together their offensive line throughout the season. It may be a battle of the backups when the Packers have the ball on Sunday. And in that scenario, the advantage goes to Green Bay.
