After faltering against the Chicago Bears’ top-ranked red-zone defense a week ago, the Green Bay Packers knew they had a chance to redeem themselves against a San Francisco 49ers unit that ranked near the bottom of the league.
The Packers entered the red zone five times on Sunday and scored five touchdowns. That’s more like it.
We’re all aware that the version of the 49ers that took the field at Lambeau looked nothing like the teams that have dominated the NFC lately. You’re supposed to destroy a team missing its three most important players on all three levels, and the Packers did just that while notching their sixth win in their last seven games.
The red-zone success begins and pretty much ends with putting the ball in Josh Jacobs’ hands. Matt LaFleur has been too cute in that precious area lately, finally realizing that Jacobs’ rare combination of power and elusiveness makes him particularly dangerous the closer the team gets to the end zone.
It’s so fun to watch Jacobs ply his trade. We all enjoyed Aaron Jones’ lateral quickness and slippery moves when leading the Pack’s ground game, but there’s something about watching Jacobs bouncing off tacklers, keeping those legs churning and chewing up yards play after play that allows you to dream about the impact he may have down the stretch, when the weather turns and he becomes even more difficult to bring down.
Jacobs broke 10 tackles Sunday – in the first quarter – and was credited for 15 in the game, which for him was about three quarters before Emanuel Wilson and Chris Brooks mopped up in garbage time. That’s the most for any RB in the league this season. The Niners hadn’t given up 100 yards on the ground to a back in the regular season in 55 games, the longest streak since the ‘70s. Jacobs and the Pack’s run blockers ended that streak emphatically and gained a total of 169 yards on the ground as a group.
Yes, San Francisco was missing Nick Bosa, and, yes, they’ve been without a few other key defenders for most of the season, but the Pack should apologize for nothing. After the game, Fred Warner – maybe the league’s best linebacker – said he was embarrassed by his unit’s performance. Green Bay’s offense is starting to click; if Christian Watson doesn’t drop an easy 50-plus-yard TD in the first half, this thing would have been over by halftime.
It’s easy to say the defense should have its way with a team missing its QB and star left tackle. You still have to go out and shut them down, and the Pack did just that, holding Christian McCaffrey to just 31 yards on the ground and less than three yards per carry. Deebo Samuel was a non-factor, other than his 80-plus-yard kickoff return that was negated by one of the team’s nine penalties on the day.
After being shut out on turnovers the past two weeks, the defense rebounded with three in the second half. Xavier McKinney’s league-tying seventh pick, which the Pack paid off with a touchdown, pretty much put a fork in the Niners, maybe for the season.
It’s hard to make any grand pronouncements about the defense on a day like this. Still, it was nice to see them make stops on third and fourth downs. The Niners were just 3 for 12, and to see Quay Walker and Lukas Van Ness make actual, real-life, impactful plays on defense. With two of the league’s most efficient QBs on deck, we’ll see if they can keep that going.
This was a day when Green Bay’s two prominent free-agent signings again showed their impact on the team since they walked through the door. Jacobs and McKinney, college teammates at Bama, must be pinching themselves as their team racks up the wins and inch closer to a playoff spot.
With Sunday’s win, the Packers virtually guaranteed themselves a spot in the NFC playoffs. With the division title likely out of reach, barring a rash of injuries hitting the Detroit Lions, the main goal now should be to avoid the seventh and final spot, which will likely mean a trip east to face the surging Philadelphia Eagles. The fifth and sixth seeds will earn trips to the winners of the NFC South and West, where at this point they would likely be road favorites.
With four consecutive prime-time games looming (barring flexes), the Packers now have a chance to continue to stack wins against quality opponents in front of a national audience. It would be useful to follow Sunday’s recipe: red-zone efficiency, bushels of turnovers, and a healthy dose of Josh Jacobs.
