If you ask anyone in the NFL sphere whether running the football is necessary to control and win games, the answer would be an overwhelming yes.
That sentiment is shared with Matt LaFleur and the Green Bay Packers as a whole. It is no secret that LaFleur’s offensive scheme relies on running the ball, and general manager Brian Gutekunst has done his part in giving LaFleur the pieces to make it work.
In recent years, the Packers have built an offensive line that excels at downhill blocking. The team has added two big tight ends who are not only great receiving options but also great blocking options. The team has also added one of the most talented running backs in the NFL.
While Jordan Love continues an upwards trajectory of being a passer, that development works a lot better when there is a strong and consistent run game around him. Luckily for the Packers, it looks like the team has that.
After the first three weeks, it looked like the run game was struggling to find footing, but as Josh Jacobs explained, it takes about four weeks for the ground game to start meshing and for it to really be effective. He seems to be right about that; in the two games since the Packers lost to the Cleveland Browns, Jacobs has totaled 179 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
“I challenged the offensive line and said if they are going to play two-shell and we are getting two yards, it is going to be a long day for us,” said LaFleur, on challenging his offensive line against the Bengals. “Those guys did a really nice job responding.”
As a whole, Green Bay finished the Week 6 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals with 153 rushing yards. Those yards came from seven players.
While it is nice to have a workhorse like Jacobs who can carry the run game for the majority of the game, being able to switch up who is running the ball and how the team can get the ball to that player is almost as important.
Every team would just like to run power and trap football the entire game, but NFL defensive coordinators and defenses as a whole are way too skilled to let that happen. That is where these sweeps to Matthew Golden and Savion Williams play a factor, even if those plays don’t come away with 50-yard touchdowns. Part of the plan is keeping the defense on its toes so it can’t load the box to stop those power and trap plays.
Running the football is also invaluable to the passing game. If a defense is getting run over to start the game, the adjustment has to be to bring more players up in the box to stop it. When that happens, the middle-deep passing game gets opened up as linebackers and safeties can’t drop to their coverages as quickly.
When both the passing game and the run game gets going, an offense looks unstoppable because they can attack a defense from every angle. Packers fans have seen how those two aspects of offense work simultaneously with the tie against Dallas and the win over the Bengals.
Finally, the last thing that a strong run game provides is control of the clock. In the NFL, it is really hard to chase the clock and play from behind, because, again, defenses are too good to be put in a hole.
If those aforementioned run and pass games are working together and the offense jumps out to a lead, milking that clock with a strong run game is the cherry on top of the sundae.
In the Packers case, its offensive line is built more for hitting the defense at the point of attack rather than dropping back into pass protection. That allows Green Bay to put more reliance on Jacobs to close the game, rather than risking an interception with Love throwing the ball to pick up downs late in the game.
Either way, the identity of this Packers offense is its strong run game. As the run game has gotten going the past few weeks, the offense as a whole has looked better. That will need to continue as the Packers look to getting back to the playoffs once again.
