Paul Bretl | 9/10/2024
GREEN BAY, Wis. — It was tough sledding early on for Josh Jacobs and the Packers’ run game against the Philadelphia Eagles. However, in the second half, better execution upfront, and depending on who you ask, a bit of a changeup yielded better results.
This is something that will have to carry forward, particularly with Malik Willis under center.
By halftime of this Week 1 matchup, Jacobs had carried the ball seven times, excluding the two-point conversion attempt, and had totaled only four yards on the ground. In regards to the run game, it was Emanuel Wilson who was keeping the Packers’ head above water, totaling 37 yards on just three attempts.
“I can’t tell you how many times they had linebacker run-throughs that we didn’t block the backer,” said Matt LaFleur on Monday. “It’s hard to get going. Early on in the game, they were doing some line movement and credit to them.
“I didn’t think we adjusted quick enough but I think once we did get our runners going, we blocked their front much better. Give credit to Philly. That’s a really good front. All those guys.”
In the second half, however, like the flip of a switch, things began to turn around on the ground for Jacobs and the Packers. Between the third and fourth quarters, Jacobs had rushes of nine yards, 22 yards, and 32 yards, to give him a grand total of 84 yards with an average of 5.3 yards per rush.
“Yeah just switched up the style of plays in the run game a little bit more and kind of adjusted to some of the things that they were doing that we hadn’t seen on film and we were able to start moving the ball,” said Josh Myers after the game.
But if you ask LaFleur, there wasn’t much of a change at all to what was being asked of the offense in the run game. Instead, it was better execution, particularly in the gap running scheme, which helped slow the Eagles’ defense down.
“Sure we may have tried some different running schemes but that’s almost every game,” LaFleur said. “I think we got the gap-scheme going a little bit and that helped maybe slow down some of their movement. But we run our run schemes. I wouldn’t say it was a massive changeup.”
Regardless of whether it was execution, a changeup to the play calls, or both, the Packers have to make sure they carry that second half momentum in the run game into their Week 2 matchup with the Indianapolis Colts, which will likely feature Malik Willis under center.
A strong running game can be Willis’ best friend as there is a massive positive trickle-down effect to the passing game when things are going right in the ground game.
When an offense has a strong run game to lean–even an offense with an explosive passing game–those two elements together can really put opposing defenses in a bind. It sets up short down-and-distance situations, opening up the playbook for LaFleur, and it forces the defense to either defend the entire field or commit to stopping the run, both of which can open up opportunities in the passing game to be exploited.
Conversely, struggling to pick up yards in the run game puts the offense behind the sticks and in predictable passing situations where the defensive front can pin its ears back the secondary has the advantage in coverage. This will not be a recipe for success for Willis, who has only been in Green Bay for two weeks and has just 67 career regular season pass attempts in two seasons, particularly against a Colts’ defensive front that has the ability to be extremely disruptive when it comes to getting after the quarterback.
The Colts are coming off a game where the Houston Texans dissected them in the run game. Joe Mixon rushed for 159 yards and the Texans offense as a whole rushed for 213 yards. With CJ Stroud at quarterback along with Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins, and Tank Dell at receiver, the Colts opted to play with lighter boxes, which the Texans took advantage of.
With Willis at quarterback, the Packers may not have that same light box luxury, even with the talent they have at receiver, with the Colts attempting to force Willis to have to be the one to beat them.
On the flip side, what the Packers have in their favor is the unpredictability of having Willis at quarterback, specifically how they potentially pair his ability as a ball carrier with Jacobs, which can stress a defense horizontally, helping to open up running lanes or even opportunities in the passing game.
“Well I just think every game’s a little bit different and certainly you gotta play to your players’ strengths,” LaFleur said of getting Willis ready. “So it’s our job to try to come up with whatever we come up with in order to put him in a position to be successful and whether that’s moving launch points or straight dropback, whatever it may be, we always carry play actions every week, so we’ll come up whatever we feel like is gonna give us the best possible opportunity to move the football.”
As I detailed recently, even with Love, I believe the ceiling for this Packers team will be determined by Jacobs and how potent the run game can be. Now, in Love’s absence, that sentiment goes from being true to an absolute necessity if this offense is going to find success in the coming weeks.