Paul Bretl | 12/1/2024
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Coming out of the bye week, the passing game for the Packers has found some stability over the last three games as the offense as a whole is beginning to find its groove.
During this three-game span against Chicago, San Francisco, and Miami, Jordan Love has completed 69.1 percent of his 68 pass attempts at a hefty 10.2 yards per attempt with five touchdowns to no interceptions. For some context around those figures, that completion rate over the course of the season would be the fourth-best mark in football and the 10.2 yards per attempt would lead the league.
Even through the ups and downs that the offense experienced in the first half of the season, this has been one of the best units at generating big plays. However, after struggling to find consistency, the Packers have paired efficiency with that explosive play ability–a lethal combo for opposing defenses.
The run game and the Packers making fewer self-inflicted mistakes are two important factors behind this success, but so is the checkdown in the passing game.
“I think he’s been doing that the last few weeks,” Matt LaFleur said of Jordan Love taking checkdowns. “I think he’s done a really nice job. Some of it’s a byproduct of some of the teams we’ve been playing. When you’re playing some teams that are going to play more zone-y, soft zone-y defense and you have to make drastic movements or if the timing’s not just quite right, you’ve got to check it down.”
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Questionable decision-making from Love was a part of the ups and downs that the offense experienced prior to the bye week. We aren’t that far removed from him being one of the interception leaders this season, along with there being several other throws being put in harm’s way.
By Love’s own admission, he wants to push the ball downfield to generate the big play. He trusts his arm, and he trusts his receivers to make the play. But, like anything, there is a time and a place for it. What does the situation dictate? How is the defense defending the play? Is there a favorable matchup to exploit?
Although the checkdown often looks like a rather simple play and decision, when used appropriately, it shows a quarterback who is in control of the offense. In order to get to the dump-off, the quarterback has to go through his progressions, identifying the coverages and the individual matchups, knowing the situation at hand, while in real time weighing the risk-reward of each decision.
In fact, quarterbacks coach Tom Clements has said that a pivotal part of Love’s turnaround in 2023 was knowing when to take the checkdown and when to push the ball downfield. The process of getting to the checkdown is what can be the encouraging part, obviously not the throw itself, and in the last three games, we have again seen Love strike that balance between the two.
“I think he’s playing his best ball right now. I really do,” said Matt LaFleur of Love. “I think he’s done a great job of taking what’s there, taking the checkdowns when they’re there, or taking the shots when they’re there. He’s moving around in the pocket really well.”
With players like Josh Jacobs and Tucker Kraft often on the receiving end of those checkdowns, the ability for the offense to pick up some chunk yardage certainly still exists.
As a ball carrier, Jacobs has been one of the best backs in football at making defenders miss, ranking among the best in missed tackles forced and yards after contact. That ability is then magnified in the passing game, where he begins with the ball in space.
Kraft, meanwhile, is a force in the open field, determined not to be brought down by any initial contact and relishes the fact that multiple defenders might be required to get him to the ground. On the season, Kraft ranks second among all tight ends in total YAC and is first in average YAC per reception at a whopping 9.8 yards.
“My play style, I think the YAC brings the juice,” said Kraft after the Miami game. “When someone sees me run someone over or break a tackle and keep going, everyone’s on the sideline jumping up and down. That brings energy and it moves the sticks, too. Positively, I would say my greatest attribute as a tight end is my ability to move with the ball after the catch. And I like to do it.”
We know this Packers’ offense with Love under center and the talent that they have at receiver can hit the explosive downfield play, but sometimes, in order to have those throws available, you have to eat your vegetables beforehand. In this case, the vegetables are the run game, checkdowns, and short area underneath routes if the deep ball isn’t there.
However, as we saw against Miami–who has a very stingy pass defense–the patience and willingness to take those checkdowns or short underneath incompletions, when effective, can eventually present the opportunity to take those downfield throws. Green Bay’s ability to consistently move the ball successfully on touches near the line of scrimmage resulted in the Dolphins’ defenders creeping up, allowing Love to connect with Christian Watson down the right sideline after a barrage of rush attempts and short completions.
The checkdown is never going to draw much attention–and understandably so. But the process of getting to that throw is quite telling and, in the right circumstances, can showcase a quarterback that is operating the offense at a high level, even if, at the end of the day, it looks like an easy completion. Then the cherry on top for the Packers is there is still some big play ability that comes with those passes when Jacobs and Kraft get the ball in their hands.
“It just comes down to reading out the play,” said Love of taking more checkdowns. “Whether I feel like I can make a throw or might be pushing the envelope too much, you know, a guy might be in that area. So it just comes down to playing fast, reading it out and, you know, taking what the defense gives us, you know.
“There’s obviously sometimes you want to push the ball down the field and throw some tight window throws, and sometimes you just make that decision, that quick decision, like, No, I think this is covered, so moving on. But I think really just finding those completions, getting the ball moving, and that’s really the key to success for our offense.”