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Packers pass rush plan vs Eagles: A look at the challenge and decisions ahead

Paul Bretl | 1/10/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — How will the Packers’ pass rush handle Eagles’ quarterback Jalen Hurts and his mobility? Will they take a similar approach to what they did in Week 1, or choose to be more aggressive?

Rewinding back to the Packers’ season opener in Brazil against Philadelphia, Jeff Hafley wanted his pass rush to take a more controlled approach, where the emphasis was on keeping Hurts in the pocket.

In that regard, it worked. While Hurts would finish the 2024 regular season leading all quarterbacks in rush attempts, along with totaling 630 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns, in that Week 1 matchup with Green Bay, the Packers held him to only 33 yards on the ground on 13 attempts.

“I thought Week 1 our D line did a really good job of keeping him in the pocket,” said Jeff Hafley. “He didn’t rush from many yards. He didn’t escape.”

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But for every pro, there is a con. Although the Packers were able to keep Hurts in the pocket, their pass rush was unable to generate steady pressure with a more conservative–for lack of a better term–approach. As a unit, the Eagles offensive line was credited with surrendering only nine pressures the entire game, per PFF. That’s a pressure rate on Hurts of just over 23 percent–which for an offensive line, anything under 30 percent is a good day.

Even when the Packers sent some blitzes in that first matchup, which they did from both the linebacker and nickel positions, those pressures didn’t get home quick enough, and as Matt LaFleur mentioned after the game, coverages were blown on the back end in several of those instances.

The Packers wanted to make Hurts stay in the pocket and if he was going to beat them, do so with his arm–which is often what happened. Hurts was 20-of-34 passing in that game for 278 at an efficient 8.2 yards per attempt with two touchdowns to two interceptions.

So will Hafley flip the script in this rematch and try to pressure Hurts early on?

“Well, it depends how they’re going to try to attack us,” said Hafley. “Are they going to run it more, or are they going to let him start to throw it early in the game? We’ve gotta do some things differently. I think each week we’ve tried to throw some different stuff at people, and I think we need to do some of that early in the game, make him see a couple different things and throw him off a little bit.”

Not only against the Eagles in Week 1, but all season, the Packers’ pass rush has been inconsistent. By ESPN’s pass-rush win rate metric, the Packers will finish the regular season ranked 26th. In terms of pure pressure rate, they rank 16th, which in part, is a product of the manufactured pressures that Hafley has created through blitzes or simulated pressures.

Not to discount the schemed-up component behind those pressures, but that’s almost certainly going to have to be a part of the equation this week, to some degree, given the Packers’ struggles to get home with only four. And when those blitzes are dialed up, the defense is then down a defender in coverage.

Adding to the difficulty of this matchup is that awaiting the Packers’ defensive front is one of the best offensive lines in football, with the Eagles entering the postseason ranked sixth in pass-block win rate.

“They’re huge,” said Hafley of the offensive line. “They’re really well coached. They know what they’re doing. They’ve got great length, they’ve got size. They stay on their double teams. They’re good at their gap scheme runs, I think it’s a really good combination of their scheme and their players.”

To find out what can happen when a pass rush fails to drum up pressure against a high-powered offense, we only have to look back two weeks ago to when the Packers faced Minnesota. In that contest, Sam Darnold was under pressure on only 31% of his dropbacks and from a clean pocket, he completed 26-of-30 passes for 315 yards with three touchdowns. And when the Packers did attempt to blitz, they too often didn’t get home, leaving their secondary short-handed against a very good group of pass catchers.

Again rewinding back to Week 1, we saw a similar outcome for the Packers’ secondary. In that game, the dynamic duo of AJ Brown and Devonta Smith combined for 12 receptions for 203 yards and a touchdown–and that was with the Packers having Jaire Alexander at cornerback.

So this is the conundrum that the Packers’ defense will face on Sunday–try to keep Hurts in the pocket and hope that your four-man rush can get home and that you can hold up on the back end or send pressure and let the front pin its ears back, knowing that opportunities for Hurts to extend plays and go off script will exist?

To state the obvious, neither alternative will guarantee success. The first option puts the burden on what has been an inconsistent pass rush and a short-handed secondary to potentially have to hold up in coverage longer. While, on the flip side, telling the front to let it rip doesn’t mean they will get home against a stout offensive line, and it’s not as if blitzing has slowed Hurts all that much this season. According to PFF, when blitzed, Hurts is completing 64% of his throws at 7.2 yards per attempt with seven touchdowns to just one interception.

“He (Hurts) had the one scramble at the end of the game that was costly when he did get out, when we pressured, we had an open B gap to the right side,” Hafley said of Week 1. “I think I’ve watched it 100 times now. There’s got to be a little bit of both, and I think I’ve learned from that, just like I’ve learned a lot over the year.

“I think our whole staff’s learned a lot. We learned who the players are. We learned what we can do. We’ve had to evolve away from some of the things maybe that we’ve come into thinking we were going to do. And, you know, ultimately, we want to win games and keep the score down.”

There is good and bad with each approach and by no means does Hafley have to only choose one or the other–the situation can dictate what he dials up. But in order to have those opportunities where those types of decisions can be made, the Packers have to earn the right to rush the passer by containing Saquon Barkley and the running game on early downs, which is obviously a challenge of its own.

The first game of the season was now roughly four-plus months ago, which in the NFL can be a lifetime. In that timeframe teams can change and evolve drastically, and that goes not only for the Packers defense but the Eagles’ offense. So how the Packers go about defending the Eagles in the NFC Wildcard round will likely be different because of that time element, but the question in regards to how to rush Hurts is still there–Green Bay’s approach just might differ.

“It feels like so long ago,” said Hafley of Week 1, “but we did some really good things that we like, but then there’s some things where we have to do different, and there’s going to be a time and a place for when we want to go hard at ‘em and when we’ve got to keep him in the pocket. But we certainly need to play better and coach better than we did at that game, because we need to win this game.”

Potential return of Evan Williams gives Packers secondary continuity vs high-powered Eagles’ WRs

Paul Bretl | 1/10/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The possible return this week of safety Evan Williams would give the Packers’ secondary some welcomed continuity as they go up against the high-powered Philadelphia wide receivers.

Williams suffered a quad injury during the Packers’ final practice before their Week 16 matchup against New Orleans. He has been sidelined since, and at that time, Matt LaFleur mentioned that the team would “hopefully” get him back for the playoffs.

Williams has been back at practice the first two days this week, practicing in a limited fashion, which still leaves his status for Sunday’s game a bit up in the air. However, there does seem to be some optimism that Williams can be available against Philadelphia.

“It’s good to have him back,” said Xavier McKinney about having Williams back at practice. “I think we’re getting the majority of our guys back, too, especially on the defensive side, so it’s good to be back out there with everybody and have everybody get back healthy, so yeah, it’s always good when we get our guys back.”

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Staying engaged while sidelined and working through an injury not only includes operating in the meeting rooms as if he was going to start that week, but on the practice field, while the starting defense is on the field, as Williams described, you could find him on the other side of the field, aligned as if he were in on that play–seeing the offensive personnel, making the calls to himself, and going through the progressions as if he were in the game.

“It’s really all about being a part of something so much bigger than yourself,” said Williams, “and understanding that you’ve got guys that depend on you, you’ve got guys that would, in the same situation, do everything to get back on that field. It’s the mutual trust and mutual love for each other and just understanding that even when you’re out, you have a role on this team.

“You have a role to pick everybody up if you’re not playing, if you’re not suited up. You have a role to do your utmost to come back. Yeah, that’s how I’ve taken it these past three weeks. Even though I haven’t been on the field, you try your utmost when you’re on the sideline to pick guys up in situations and give them clues on possibilities they can make plays and stuff. It’s just the love for each other.”

Not only with Williams being out, but due to other injuries over the last month, the Packers have seen quite a bit of movement on the back-end. Javon Bullard has missed time, which has then required Keisean Nixon to move back into the nickel position, and after initially asking Zayne Anderson to fill Williams’ role at safety, he suffered a concussion against Minnesota in Week 17.

In that game, the injury then led to Bullard having to make the in-game switch from nickel to safety–a tall task for any rookie–and then against Chicago, the Packers chose to keep Bullard at the nickel and gave rookie Kitan Oladapo his first NFL start next to McKinney.

Throughout the year, the Packers cross-train their defenders so that if injuries do arise, any needed position changes aren’t foreign to those players. There are also steps taken off the field in meeting rooms to help facilitate any potential position changes by keeping players familiar with different roles. But with that said, at a position group–the defensive backfield–where communication is always at a premium, there is something to be said for maintaining as much continuity as possible.

“If guys get a chance to work together over the long-haul they start to understand what the other one’s going to do in the moment without even really looking at him, it’s more of a feel,” said defensive backs coach Ryan Downard. “So the more that you have groupings together, I think that they’re going to be better off or at least smoother off the get-go.

“I will say, what I try to do at practice is, of course, in a gameplan and in a game week, I try to keep guys working together that we might project as being the guys that are going to work together in a game, but also try to mix guys in so that they work with one another. So that if we get into a game and guy gets a chinstrap, then the next guy is ready to go in and he can function and they’re compatible with each other.”

If Williams can go this Sunday, that continuity component will return to the Packers’ secondary. He will return back to his starting spot next to McKinney, while it will allow Bullard to continue focusing on one position–the nickel–and at boundary cornerback, the Packers can continue to rely on Nixon and Carrington Valentine, with Eric Stokes providing depth off the bench.

Williams has appeared in 12 games this season and did not play in the Packers’ season opener against Philadelphia in Week 1. He’s been a sound tackler and stout in coverage, allowing a completion rate of 56% at just 10.2 yards per catch with two pass breakups and an interception. Opposing quarterbacks have a passer rating of just 69.7 when targeting him.

However, Williams’ impact on a play starts pre-snap with the aforementioned communication component and making sure everyone is aligned correctly and knows the call if adjustments have to be made. Having Williams on the field also frees up the Packers to have McKinney take on different roles because of the trust in Williams to patrol the back end.

“Evan is such a smart football player,” said Jeff Hafley, “and it comes so easy to him, and the communication back there it’s just like nice calming factor when he’s back there. I think for X too, it allows X to kind of not have to do it all, where it allows X to say all right, I’m going to play ball now. But I’m grateful for those guys who stepped in, they did a nice job.”

Naturally, Saquon Barkley and the Eagles’ running game will garner a lot of attention, but this offense also has arguably the best wide receiver duo in football in AJ Brown and Devonta Smith. Combined this season, the two have totaled 155 receptions, for just shy of 2,000 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns.

In addition to Brown and Smith, tight end Dallas Goedert was an extremely efficient target this season, while Barkley saw his share of opportunities in the passing game as well. As a collective unit led by quarterback Jalen Hurts, the Eagles finished the regular season ranking fourth in yards per pass attempt–showcasing the offense’s efficiency and ability to create big plays through the air.

“I think it starts with probably getting your hands on them pretty early,” said Williams about defending Brown and Smith. “Don’t wanna give them too much space off the line. When they get free releases and get to the second level, they can be dangerous and i mean, you’ve seen it this whole year, so yeah, I think getting hands on ’em early and just being detailed in all our approaches, getting to the right alignment, having the right keys pre-snap, I think all those things will allow us to be pretty successful.”

Williams and McKinney will have to be instrumental in helping the Packers’ cornerbacks against this group of pass catchers, but the defensive front can lend a big hand as well. Pressuring Hurts so that the defensive backs aren’t in coverage for extended periods of time will be crucial as will finding a way to contain Barkley, which can then put the offense behind the sticks and in predictable passing situations, where the defense often has the upper hand.

The obvious challenge with this Eagles’ offense is that they can win in a variety of ways. As a defense, if you’re successful at limiting one element, there are still multiple ways that Philadelphia can still attack you. However, any potential success for Green Bay is going to have to include being buttoned up on the back end, and having Williams back in the mix not only provides that aspect because of his own play, but his presence provides more versatility in the secondary and continuity.

Packers LB Quay Walker returns to practice; possibly providing a big boost for defense

Paul Bretl | 1/9/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Back on the practice field for the first time in several weeks on Wednesday for the Packers was linebacker Quay Walker, who had been sidelined since exiting the Seattle game in Week 15 with an ankle injury.

Walker was a limited participant, however, on Monday, Matt LaFleur did say that he was “optimistic” that Walker could potentially return for Sunday’s playoff game, although he did add the caveat that they’ll have to see how he looks throughout the week at practice.

“They’re really good football players, so if they’re able to go, we’ll certainly have a plan for them,” said LaFleur about reacclimating Walker and Evan Williams if they can play. “And they’ve been working all along in terms of just staying sharp mentally. They always do a great job of standing back behind the play and, you know, doing what they can.”

Prior to suffering that ankle injury, Walker was playing his best football of the season, sparked by the growing comfort he was gaining operating as the Mike linebacker in Jeff Hafley’s system, and with that came an avalanche of confidence.

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From Weeks 12-14, in addition to calling the plays, making pre-snap adjustments and making sure that every one is set properly, once the ball was snapped, he did a little bit of everything for this Green Bay defense. During that span of three games, Walker generated the second most quarterback pressures of any linebacker in the NFL.

In addition to that, his 20 tackles were tied for the fifth-most, and while tackles can sometimes be a misleading stat, the 11 stops that he generated on those tackles–the seventh-most among linebackers during those three games–shows the quality of those plays.

“I think he was progressing at that point also and playing some good football, right about the time he got hurt,” said linebackers coach Anthony Campanile. “I thought it was a steady progression for him, he made a jump I would say at that point in the year. I think he was just starting to see it really well. In the room, I think he’s done everything he can do. He’s all over it. Answering questions, totally immersed and locked into the game plan.

“That’s something that kind of speaks to the character of the guy, too. Even the games he hasn’t played in, he’s in the room, answering questions, calling it out, playing the plays through on the screen just like he’s out there as he normally would be.”

Having Walker back in the mix with that level of play on Sunday in Philadelphia would be an obvious big boost for the Packers’ defense in a few different ways.

One would be in the run game with the Packers facing the difficult task of having to slow Saquon Barkley. This season, Barkley eclipsed the 2,000-yard rushing mark in only 16 games, he averaged nearly 6.0 yards per rush, and as I’m sure you can guess from the numbers, was the best at generating explosive runs.

Perhaps the biggest improvement that the Packers’ defense has seen in Hafley’s first year s defensive coordinator is their run defense, which finished the regular season ranked third in yards per carry surrendered. And while any success in that regard begins in the trenches with the interior defensive line, defending the run at a high level takes all 11 players, and the linebackers play a very important role in that.

Again, during that stretch of high-level play from Walker, we saw him filling gaps at the line of scrimmage, shedding blocks, and getting horizontal to cut-off those outside runs before the ball carrier could turn upfield.

“I think these guys are totally bought into what we’re teaching,” said Campanile about the run defense. “I firmly believe that there’s a progression each play. Your eyes, your feet, your hands, and then there’s got to be a violent finish. That’s how every football play should start and end. If your eyes are right and you’ll feet will be right, you’ll get there, and your hands will buy you time.

“That’s some of the fundamental things about defending the run, those are essential. Your body position, where your feet are, not compromising your base, playing with great hands and technique, pad level. Some people talk about those things, but you’ve got to drill those things every day, almost like to the point where it’s a martial art.”

Walker’s possible return could also provide an impact in the passing game, specifically over the middle of the field where the Packers’ defense has been picked apart at times this season. Most recently that occurred against Minnesota, where quarterback Sam Darnold completed 85% of this passes for 289 yards with two touchdowns.

As described here, there were numerous factors at play that contributed to those numbers for the Vikings’ offense. However, part of that equation on the Packers’ end were some coverage miscues from the linebackers. As LaFleur put it, there was a lack of depth from the second-level defenders. Not to mention that simply having Walker’s speed and athleticism on the field can help potentially close some of those throwing lanes or limit YAC opportunities for the offense.

As of now, we will see how the remainder of the week unfolds for Walker, but against a high-powered Eagles’ offense, having his presence in the middle of the field could be an important element for this Packers defense, especially when paired with Edgerrin Cooper. The version of Walker described above and the current version that we’ve seen from Cooper in recent weeks, haven’t yet been on the field together this season.

“Feels good,” said fellow linebacker Edgerrin Cooper about having Walker back at practice. “Hoping that he’s feeling good to be out there and we trying to go from there.”

Stingy, physical Eagles’ secondary awaits Packers’ passing game in NFC playoffs

Paul Bretl | 1/8/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers “stagnant” passing game must find a way to get back on track this week and that phase of the game will have to do so against a very stingy Eagles’ secondary.

Philadelphia will enter the postseason allowing just 5.5 yards per pass attempt–the fewest in football. As that figure illustrates, this unit has also surrendered the fewest explosive plays through the air this season as well.

Individually, this group is made up of rookie Quinyon Mitchell and Darius Slay on the boundary and rookie Cooper DeJean at the nickel. Deep at safety are CJ Gardner-Johnson and Reed Blankenship. The collective completion percentage allowed by these players of 62% is the sixth-lowest in football while they’ve generated the fourth-most pass deflections.

“They’re very good,” said Matt LaFleur on Wednesday. “They do a great job of eliminating explosives. They do a great job of keeping a lid and then when they challenge, you gotta be physical because these guys are going to grab you and you gotta fight through contact. That’s what they do. They got a veteran corner in (Darius) Slay and they got a rookie in (Quinyon) Mitchell that’s playing really, really well. You got the two safeties, I just think collectively they’ve all done a great job.”

Even if the Packers’ passing game were rolling coming into the postseason, this would be a difficult matchup. Unfortunately, however, that isn’t the case for Green Bay. One of the bigger issues that they’ve run into in recent weeks is their inconsistency through the air. The trickle-down effect of that has been slow starts, struggling to move the ball consistently, and of course, all that makes putting up points extremely difficult.

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From Week 11 through Week 15, both Jordan Love and the offense appeared to be heating up just as they did a season ago, which included four straight games of scoring at least 30 points. However, since that New Orleans game, where the offense still managed to score 34 points, the passing attack has felt disjointed.

Over that three game stretch against New Orleans, Minnesota, and Chicago, Love is completing just 60% of his throws, which ranks 28th out of 36 eligible quarterbacks. His 6.2 yards per attempt during that span also ranks 28th and Love is 22nd in passer rating.

“It’s definitely been a little stagnant,” Love said of the passing game after the Chicago game. “It just feels like we’re just missing right now. Missing on some of these opps that obviously before we were hitting on. Like I’ve said before, it’s not like we’re far off. It’s not like everything we’re running is just not working. Stuffs there. We’ve just got to go out there and make plays. We’ve got to be great, like I said, with accuracy, ball placement, everything, so I think it’s a lot of stuff well clean up.”

As always, and as Matt LaFleur will be quick to point out, there are numerous factors in play when it comes to the inconsistency of the passing game. It doesn’t all fall on Jordan Love’s shoulders.

Most notably has been the play of the receiver position. Against Minnesota, for example, LaFleur noted how the Vikings’ usage of heavy man coverage looks was not something that the Green Bay offense was expecting. When that happens, it can throw off the timing of the route and the need for the receivers to win those one-on-one matchups becomes heightened and if that doesn’t happen, then Love has nowhere to go with the football.

In addition to needing the receivers to win their matchups on time and more often, when the ball does get to them, plays haven’t been made. During that same three game stretch, Love ranks 10th our of 41 quarterbacks in drop rate.

“I would just say like for me personnally I gotta be better overall,” said Jayden Reed at his locker on Sunday. “I haven’t been playing good ball lately. If we want progress in the playoffs that not how we gotta play. We gotta play better than we did today. Just pounding in on the details, protecting the ball that’s protecting the team, first and foremost, that’s on me. I gotta be better. If I want to be a leader and good player in this league, I gotta be able to do that.”

LaFleur would also mention the play of the offensive line after Sunday’s loss to the Bears. While overall, Love’s pressure numbers rank around the middle of the pack in recent weeks, LaFleur noted that there were opportunities in the passing game but Love didn’t have time to get through his progressions.

It really is no one player or any one thing causing these issues, but when there is an off-target throw here and there, a pressure on Love here and there, a drop or failure to win consistently enough here and there, when put together, you get a disjointed passing game that is out of sync.

“It’s everything,” said Love about getting the passing game back on track. “It’s everything you do while you’re in this facility, when you go home. The way we talk about concepts and how we install it, how we go run it in the walkthroughs, and make sure everybody’s on the same page with the timing — just exactly how you’re running routes, things like that, and then it takes over on the practice field when we’re getting those full-speed live reps at it. That comes down to just being at our best, being on the same page and that’s everything we do while we’re here in the building.”

Adding to the challenge that the Packers will face on Sunday in Philadelphia is that they will be without Christian Watson, who is out for the season. That not only takes away the important downfield element from this Packers’ offense, but with Watson’s combination of size and speed, his mere presence on the field helps cerate opportunities for others in the passing game to exploit.

With Watson on the field in 2024, the Packers rank first as an offense in yards per route run and first in explosive plays per route. However, without him, Green Bay ranks 13th and 19th in those respective categories. There is no replacing Watson’s specific skill set, but the Packers will have to find other ways to create that downfield element.

“That’s a huge loss,” said Love about Watson. “One of those ones that it sucks. You hurt for Christian, especially at this time of the year, but like you said, definitely other guys are gonna have to step up. We’ve got a deep receiver room, guys have kind of done that all year.

“We’ve battled through different injuries, guys missing games, things like that. Just another situation that guys will step up and make plays, and we’re confident in that group.”

Getting back on track this week for the Packers, in part, consists of going back to the basics and focusing on the details and pouring into the process in order to get the desired results that have been lacking.

Success for the passing game, as has been the case for much of the season, will begin with the Packers’ ability to move the ball on the ground with Josh Jacobs. Staying ahead of the sticks opens up the entire playbook for an offense, which can keep a defense off-balanced, and set up play-action opportunities.

On the flip side, struggling in the run game will put the offense behind the sticks and in those dreaded long down-and-distance situations, where both from a pass rush perspective, with the defensive front able to pin its ears back, and coverage-wise, the defense has the advantage, and now much more of the workload falls on what has been an inconsistent Packers’ passing game.

“They’re humming right now,” said LaFleur of the Eagles’ defense. “It’s a very talented defense. You can tell that they’ve got everybody on the same page. It’s much more difficult to get some of those explosive gains, so I would tell ya that it’s gonna be very important for us, for our offense, to be efficient, stay ahead of the sticks. They got superstars on every level of the defense, so we’re gonna have to make sure we’re doing a good job of taking what’s there and churning out and fighting for every inch on the field on Sunday.”

However, as we’ve seen in recent weeks, the run game can’t be the Packers’ only method for moving the ball. The margin for error in those instances is way too small over the course of four quarters. If the defense gives up early points, the ability to lean into the run game is negated, and any sort of first down failure on the ground all of a sudden shifts the burden of moving the ball to the passing game in those aforementioned disadvantageous situations.

If the Packers are going to get back on track offensively the run game will have to play an obvious and important role in accomplishing that, but to win against the Eagles, Green Bay will likely need a passing game to pair with it, and against this Philadelphia defense, that won’t come easy.

“They’ve got a lot of guys that bring energy,” said Reed of the secondary. “They find a way to find the ball and they always surround the ball. That’s a pretty competitive group down there in Philly.”

Packers greatly improved run defenses faces massive playoff test vs Saquon Barkley and Eagles

Paul Bretl | 1/8/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — One of the crucial matchups in Sunday’s Wildcard matchup between the Packers and Eagles will be how well Green Bay’s much-improved run defense can contain Philadelphia running back Saquon Barkley.

In his first season with the Eagles, Barkley put up monster numbers. Without playing in the team’s season finale a week ago, Barkley still eclipsed the 2,000-yard rushing mark, averaging a hefty 5.8 yards per rush over the course of the season with 13 touchdowns.

Compared to the rest of the NFL, Barkley would lead the league in rushing. His 5.8 yards per attempt were just behind Derrick Henry, and his 13 rushing touchdowns were the seventh-most. In terms of his big play ability, no back had more rushes of 10-plus yards in 2024, and contributing to that success was Barkley ranking as one of the best at forcing missed tackles.

“The season he has had, he’s dynamic and he hurt us when we played them the first game of the season in terms of not only running the ball but he caught a rail route out of the backfield,” said Matt LaFleur of Barkley. “So, he’s a guy that you absolutely have to have eyes on, have vision on, and making sure that you have a plan for him.”

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Adding to the difficulty that comes with containing Barkley in the ground game is that also a part of that equation is quarterback Jalen Hurts. No quarterback in football carried the ball more than Hurts, who rushed for 630 yards at 4.2 yards per attempt and had 14 rushing touchdowns of his own.

The one-two punch of Barkley and Hurts in the backfield together can be a real stressor on opposing defenses. The Eagles’ heavy usage of the RPO game can stretch a defense horizontally, creating more space for the Eagles’ offense to attack, not to mention that attempting to decipher who has the ball can cause a split second of hesitation, which is all it takes for a running lane to open up.

“They do such a great job because there’s other weapons out there, too, and you’ve got to contain the quarterback and they’ve got one of the top offensive lines in the National Football League,” LaFleur said.

Under first-year defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, the Packers run defense has had a major turnaround. This unit finished the regular season, allowing just 4.0 yards per rush on the year–the third-lowest mark in football. Green Bay also surrendered fewer than 100 rushing yards per game, which ranked seventh this season, and this included doing so against some of the game’s most dynamic rushing attacks.

“(It’s) Allowing us not to play blocks and just to use our God-given athletic ability to get off of blocks and get separation to make those plays,” Karl Brooks said of the run defense. “I would just say it’s credit to the scheme and how we were taught.”

Success for any run defense starts with the interior defensive line and that unit’s ability to generate a steady push, take up space, and occupy blockers, which not only cuts off or closes up running lanes, but that frees up other defenders to make plays. The defensive ends also play a crucial role in setting the edge so ball carriers aren’t able to bounce outside.

“I would say our approach frontside of plays,” said defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich on one of the keys to the run defense’s success. “I think we’re getting some knockback at the point of attack, which is now making running backs have to bow out even further or closer to the surest tackler in the world, which we’ve said before is the sideline. Or if it cuts back, we’ve had pretty decent pursuit on the backside, whether it’s our backside ends, could be an interior player, backside three-technique, nose, whatever it is, or our linebackers behind. And they’ve done an outstanding job.”

However, while success may begin there in the trenches, for a defense to consistently operate at a high level against the run as the Packers have, it truly takes all 11 defenders.

Along with the interior defensive line, the defensive ends need to set strong edges to prevent ball carriers from getting outside. The linebackers need to fill gaps, shed blocks, and get sideline-to-sideline to prevent ball carriers from getting upfield. And for the defensive backs, it’s up to them to swarm to the running back to get as many defenders near the ball to help limit yards after contact or the damage from any missed tackles forced.

“Stopping the run is not just the D line,” added Rebrovich. “Our nickels have done an unbelievable job and those guys setting edges on the perimeter and bringing that thing back so it can’t gain a yard. The more and more we can push the ball lateral to where our guys are going to, the Calvary sets in, the less yards they’re going to get. Our corners have done a great job. It’s a team effort, as you guys know.

“Stopping the run is all 11. I can’t say enough. Our linebackers…when he (Edgerrin Cooper) gets a shot to go down there and pursue a play. So, it takes all 11 of us, but I would say the front side on knocking things back of these perimeter plays has probably been something we’ve gotten better at as the season’s going on.”

When the Packers faced the Eagles in Week 1 to open the 2024 regular season, Barkley rushed for 109 yards while averaging 4.5 yards per carry. However, 34 of those yards came on one rush in the second half. On Barkley’s other 23 carries, he did average just 3.2 yards per attempt.

Against Hurts, meanwhile, the Packers’ defensive front took a more controlled pass rush approach, where the focus was on keeping the quarterback in the pocket. There’s a give-and-take with that decision. On one hand, from the run game perspective, it did work, with Green Bay giving up only 33 rushing yards to Hurst on 13 carries. But on the flip side, the pass rush and the ability to generate pressure did suffer.

With this Eagles’ offense, it’s certainly not as if the run game is all that has to be worried about. This is a very potent passing game that features AJ Brown and Devonta Smith at wide receiver. Hurts’ average of 8.0 yards per pass attempt was the fourth-highest mark this season.

However, any sort of potential success in limiting this high-powered Eagles’ offense is going to have to start with Green Bay’s run defense and finding some way to contain Barkley and Hurts. If they can, there are times when it will put the Philadelphia offense behind the sticks and in predictable passing situations, where defenses often have the upper hand–both in coverage and from a pass rush perspective.

Yet, on the flip side, if the Packers can’t slow that dynamic duo, the offense will routinely be in short down-and-distance situations, where the entire playbook is open to the Eagles. At that point, Philadelphia can either run the ball again or pass, which spreads the defense out and can keep them on their heels with some unpredictability from the offense at play. And when that element is coupled with all the playmakers on that side of the ball, well, good luck.

“We’ll definitely have our work cut out for us,” LaFleur added, “but I think our guys are eager for the opportunity to be into the dance. And that’s kind of what I told them: We’ve got to maximize the moment and we’ve got to make sure that our prep’s on point, that our process is on point, so we can go out there and give our best effort.”

Back to the basics: Packers look to refocus as playoff matchup vs Eagles awaits

Paul Bretl | 1/7/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — It has been a couple weeks of “sloppy” football from the Packers, something that must get cleaned up with a matchup against a high-powered Philadelphia Eagles team on the horizon.

“I would say that we have gotta be more detailed,” said Matt LaFleur on Monday. “Just, it’s been a little sloppy and that’s in every phase.”

The passing game for the Packers, and therefore the entire offense, has sputtered the last two weeks. Through three quarters against Minnesota, the Vikings man-coverage heavy approach had the Packers’ passing game flummoxed, as Jordan Love threw for fewer than 100 yards through three quarters as the offense got off to another dreaded slow start, which ultimately did them in.

Then, in the limited sample size we saw on Sunday against Chicago before Love exited the game, moving the ball through the air was, again, no easy task for Green Bay. Nothing in that regard seems to come easy right now. Facing a Bears team with their eyes on the offseason and losers of 10 straight, the Packers trailed 14-3 at one point. With five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Green Bay offense had just 13 points.

Even going back to the Saints game, where the Packers won 34-0, the passing game was disjointed, particularly in the second half. Over this latest three-game stretch against New Orleans, Minnesota, and Chicago, Love is completing just 60% of his throws, which ranks 28th out of 36 eligible quarterbacks. His 6.2 yards per attempt during that span also ranks 28th, and Love is 22nd in passer rating.

“You always would like to get No. 1 open,” said LaFleur of the passing game. “I mean, that’s the idea. And sometimes it can be difficult, depending on how many different coverages teams play, where you’re calling something for a certain coverage and if you get the look you’re usually in pretty good shape and if you get something different, you have to have an answer.

“And that’s why I think all-purpose plays are at a premium. You always want all-purpose plays where, at a bare minimum, you can get a checkdown and certain teams might do different things to you that can limit your possibilities for those checkdowns, but I think just goes it all in the planning portion of it, just making sure we have sound football plays and at least you have an outlet to go with the football.”

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Along with the offensive struggles, in two consecutive games, we’ve seen the defense not able to come up with that crucial stop late, while the Minnesota passing game picked apart the Packers over the middle of the field as the pass rush faltered. The special teams unit, meanwhile, surrendered a punt return in the most recent contest.

While some of the problems that the Packers are currently facing are more prominent than others, improvement in all phases is needed if this team is going to flip the switch and change their trajectory as they head into the playoffs.

“I just think there’s a lot of things,” LaFleur said. “There was a lot of things we can work on in every phase. There’s got to be a standard for how you play every snap, and when it’s not getting to that standard, typically what’s going to happen is you’re not going to get the results that you want. I would say that showed up yesterday in the game.”

Overcoming these woes begins with refocusing on the process rather than the results–something that LaFleur said he challenged the team to focus on. The logic behind this is that if the process–the on-field fundamentals and details of how each player goes about their day–is consistently done correctly, then the positive results will follow.

The problem with being so consumed in the outcome is that the details required to get to that point can be forgotten about. In addition to that, even when the result ends up being positive, that doesn’t mean the process of getting to that point was correct. LaFleur noted two plays from Sunday’s game that ended positively, but process-wise, weren’t executed correctly. And it’s those errors in the postseason that can send a team home early.

“You just can’t get consumed by the result,” LaFleur said. “It’s got to be the process, and we’ve got to make sure that we do a great job of coaching the detail, and then it’s got to get, everything has to happen on the practice field. That’s where you improve, and that’s what gives you the confidence to go out there on gameday and perform at a high level.”

How the Packers got to this point in recent weeks is obviously a bit of an unknown, otherwise, as LaFleur said, if he had that answer, they wouldn’t be sitting in this position where conversations around refocusing on the process and finer details have to take place.

In an effort to get things back on track, LaFleur said that he would tweak the practice schedule. A catalyst behind the Packers’ second-half surge in 2023 was the ramping up of competition in practice–or more good-on-good–and live reps. There is now going to be more of that this week.

“There’s some things we’re going to tweak with our practice schedule,” LaFleur said. “A lot of times when you get to this point of the season, you want to take a little bit off their bodies, so we’ve had a little bit more walk-through. I think we’ve got to get back to practicing on a daily basis.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to do the same number of reps we did Week 1 of the season, but I think the consistency of which you practice allows you to go out and play a little bit more consistent on Sunday.”

The 2023 Packers and the 2024 Packers are on two very different trajectories entering the playoffs. One was riding a wave of momentum, operating as one of the better units in football, while the other is on a two game losing streak and needing to refocus on going back to the basics.

While LaFleur dismissed the notion of game-to-game momentum being a big factor entering the playoffs, time is no longer an ally for the Packers as it’s win or go home. They must flip the switch this week because the same persistent issues continue to plague this team, a stingy Eagles’ defense, and their high-powered offense will capitalize on those miscues, just as the Vikings and Bears did.

“That’s just life in this league because if you’re living in the past you’re probably not going to have a very good future,” LaFleur said. “So you gotta learn from every–whether it’s positive or negative and, unfortunately, a lot of times you learn more from the tough lessons than you do from your successes. But you gotta be resilient, you gotta keep turning the page and just get back to work.”

Packers without WR Christian Watson for playoffs

Paul Bretl | 1/6/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers will have to make any potential playoff run without wide receiver Christian Watson.

It was reported by Ian Rapoport that Watson suffered an ACL injury and other potential damage in his left knee during Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Bears. Head coach Matt LaFleur would confirm on Monday afternoon that Watson would be out for the remainder of this season.

Watson had missed the Packers’ previous game against Minnesota while dealing a right knee bruise–an injury that he had suffered against the New Orleans Saints the week prior. During the week leading up to the Chicago game, Watson was a non-participant in practice on Wednesday and Thursday before returning to practice in a limited capacity on Friday.

He was initially listed as questionable for the Week 18 matchup, but Romeo Doubs being added to the injury report on Saturday with an illness and then not being able to play on Sunday did impact the decision to start Watson, said LaFleur after the loss.

“We talked about it all, to be honest with you and I never wanna say one event impacts the other event,” said Matt LaFleur on Monday about the decision to play Watson. “He came to us I think on Friday and just said, ‘Hey, if I go and practice today, can I be up?’ and at the time with just — he was gonna be limited regardless and we were going into this game with just, alright, you got limited amount of snaps when that spot became available, but there was a lot of discussion into it.

“Unfortunately, it wasn’t even his knee that was bothering him, so it’s just an unfortunate circumstance that transpired and I never wanna blame one event on the other, but there was a lot of discussion, I’ll leave it at that, in terms of just yeah, we were very aware of just having him on a limited basis and we didn’t even get to that really.”

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In what is a deep wide receiver room, there still aren’t any other pass-catchers on this Packers’ roster who can bring the combination of size and speed to the equation like Watson can.

The obvious loss for the offense is the lack of big play ability that will now be missing with Watson’s ability to stretch the field. On the season, Watson had caught 29 passes for 620 yards and two touchdowns.

This included a four-game stretch from Weeks 11-14, where Watson hauled in 10-of-16 passes for 331 yards at a whopping 33.1 yards per reception. Watson was targeted downfield on 37.5% of the passes thrown his way–the eighth-highest rate among receivers–and his 21.4 yards per catch is the third-most in football this season.

“Christian is a different type of player,” Josh Jacobs said after the Minnesota game. “He’s got attributes and abilities that you can’t coach and you really can’t find anywhere.”

However, Watson’s impact on this Packers’ offense goes beyond the stat sheet as well. For one, he’s a very willing blocker in the run game, but Watson can win at all levels of the field, with his speed and route-running ability helping to create separation on those short to intermediate routes, which then have the potential to be turned into big gains as we saw late versus Chicago on a 60-yard catch and run over the middle.

And with that big play ability that he possesses, there’s a certain gravity that he has that draws defenders to him. This can then open up opportunities for other pass catchers by creating advantageous matchups and more space to operate in.

“It’s a big-time loss just his presence on the field alone, he’s so versatile in his ability to play multiple positions,” said LaFleur on Monday. “You can put him at the X, the F, the Z. You can move him all over the place. Obviously he’s got an element in terms of his size and speed that’s tough replicate. There’s not many built like him around the league.”

But on the flip side, not having Watson’s presence on the field can impact how opposing defenses defend Green Bay. If there isn’t a real fear of being beaten over the top, that then allows defenses to shrink the field and play closer to the line of scrimmage. This makes things more condensed over the middle and on short to intermediate routes and can even impact the running game with more defenders near the line of scrimmage.

We saw an example of this in the recent game against Minnesota, whose secondary did a very good job of taking away any downfield attempts for the Packers, who were without Watson, and overall, that was one element that contributed to the offensive woes we saw from Green Bay in that contest.

“There is a couple plays,” LaFleur said of the Vikings game, “I would say in that game, not to rehash the past but, yeah, where you’re anticipating something where you might have … You just never want to have stagnant routes – routes that are sitting down, not running away from people – because they’re probably going to be gloved if your initial concept does not work.”

There is no replacing Watson in this offense because even with the wide variety of skill sets that the Packers have at receiver, no one else can impact the game–with or without the ball–quite like he does. So the challenge for Matt LaFleur and the offense as a whole will be finding different ways to overcome his absence, specifically, maintaining the downfield ability with the positive trickle-down effect that element can have, and doing so against a very stingy Philadelphia pass defense.

“They’re humming right now,” LaFleur said of the Eagles’ defense. “It’s a very talented defense. You can tell that they’ve got everybody on the same page. It’s much more difficult to get some of those explosive gains, so I would tell ya that it’s gonna be very important for us, for our offense, to be efficient, stay ahead of the sticks. They got superstars on every level of the defense, so we’re gonna have to make sure we’re doing a good job of taking what’s there and churning out and fighting for every inch on the field on Sunday.”

‘Stagnant’ passing game proving too much for Packers to overcome

Paul Bretl | 1/6/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers are going to enter the 2024 postseason trending in a much different direction than what the 2023 version of this team did, and a key contributing factor to the recent struggles that we’ve seen is due to the inconsistencies of the passing game.

“It hasn’t been good,” said Matt LaFleur of the passing game. “Credit them (the Bears). They did a nice job and it is extremely frustrating right now, so I think that’s something that we’re gonna have to take a deep dive into and we have been. It’s not like it’s anything new, but we gotta do a better job.”

While he’s taken care of the football with no interceptions and no turnover-worthy plays, according to PFF, he’s also thrown only two touchdown passes.

“I definitely don’t think it’s a problem, but if this was a playoff game, we’d be going home right now,” said Jordan Love postgame. “We’ve got to find a way to make those plays, execute and stay on the field as offense, put up more points than we did tonight. We’ve got to find ways to just be better because like we said in the locker room, if this was a playoff game, we’re going home. So just not good enough.”

Of course, when things aren’t going quite right in the passing game, all eyes fall on the quarterback position, with Love mentioning post-game following the Bears’ game that it all feels inconsistent right now.

“It’s definitely been a little stagnant,” Love said of the passing game. “It just feels like we’re just missing right now. Missing on some of these opps that obviously before we were hitting on. Like I’ve said before, it’s not like we’re far off. It’s not like everything we’re running is just not working. Stuffs there. We’ve just got to go out there and make plays. We’ve got to be great, like I said, with accuracy, ball placement, everything, so I think it’s a lot of stuff well clean up.”

However, in a nuanced game like football, it’s not only Love’s play that has taken a step back, but the receivers are out of sync as well. Following the game against Minnesota, Matt LaFleur mentioned that the Vikings’ heavy usage of man coverage in that contest was unexpected. When that happens, it can throw off the timing of the route and the need for the receivers to win those one-on-one matchups becomes heightened and if that doesn’t happen, then Love has nowhere to go with the football.

In two of these last three games, the Packers were without Christian Watson against Minnesota and for most of the Bears’ game, while Romeo Doubs didn’t play against Chicago either. That, of course, is going to be a factor in the on-field play. However, for a position group where its strength lies in its numbers, the Packers need more from that room as well as Love, particularly with it looking like Watson won’t be able to play this postseason.

“Execution, really,” added Reed about the inconsistent play. “Everybody doing their 1/11th. Just completing the pass. We had some drops along the way, you just gotta finish the catch sometimes. Just everything. Everything goes hand in hand.”

The run game has often been the catalyst for the Packers’ offensive success this season. However, in today’s NFL, when that is the only consistent method for picking up yards, that’s a difficult way for an offense to have to live on a regular basis. The margin for error becomes extremely small because any sort of run that doesn’t pick up four-plus yards, puts the offense behind the sticks and in predictable passing situations that, right now, the Packers offense doesn’t have the ability to routinely dig themselves out of.

Awaiting the Packers in the playoffs is a set of NFC offenses that have been among the most dynamic in football. Philadelphia, Detroit, Minnesota, and Tampa Bay, all rank in the top 10 of the NFL this season in points per game and yards per pass attempt. Obviously, the hope would be that the Packers’ defense could limit those opponents, but that’s also a tall task to accomplish over four quarters. Realistically, the Packers’ offense is going to have to put up points and getting off to another dreaded slow start could very well doom their playoff chances.

Although things haven’t gone all that smoothly for the passing game, Love doesn’t believe that the offense is all that far off, either. However, the opportunity to establish momentum has vanished and Green Bay is now at the point where a switch is going to have to be flipped. Time to course correct is no longer on their side.

“We just have to get back to what we do,” Love said. “Get back to the basics and the fundamentals and be crisp. As we go through the week, be dialed in and locked into all the little details. We can’t let anything slip. It just comes down to that. I mean, that’s where you start throughout the week, and then you have to go out there and just make those plays. Like I said, we’re not far off, we just have to hit.”

Lacking momentum, Packers will have to flip the switch heading into playoffs

Paul Bretl | 1/5/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The 2023 Packers entered the postseason on a three-game winning streak and essentially in playoff mode having to win those final games to even have a chance of continuing to play into January.

This year’s Packers team, with two more victories in the win column, will enter the postseason on a two-game losing streak and frequently still dealing with the same issues that have plagued them for much of the season.

“A disappointing loss, for sure,” said Jordan Love after the game. “I think everybody in the locker room feels that. Its obviously not the note we wanted to end on with a loss to the Vikings and then turn around and a loss here. It’s the reality of our situation.

“We’ve got to find a way to improve this week, get better and look forward to seeing Philly. It’s a disappointing finish, a disappointing loss , to end that game right there. But it’s the same thing. Theres a lot of areas that we can clean up and got to get better at. The same kind of message is going through that locker room. Weve got to go out and make these plays and execute. We just have to be better.”

With the regular season behind them, the Packers still haven’t consistently been able to put it all together this season–or at least not for extended periods–and they’ve now reached the point in the season where it’s now or never.

“A couple guys (Xavier McKinney and Rashan Gary) spoke in front of the team and said, ‘Put your pride aside and just work,’ said Sean Rhayn. “Not that we haven’t been working, but coming off two losses, I think we’ve got to get back to the bare bones of coming in, doing our drills, doing them crisp and cool. Honest work is what we’re going to need.”

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In Sunday’s loss to the Bears–Chicago’s first win in the last 12 games against Green Bay–the run game was again productive, totaling 183 yards at 5.5 yards per rush, but it didn’t result in points for the offense. With under five minutes to go in the game, the Packers still had just 13 points before a forced fumble by Carrington Valentine set Green Bay up in scoring position.

While the run game was producing, it’s difficult to put up points in today’s NFL when that is your only means for moving the football. The margin for error then becomes extremely small in those instances, with the offense often in a hole when in those pesky long down-and-distance situations when there isn’t a positive gain on first down.

“I think everybody’s just got to lock in on what we want to do and what we want to accomplish and know that one loss, you’re done, you’re going home,” Josh Jacobs said. “So the sense of urgency and everything is up. We’ve just got to know that coming in this whole week, coming in to prepare, everybody’s got to be willing to give 110% of themselves to what we want to accomplish.”

A steady passing game is needed to complement the run game and the Packers didn’t have that. Of course, not having Jordan Love under center from the second quarter on was an obvious factor in that, but even before he exited the game with an elbow injury, the passing attack was disjointed–again.

Love was 7-for-12 passing for a modest 69 yards–19 of which came on one completion. Malik Willis was 10-for-13 passing for 136 yards, with a long of 41 yards on a completion to Malik Heath. If we take the 6.6 yards per pass attempt that the Packers collectively averaged and compare it to the NFL’s season-long numbers, that figure would rank 31st.

This follows a performance where Love had fewer than 100 passing yards through three quarters against the Minnesota Vikings. As is the case in football, there is never one answer to the problem–it’s a lack of consistency in the pass-catchers getting open, it’s dropped passes, off-target throws, indecisiveness, and the overall timing just not quite being there.

“It’s definitely been a little stagnant,” Love said. “It just feels like were just missing right now. Missing on some of these opps that obviously before we were hitting on. Like I’ve said before, it’s not like were far off. It’s not like everything were running is just not working. Stuffs there. We’ve just got to go out there and make plays. We’ve got to be great, like I said, with accuracy, ball placement, everything, so I think it’s a lot of stuff well clean up.

“I definitely don’t think it’s a problem,” Love would add, “but if this was a playoff game, we’d be going home right now. We’ve got to find a way to make those plays, execute and stay on the field as offense, put up more points than we did tonight. We’ve got to find ways to just be better because like we said in the locker room, if this was a playoff game, we’re going home. So just not good enough.”

In addition to not having Love for a large portion of the game, the Packers saw Christian Watson exit with an injury early and Josh Jacobs had just six carries. In addition to that, Green Bay opted for continuity in the secondary by starting Kitan Oladapo at safety so Javon Bullard could play the nickel. That may not have been a decision that was made–giving the Day 3 rookie his first-ever start–had this been a playoff game.

But on the flip side, just about every one of the Packers’ usual starters played the entire game against a Bears team riding a 10 game losing streak. And perhaps most concerning is that, as mentioned, many of the same problems continue to persist. The passing game is currently out of whack and in all three of the Packers’ post-bye week losses to Detroit, Minnesota, and Chicago, the defense couldn’t get a late stop.

“It’s us vs. us,” said Xavier McKinney. “We need to correct what we need to correct because these are self-inflicted wounds. It’s not anything that the other team is doing to beat us. It’s the things we’re doing to beat ourselves. We gotta get it corrected.”

Certainly not helping things was the special teams unit giving up a punt return for a touchdown, not to mention that It’s also not only the players who have to execute better, but Matt LaFleur, admittedly, wasn’t at his best either. An indecisive moment about whether to kick the field goal late or go for it on fourth down resulted in the Packers’ using a timeout, which left the Bears’ offense with additional time.

“At the end of the game, that’s squarely on me,” LaFleur said. “Just got caught in a situation where we were planning on going for it. They felt like Brandon could make that field goal. Hindsight’s 20/20, and I wish I wouldn’t have taken the timeout because it gave them obviously way too much time to go down and operate. Like I told the team, that’s on me, that can’t happen. So we’ve got to wipe this as soon as possible. It’s a new season now. Everybody’s 0-0.”

During the bye week, GM Brian Gutekunst mentioned that the goal is to be playing your best football come January. Last year’s team was doing just that, on the aforementioned three game winning streak while in playoff mode, and operating on the field as one of the more effective offenses in the game, despite having to claw their way to nine wins.

This year, that isn’t the case. A switch is going to have to be flipped if the Packers are going to find any playoff success. While a year ago at this time, the team was riding a wave of momentum into Dallas, this time, Green Bay will have to head into Philadelphia in search of it.

So how do the Packers accomplish that?

“I don’t think anybody has to do anything out of the ordinary, any superhuman effort,” LaFleur said. “It’s just, guys have got to be dialed in and doing their responsibility. We always talk about doing your 1/11th and it’s so true in these playoff games because the margins are thin enough in this league as it is. Each week, it can go either way. But I would say specifically with the playoffs, when it comes to that, the energy, you’ve got to stay focused, you’ve got to stay dialed in, you’ve got to play it like truly play each play as if it were your last. And that’s the approach we’ve got to take.

“And we’ve got to have a great week of preparation, no doubt about it. Guys have got to rest up, we’ve got to recover, some guys are pretty beat up right now, and who knows when we play, so that could affect things as well. Everybody has to handle their business, take care of what they need to take care of and we’ve got to go and put our best foot forward.”

With the talent that this team has, and as we’ve seen from this group both this season and last, they do certainly have the ability to flip the switch. This season has also been far from a disaster–I mean, the Packers did get to 11 wins and are top 10 in scoring on both sides of the football, and not that long ago, put up 30-plus points in five straight games. It’s not as if things have been all bad by any means.

Inside the locker room, the belief that a run can be made still very much exists.

“I got all the confidence,” said McKinney about getting things corrected. “We got the right guys to do it. We just gotta do it, though. Like I said, we have the guys and we got the coaches. We got everything that we need right here. Mentally, we have to be ready to lock in and ready to go. That’s as simple as it gets.”

However, having said that, we’ve seen middling teams get bounced from the playoffs early and others who finished the regular season strong go on a run. The current lack of momentum hasn’t sealed Green Bay’s 2024 playoff fate by any means, but getting back on track, correcting the same issues that have pestered them for much of the year, and finding that elusive consistency while doing all of that on the road against the best teams in the NFC, is obviously a tall task.

“The guys had some strong words in the locker room,” added LaFleur. “I think their mind will be in the right place, and it all start with our energy, how we attack it coming into the building. We said this way back when during training camp, it’s, ‘Standards over feelings.’ And there’s a standard that we have to approach each day with and you’ve got to come in with that energy and just attack it. And put your best foot forward. Because this is like March Madness from here on out. I mean, anything can happen, and you’ve got to be sharp and you’ve got to be detailed.”

With playoffs on horizon, how will Packers approach playing time vs Bears?

Paul Bretl | 1/4/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — There are two paths that the Packers could go down this week as they prepare for their regular-season finale against the Chicago Bears. Green Bay could rest their key starters in preparation for the playoffs or play everyone in an effort to right the ship following last week’s performance.

So which path will the Packers choose to head down? Like many things in the life, the answer probably lies somewhere in the middle.

From a preparation standpoint this week, LaFleur hasn’t given the players any sort of inkling that they may not play a full game on Sunday. Everyone is preparing to go the full four quarters.

“I think we’ve got to go in with the mindset that everybody can expect to play the entire game, and we’re going to play a football game to win the game, and that’s how we always approach it and always will approach it,” Matt LaFleur said. “Some guys could have less snaps than they normally might get, but that is to be determined.”

This is a different approach than what we saw during the 2021 season, the last time the Packers were in a similar situation, where they have the luxury to rest players in the final game of the season if that’s what LaFleur chooses to do.

At that time, LaFleur opted to tell his players during the week that they would only play the first half of that Week 18 finale against Detroit. Two weeks later in the NFC Divisional round, following Green Bay’s playoff bye, the Packers would suffer an early playoff exit to the San Francisco 49ers.

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Now, of course, LaFleur doesn’t believe that the decision two weeks prior to tell his players that they wouldn’t play the second half of a meaningless Week 18 game was the reason the Packers lost to the 49ers. But, in hindsight, it did leave a sour taste in his mouth and has led to a different approach this time around.

“It left a little bit of I’d say a sour taste,” LaFleur said of that loss to the 49ers. “I can speak for myself in the situation. Maybe our players didn’t feel that way, but it’s just not the way you want to go into it. I think that sometimes can be a little overblown, but you’d like to put your best foot forward every time you go out on the field, no matter who you’re playing, what the circumstances are, you always want to win the game. You feel like you get a little bit of momentum from that. But bottom line, win, lose or draw, you’ve got to get yourself ready to play. That’s for every game in this league.”

This week’s game isn’t completely meaningless either with the Packers still having the opportunity to clinch the NFC’s sixth seed with a win and loss by Washington against a very short-handed Dallas Cowboys team.

Not to say that being the sixth versus seventh seed doesn’t matter, but either way the Packers are going to have to face several difficult road environments if they hope to make a deep playoff run. So instead, the focus should be on the bigger picture, which is re-establishing last week’s lost momentum and carrying that into the postseason.

After what LaFleur called a “sloppy” performance this past week in Minnesota, in all phases there is “a lot to clean up,” he would add. Obviously, nearing the 12 win mark, there has been a lot of good this season, but the Packers are still chasing that elusive consistency, particularly on offense. And against those top-flight NFC contenders, it’s often been the same issues that have plagued Green Bay for much of the season that rears its ugly head in those pivotal games.

So, let’s circle back to the question, how does LaFleur manage Sunday’s game? As of now, it would appear that anyone who is healthy is preparing to play a full game. However, I would anticipate that decision to be fluid.

If Dallas is keeping things close with Washington and the Packers have the opportunity to get the sixth seed, I would anticipate that LaFleur will keep his foot on the gas.

In another scenario, if Washington is in control and the Packers put together two strong quarters of football, then I wouldn’t be surprised to see key starters exit the game early on. On the flip side of that, however, regardless of how the Washington game is going, if it’s another slow start by the Packers, if it were up to me, I’d keep the starters into the second half in an effort to put some good football on film heading into the postseason.

“I think that’s important,” said LaFleur about having a good performance going into the playoffs. “I think every time you go out on the field, it’s about you. You playing your best, controlling things that are within your control. Obviously, I think the prep’s been on point and I think that’s where, is the starting point.”

Another part of the equation when it comes to determining playing time is the injury report. As LaFleur pointed out early in the week, with two practice squad elevations, there are 55 players eligible to compete on gamedays and only 48 can be active.

When taking into account that Green Bay has two players who are questionable for Sunday’s game with injuries and four others who have already been ruled out, from a pure numbers standpoint, there will be starters who play all four quarters in this game regardless of how it unfolds or what happens in the Washington game.

“Part of the challenge is, I read what – I heard what Belichick said about this situation the other day, and I think there’s a lot of truth in that as well,” LaFleur said. “How do you pick and choose who you sit. Does that mean certain guys are more important than others? Because I think this is the ultimate team sport, and we need everybody.

“Certainly when you have more depth at certain positions, that gives you a little bit more flexibility in terms of what route you go, but at the same time, when you’ve got a, I mean our injury list, I wouldn’t say it’s a short list. We’ve got a lot of guys on there, and so that definitely limits your ability in terms of what you want to do going into the game.”

To state the obvious, a full four quarter performance on Sunday against the struggling Chicago Bears, isn’t all of a sudden going to mean that everything is fixed for the Packers. However, there is certainly something to be said for putting together a good performance and carrying that momentum into the playoffs.

During the bye week, GM Brian Gutekunst discussed the importance of playing your best football late in the season. The 2023 Packers are a prime example of this. While on paper, Green Bay was 9-8 and the seventh seed in the NFC, on the football field, especially on offense, they were operating as one of the better teams in the game and that had them on the cusp of going to the NFC Championship game.

“I definitely think there’s a part with how we play, how we finish a season, kind of that momentum that we carry into the postseason, for sure,” said Love. “I think play-wise you always want to play clean football.”