The Packers didn’t just beat the Patriots on Sunday. They also showed a different version of their offense, one that leaned on a reshuffled backfield and a line that looked nothing like the group Green Bay had been rolling out earlier in the season.
That was enough to help the Packers get over the 100-yard rushing mark, but the bigger question is whether any of these changes are here to stay. For now, that part is still up in the air.
At quarterback, there wasn’t much drama. Tyrod Taylor got on the field for the second time this season and his first action since he kneeled down twice against the Chicago Bears. He handled the offense on the final drives after the game was already in hand, so there’s no quarterback controversy to chase here.
The backfield, though, was a different story. Pierre Strong led the group with 29 snaps, followed closely by Kaleb Johnson at 26 and Josh Jacobs at 9.
Johnson, who had recently been a healthy scratch, was forced into the mix because of MarShawn Lloyd’s knee injury. Once Jacobs left with a fractured finger, Johnson and Strong split the work almost evenly.
That leaves Green Bay staring at a messy running back picture. Lloyd, Jacobs and Chris Brooks are all part of the equation, and Brooks only has two weeks left in his practice window.
The Packers have five roster-caliber backs, but only four can fit on the 53-man roster at most and only three can be active on game day. Something has to give soon.
The receiver group had its own little wrinkle in garbage time. Christian Watson and Matthew Golden led the way with 49 and 48 snaps, and both had big nights.
Savion Williams played 30, J. Michael Sturdivant had 15, Bo Melton logged 14 and Coleman Owen got eight.
Owen, a former practice squad player and current punt returner, saw his first offensive snaps of the season after not playing on offense at all before this game. He was also removed from kickoff returns, with Melton taking over as the top return man and Sturdivant serving as the “off-returner.”
Belton’s 48-yard return stood out in the kicking game, while Owen added a 13-yard punt return.
Tight end was fairly routine, aside from Josh Whyle being out with an injury. After using only three tight ends on game day for the first time all season last week, the Packers didn’t repeat that setup.
Instead, they elevated Drake Dabney from the practice squad to help cover Whyle’s special teams snaps. Dabney didn’t play offense, but he did get six snaps in the kicking game.
The offensive line was where things really got interesting. Green Bay used all eight linemen who were active, with Mekhi Becton and Jager Burton only entering once Taylor came in late.
Becton lined up at left tackle in his snaps. In all, 13 different offensive linemen have now played for the Packers’ offense this season.
The most notable development was the return of a guard rotation, and this one is more complicated than the usual two-man split. Green Bay is now moving three guards around for two spots.
Before garbage time, the Packers had two drives where Laken Tomlinson played left guard and Kevin Zeitler played right guard, with Aaron Banks on the bench. On other snaps, Banks worked at left guard, Tomlinson shifted to right guard and Zeitler sat. So it wasn’t just Banks and Zeitler rotating - Tomlinson was moving too.
For a staff that tried to sell continuity early in the year while the guards struggled under Jacob Monk and Donovan Jennings, that approach seems to be gone. The Packers are back to line-up tinkering, and they’ve already used six players at those two guard spots this season.
And with Sean Rhyan and Travis Glover eventually getting back healthy, the guesswork may only get harder. At this point, the line feels like something the Packers will keep sorting out on Sundays.
Defensively, there wasn’t much that jumped off the page on the line. Campbell and Riley remain the lower-end options on the depth chart until Warren Brinson and/or Jonathan Ford can come back from injured reserve.
At edge defender, the snaps were spread almost evenly again. Lukas Van Ness and Brenton Cox Jr. each played 32 snaps, while Barryn Sorrell and Dani-Dennis Sutton each played 30. That kind of balance has been the norm all year, though it’s fair to wonder how long it lasts once Micah Parsons returns.
At off-ball linebacker, the Packers got hit with injuries. Ty’Ron Hopper, starting in place of an injured player, lasted only two defensive snaps before leaving with a chest injury.
Matt LaFleur wasn’t asked about it after the game, but the Packers officially ruled Hopper out and he never returned. Then Isaiah McDuffie, the replacement starter at Mike, left late with an undisclosed injury, which pushed Kristian Welch into action as the team’s sixth linebacker option.
That’s a situation worth watching closely. The Packers can’t afford to be without Zaire Franklin, Edgerrin Cooper, McDuffie and Hopper. If those four are unavailable, they may need to call up practice squad linebacker Jack Dingle and add someone from outside the organization.
In the secondary, Keisean Nixon and Brandon Cisse each played 51 snaps at corner, while Carrington Valentine had 11 and Benjamin St-Juste had 10, with Kamal Hadden adding four. Valentine got one snap as a dime defender in the first half, but most of his work and St-Juste’s came late, after Nixon and Cisse were pulled. Hadden handled slot duties when safety Javon Bullard was being worked on.
At safety, Kitan Oladapo saw some action in garbage time and when Evan Williams was out. Williams had the air knocked out of him at one point, but he returned.
By the end, Hadden was in the slot with Williams and Oladapo handling the deep looks, as the Packers managed their bodies at the position. That allowed Xavier McKinney and Bullard, who was in and out twice, to rest.
In Other News...
Josh Jacobs Leaves Packers With A New Backfield Concern
Josh Jacobs return to the Packers backfield has already been interrupted again, this time by a hand injury in Green Bays game against the New England Patriots. The veteran running back had only just gotten back into the lineup after missing several games because of suspension, making his third game of the season a notable one for a unit that has been trying to settle into a rhythm.
The injury came on a play in which Jacobs hand got caught up during contact, and he was later seen jogging to the locker room. For a Packers offense that has leaned on him for stability and physicality, the concern now shifts to how long he can stay available and what the backfield looks like if he cannot finish the game. [Read more 🡒]