The Packers’ ground game has sunk into rare territory.
Through three games this season, Green Bay has managed just 146 rushing yards, the third-lowest total the franchise has posted over any three-game stretch since the merger. Since the merger, the Packers have had only five three-game runs under 150 rushing yards - really four, because two of those stretches came in the same 1990 season - and the current slump fits right alongside the ugliest of them.
The most recent comparable stretch came in 2006. In that three-game span, the Packers piled up 47 rushing yards against the Vikings, 44 against the Tom Brady Patriots in a 35-0 loss when Brett Favre was knocked out and replaced by a young Aaron Rodgers, and 51 against the Seahawks, adding up to 142 yards.
The worst of the bunch came in 1990, when the Packers totaled only 127 rushing yards over three games during a stretch that started with a 23-7 loss to the Vikings on December 2nd. In that game, first-round pick Darrell Thompson ran for 17 yards on three carries, Herman Fontenot had 15 yards on three carries, Plan B Free Agent acquisition Michael Haddix gained 10 yards on six carries, and Keith Woodside finished with six yards on one carry.
Anthony Dilweg added 11 rushing yards, bringing the team total to 59. Dilweg also threw 29 passes in a game that was 6-0 at halftime.
The next week, Green Bay fell 20-14 to the Seahawks. Derrick Fenner and John Williams combined for 157 rushing yards on 33 carries for Seattle, while the Packers’ response was limited to 10 yards on four carries from Haddix, one yard on one carry from Thompson, and minus-3 yards on three carries from Woodside. Dilweg and Blair Kiel combined for just 5 rushing yards, and the Packers finished with 13 yards on 10 carries from their quarterbacks.
A week later came a 31-0 loss to Randall Cunningham and the Eagles. Cunningham outrushed the entire Packers team by himself.
Green Bay again used two quarterbacks, and Kiel and Dilweg combined for 4 rushing yards. Haddix posted 31 yards on seven carries, Thompson added 9 yards on six carries, Fontenot lost 7 yards on one carry, and Jeff Query broke loose for an 18-yard end around.
Even with that, the Packers managed only 55 rushing yards.
That 1990 stretch says plenty about how bad the current run game has been. Green Bay is operating at a level that matches a season when the team was dividing carries among two backup quarterbacks and four running backs. The offensive line remains a major issue, and the backfield has not helped much either.
The Packers’ new offensive line additions this week may matter, but the backs have been almost as ineffective and could use a shakeup too.
In Other News...
Packers Fans Face A Frustrating Week 4 TV Problem
The Packers early Week 4 matchup with the Buccaneers comes with an extra wrinkle for fans hoping to watch it the old-fashioned way. FOX is carrying the game, but the broadcast is limited to local TV in Wisconsin, Michigan and parts of Florida, leaving plenty of Packers backers outside those areas scrambling for another way in.
For many viewers, that means turning to NFL Sunday Ticket or finding a bar or restaurant package to catch the game live. FOX will send Jonathan Vilma and Chris Myers to call it, while other booth assignments shift to different games around the league, but the bigger story for Packers fans is simply whether they can find the screen in time. [Read more 🡒]
Packers-Bears Just Lost The Spotlight At Lambeau
The league has pushed the Packers-Bears Week 5 meeting at Lambeau Field into a noon kickoff, moving the rivalry out of its original late-afternoon slot. What was set for 3:25 p.m. Central will now start at 12 p.m., a shift tied to Green Bays slow start and Chicagos quarterback injury, with FOX opting to carry 49ers-Seahawks in the later window instead.
For Green Bay, the timing change still leaves a notable bit of pageantry intact. The Packers are set to debut their new Rivalries uniforms in the game, giving one of the NFLs oldest matchups a fresh look even if it no longer has the spotlight that originally came with the later kickoff. [Read more 🡒]
Packers O-Line Issues Forced Gutekunst To Finally Act
After the loss to the Atlanta Falcons, Brian Gutekunst finally said out loud what has been obvious for weeks: the Packers offensive line was in trouble. Injuries and uneven play up front have helped drag down the run game and left Jordan Love taking too many hits, turning a preseason concern into a real in-season problem for Green Bay.
Gutekunsts first move was to bring in veteran guard Laken Tomlinson from the Dallas Cowboys practice squad, a clear sign the Packers are trying to patch things before the damage gets worse. Whether one addition is enough to stabilize a line that has already been through so much is still the bigger question hanging over the offense. [Read more 🡒]