The Green Bay Packers’ run game is in a bad place, and Thursday night against Carolina only made it uglier.
The Panthers came into the game ranked 30th in EPA allowed per rush, fresh off getting run over by Tampa Bay four days earlier. If there was ever a spot for Green Bay’s offensive line to clean things up, this was it.
Carolina had been on the field for 48 carries against the Buccaneers, was playing on the road, and still didn’t offer the Packers any real relief. The ground game stayed stuck in the mud.
Aaron Banks’ return at left guard didn’t change much. On the Packers’ 25 running back carries, Banks was charged with seven errors or lost blocks that either ended the play or knocked it off course, which came out to 28%.
Laken Tomlinson, now on the right side with Banks back, had four errors of his own. Emergency third-string center John Williams was credited with three, including a particularly ugly miss near the goal line.
The tackles were a little steadier. Belton had two errors, while Morgan’s lone mistake came on the Jacobs toss to the left when he missed the linebacker.
Bo Melton also got involved in the mess late, piling up two errors in three plays on the final drive. He missed his crack block twice, then got driven four yards back by a defensive end, which is a lot to ask from a small receiver trying to do dirty work in the run game.
That’s the bigger issue here: the Packers simply did not get enough clean snaps in the run game. Of those 25 carries, only six were ones where nobody blew something up. When someone is off on nearly every run, the offense never gets to stack those easy four-, five-, or six-yard gains that keep drives alive.
It wasn’t all on the line, either. Marshawn Lloyd had a rough one of his own.
This may actually be the best blocked play of the entire game and Lloyd somehow manages to screw it up despite this being exactly where he is supposed to run.
That’s been part of the story all season. Both Lloyd and Josh Jacobs are more than a yard worse than expected per carry.
Lloyd is dead last among qualified rushers by an eye-popping .4 yards per carry. Jacobs’ number would rank second-worst in the NFL if he had enough carries to qualify.
So even when the blocking is there, the Packers still aren’t cashing in. The backs aren’t seeing the hole, aren’t pressing the advantage, or are getting stopped right after contact. That leaves Matt LaFleur trying to solve a problem that keeps shrinking his options.
And there aren’t many left. Kevin Zeitler could help one spot, but that’s only one piece.
Tomlinson has been better than Jacob Monk, Donovan Jennings, and Jager Burton, but he’s still been limited as a run blocker. Banks just turned in one of the worst games of his career in both the run and pass game.
John Williams is surviving, not dominating. Jordan Morgan and Anthony Belton may be the best run blockers in the bunch, but there’s only so much they can cover up.
Add in running backs who are actively making things worse, and the Packers are out of answers.
There’s nowhere left to run. Quite literally.
In Other News...
Packers Fans Will Have Strong Feelings About Xavier McKinneys Latest Punishment
Xavier McKinneys frustration after the Packers loss to the Lions did not fade once the game ended, and now it has carried a financial cost. The Green Bay safety was fined by the NFL after publicly criticizing officials in the wake of the Week 7 defeat, a game that left plenty of Packers players and fans pointing to disputed calls that helped shape the result.
McKinney confirmed the punishment after the teams next game, and he made clear he still stands by what he said on behalf of his teammates. For a Packers locker room already irritated by how that loss unfolded, the fine only adds another layer to a story that has not gone away nearly as quickly as the game itself. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Rookie Just Changed Green Bays Trade Deadline Debate
Dani-Dennis Sutton has quickly become one of the more important developments in Green Bays season, and not just because the rookie pass rusher has earned more snaps. What looked like a position group with questions in the preseason has turned into a strength, with Suttons growing role helping the Packers keep their pass rush on schedule even while Micah Parsons has been sidelined.
The ripple effect is showing up in how the front office may approach the trade deadline. Green Bay entered the year with some outside chatter about adding help on the edge, but the current production from Sutton, Lukas Van Ness and Brenton Cox Jr. has changed the conversation, and the Packers now lead the NFL in sacks. In a market that often tempts teams into chasing reinforcements, Suttons rise has made it a lot harder to justify a big move before Nov. 10. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Win Couldnt Hide A Rushing Problem Getting Harder To Ignore
The Packers left Carolina with a 27-19 win, a sharp showing from Jordan Love and a defense that got to Bryce Young six times. But even in a game that checked the right boxes in the standings, the run game offered little comfort, managing only 66 yards on 26 carries and leaving the offense leaning heavily on other parts of the roster to carry the load.
Matt LaFleur did not sound especially encouraged afterward, and the concern is bigger than one rough afternoon. Green Bay has yet to top 90 rushing yards in any of its first eight games, a stretch that puts the problem in uncomfortable historical company, and the coach made clear the burden now falls on the staff to sort it out before it becomes a defining flaw. [Read more 🡒]