The Green Bay Packers just cannot get offenses off the field when they want to run the football.
In a game the Green Bay Packers want to forget, their biggest weakness was exposed in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens that ended their hopes of an NFC North title.
A 41-24 loss to the Ravens officially gave the Chicago Bears their first divisional title, but it also gave the rest of the NFC the blueprint on how to attack the current state of Green Bay’s defense. The Ravens rushed for 308 yards and four scores as a team, averaging an absurd 5.9 yards per carry as a team despite not having their starting quarterback, Lamar Jackson.
The defense got off to a brutal start, allowing 65 rushing yards on 10 carries on the opening drive, allowing Derrick Henry and company to gash them all the way down the field for an almost effortless touchdown to take an early 7-0 lead. The drive took 13 plays and burned a full 8:05 of the clock.
Green Bay’s defense didn’t have any answers on the ensuing drive. The Ravens marched down once again, running another 13-play drive for 7:31 and another touchdown. Baltimore had 108 rushing yards and 5.7 yards per carry before the Packers’ offense even saw the ball a second time.
Even when it looked like the Packers might have life heading into halftime following a touchdown run from Malik Willis, the defense came back out and allowed another TD-scoring drive to head into the locker room down 27-14.
At halftime, the Packers had allowed 175 rushing yards, a hat trick of touchdowns from Derrick Henry, 6.0 yards per rushing attempt, and had allowed 23:46 in time of possession over the first 30 minutes.
Even when things started to look better in the second half, the defense ran out of gas again in the game-sealing fourth-quarter drive. On third down with 4:30 remaining, Henry looked dead to rights before carrying multiple defenders to 4th and inches as Carrington Valentine stood and watched. The ensuing play, Karl Brooks jumped offside on a hurry-up sneak look with Mark Andrews under center to all but ice the game.
Henry sealed the game with his fourth touchdown of the day, giving him one of the best performances of his prestigious career. He finished the game with 36 carries for 216 yards and four scores, asserting his will on the game at almost every opportunity.
Baltimore’s gameplan will likely be the blueprint for every potential opponent the Packers will face in the postseason. Green Bay’s defensive front has been completely decimated with season-ending injuries to Micah Parsons and Devonte Wyatt, while starting EDGE Rashan Gary has taken a massive step backwards with constant stamina issues and struggles to make splash plays.
The defensive line is the main concern, however. With Wyatt out, the DL rotation is a hodgepodge of fringe starters and practice squad players, and while the likes of Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks have flashed at times, the end of the rotation features unknown names and a concerning lack of depth.
The Packers ranked 13th in defensive DVOA against the run heading into this week. Saturday night’s performance is bound to bring that down significantly.
Category: General Sports
