It is not a secret that during the past two weeks, and various times throughout this season, the Green Bay Packers offense has struggled to score points.
That is not for a lack of being able to move the ball though, as the Packers rank 12th in the NFL in total yards per game at 349.3. The stagnant offense has come in the way of not being able to score the ball.
There have been moments this season where Jordan Love and the offense has been surgical and looked like the best offense in the NFL, such as the games against the Lions, Steelers and Cowboys. On the contrary, there have been just as many stinkers, such as the games against the Browns, Panthers and Eagles.
The bad performances from the offense in games against the Browns, Panthers and Eagles get magnified and become even more frustrating for fans and players alike, as the defensive unit looks like the best in the NFL.
Green Bay has allowed opponents to score more than 20 points three times. In those three games, the Packers are 2-0-1. On the flip side, the defense has held the other six opponents to fewer than 19 points. In those six games, Green Bay is 3-3. That includes Green Bay’s last two opponents (Carolina and Philadelphia) scoring a combined 26 points, with the Packers losing both of those games.
At this point of the season, it is fair to say that the offense is not holding up its side of the deal. If the defense is going to hold teams to fewer than 20 points, one would think that an offense led by Matt LaFleur, Love and Josh Jacobs would be able to do its part to win the game. That has not been the case. So what is the fix?
According to Love, the offense needs to rediscover the consistency it established in the big wins against Detroit and Pittsburgh.
“We are not getting any consistency right now,” said Love. “We are not getting into a rhythm. We will have a good play here, and then we will have a negative play. It’s a lot of things; whether it is a turnover, penalty, drop, sack, you know, it is a lot of things. It is just finding ways to keep the positive plays going and avoid these negative plays that we are getting, but I think we are just shooting ourselves in the foot right now with getting in a funk of having some good plays and not building off of them properly.”
That brings about another question: How can this team avoid shooting itself in the foot?
Perhaps it comes down to players needing to step up. With Tucker Kraft out, Luke Musgrave has to become a reliable go-to target in this passing attack. With an offense that is so predicated on running the ball, using that strong run game should, in theory, open the intermediate passing attack, where Musgrave can work the middle of the field and the seam. That, in turn, should be able to open the sidelines where Christian Watson and Dontayvion Wicks can be successful, like Green Bay has shown in the past.
The issue with that is that the offensive line has played mediocre at best this season. Elgton Jenkins suffered an ankle injury against the Eagles that LaFleur described as not sounding promising.
That means that, like in the receiving game, guys are going to have to step up. In what was a bad game for almost everyone, Sean Rhyan stepped in for Jenkins at center and played well. With the lack of quality production from players like Aaron Banks and Jordan Morgan, seeing Rhyan come in and play quality snaps is a silver lining for Jenkins’ injury.
“Sean brings a great energy,” said Love. “Obviously he is a guy who has played a lot of ball, so it is tough losing Elgton, and we will see the status on him, but I think Sean did a great job coming in, and he is guy who stays ready for whatever opportunity it is — whether it is guard or center. So he did a good job tonight. We gotta keep building on it.”
The issue for Green Bay is not necessarily moving the ball, but it’s getting the ball into the end zone. It is easy to blame LaFleur for play-calling, which is partly true, but having a consistent offensive line and receiving game, on top of having a $55 million quarterback not playing at his best, there are more problems than just the coach.
Players like Musgrave and Rhyan need to and have stepped up, but as a collective team, there needs to be a higher sense of urgency. The thought of “I am going to make that play” is necessary if the Packers are going to be successful through this period of inconsistency and injury.
