Green Bay Packers: 5 Stats You Need to Know

The Green Bay Packers are 8-2 but to get a better understanding of this team, these are five stats that you need to know.

Of course with the Green Bay Packers being 8-2, the second seed in the NFC, and leading their own division, it’s easy to see that they are having a very good season up to this point. However, with all of the information and stats available now-a-days, that data can be very useful in getting a better understanding of what a team’s strengths and weaknesses are, as well as their overall performance.

With that said, while all of that information is great, there is certainly a lot of it. So I picked my top five stats that I feel gives an accurate representation of why this Packers team is succeeding, while also showing areas that they need to improve upon moving forward. If you hadn’t watched a Packers’ game all season, these five stats would give you a good idea of who they are.

Rushing Yards Allowed per Game

Through 10 weeks it is pretty clear that one of the weaker aspects of this Green Bay Packers team is their run defense. Currently they are giving up an average of 126.9 rushing yards per game, which ranks 25th in the NFL. In six of their 10 games, they’ve allowed at least 100 rushing yards and in five of those games, the opposing team has totaled over 140 on the ground.

Hopefully coming off of their bye week and a self-scout, Mike Pettine was able to find a few solutions to this problem because when they are allowing these chunk runs, it’s taking time off the clock and keeping the ball away from the Green Bay offense.

Red Zone Touchdown Percentage

As we just discussed, this Packer defense has a tendency to give up some big plays on the ground and also through the air, as they’ve allowed the second most passes this season of 40 yards or more. However, despite the defense allowing opposing teams to move the ball with ease at times, when they get to the red zone, they are coming up with some big stops.

This season when the opponent is in the red zone, the Green Bay Packers are allowing them to score a touchdown just 48.5 percent of the time, which is the seventh best in all of football. While we obviously would like to see them get a stop prior to that point, as we saw during the Detroit game, field goals aren’t enough to beat this Packers team. Through 10 games they are truly living by the “bend but don’t break” mantra.

Run/Pass Percentage

The Green Bay Packers struggled in 2018 for a myriad of reasons but one of the more prominent contributors was that they were too pass heavy. This made them one-dimensional, predictable, and Aaron Rodgers had to be Super Man in order for them to win. In fact, they led the NFL in passing percentage, throwing the ball 67.5 percent of the time.

However under Matt LaFleur, things have been much different in that regard. This season the Packers are throwing the ball just 60.3 percent of the time which ranks as the 18th most in the NFL. This has allowed Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams to really shine and has taken some of the burden off of Rodgers.

Punt Return Yardage

The Green Bay Packers’ special teams unit has a new coach, a number of new players, yet we are seeing the same old results. This has been an issue for a number of years now, and instead of the punt return game being a weapon, it is a cause for concern. And this season in particular, it has been incredibly bad.  Though 10 weeks, the Packers punt returners have totaled -8 yards. Yes, you read that right, -8 yards.

A big contributor to these problems has been their inability to find a consistent return man. It was Trevor Davis’ job before he was traded, then Darrius Shepherd took over, and now it belongs to Tremon Smith. Another factor is that special teams coach, Shawn Mennenga, recently mentioned that he has been playing very conservatively and hasn’t double-teamed the gunners, which doesn’t give the returner much of a chance.

For the Green Bay Packers to be true Super Bowl contenders, this has to improve over the final six games of the season and into the playoffs.

Sacks Allowed

Last season, Green Bay gave up 53 sacks which was tied for the third most in the NFL and at a rate of nearly eight percent. While some of those sacks fell on Aaron Rodgers holding the ball too long, it was also due to both guard positions really struggling, especially Byron Bell who was a revolving door on the right side.

However in 2019, the Packers have given up just 23 sacks up to this point which is the 13th fewest in the NFL and their adjusted sack rate has dropped from eight percent down to six. For some context, through 10 games last season, Green Bay had given up 29 sacks. Although this isn’t the only factor behind the success of the offense and Rodgers this year, the name of the game will always be keeping Rodgers upright, and they are doing a much better job of that this season.