Green Bay Packers: Expect a Heavy Dose of RB Cam Akers

The Green Bay Packers should be ready for a heavy dose of running back Cam Akers this Saturday.

We know that the Green Bay Packers will face the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round of the NFC playoffs, but what we don’t know for sure is who is going to be under center for the Rams. John Wolford left Saturday’s game with what Sean McVay called a “stinger,” and Jared Goff still isn’t that far removed from thumb surgery.

But regardless of who the starting quarterback is — and I expect it to be Goff — the Packers’ defense needs to be prepared for a heavy dose of running back Cam Akers.

The rookie out of Florida State has really become the focal point of this Rams’ offense since Week 13. Over the last five games, which includes the Wildcard Round, Akers has had 20 or more carries in four of those games, including two games with 28 and 29 carries, respectively.

In addition to being a major factor in the ground game, he’s also totaled 10 receptions on 13 targets for 141 receiving yards during that same span.

In Week 13, Akers posted a career-high 171 rushing yards on 5.9 yards per carry against New England when he became the full-time starter. Then last week in the Wildcard Round against Seattle with Wolford getting the start and Goff limited after surgery, the offense was built around Akers, who had another big performance.

When it was all said and done, Akers totaled 131 rushing yards on 28 carries with a touchdown and added on another 45 yards through the air. In fact, Akers became the first Rams’ rookie to rush for over 100 yards in a playoff game, and his 176 total yards were the second-most by a rookie in a single game during the Super Bowl era.

When a running back is having success, it’s easy to give him the ball. However, even when Akers has struggled to get anything going on the ground, McVay and the Rams’ offense has shown that they will continue to feed him.

In Weeks 15 and 17 — he didn’t play in Week 16 — Akers totaled only 97 rushing yards on 2.7 yards per carry, but still had 36 rushing attempts over the two games despite the tough sledding. This includes a game against Arizona where Akers averaged just 1.62 yards per rush with 21 attempts.

This week, in terms of usage, the Green Bay Packers should expect much of the same from the Rams. With Wolford’s inexperience and Goff’s thumb injury coupled with the cold, Cam Akers and the run game are going to be featured heavily once again.

Now, typically that is a statement that is going strike fear within many Packers fans, but to their credit, Green Bay’s run defense has actually been playing well since they faced Indianapolis earlier in the season.

The Colts’ running backs were held to only 3.4 yards per carry, while the Philadelphia and Detroit running backs were limited to under 3.5 yards per carry as well.

Mike Davis of the Panthers and Derrick Henry of the Titans were both held in check. And in Week 17, Chicago’s David Montgomery was limited to just 3.1 yards per carry.

There are always going to be several keys to victory, and one of them this week for the Green Bay Packers is limiting Cam Akers. And as they’ve done all season, the offense can provide some help in this area by putting up points early. But even then, I wouldn’t expect McVay to totally abandon the run game.

Regardless of who is under center or how many yards Akers is picking up, as we’ve seen over the last six weeks, the Rams are pretty much going to give him the ball no matter what.