Green Bay Packers: 3 Key X-Factors in NFC Championship Game
By Paul Bretl
Green Bay Packers Run Game
Again, I try to select individual players but decided to switch it up again. The last time these two teams met, the Green Bay Packers’ run game was almost non-existent. This is partially due to the game getting out of hand so quickly, but outside of two runs from Jamaal Williams and AJ Dillon, the Packers didn’t find much success either.
Green Bay ran the ball a total of only 19 times, with Aaron Jones touching the ball only 10 times in the run game–that is never going to be a recipe for success. Something else that Green Bay needs to avoid this time around is relying so heavily on the outside run.
Nine of the Packers’ 19 rushing attempts were outside of the tackles and went for a total of 20 yards. These Tampa Bay linebackers are just too good and too fast. However, I mentioned that the Packers did find a little success on the ground with Williams breaking a 25 yard run and Dillon a 20 yard run of his own. Similar to how Green Bay attacked the Rams between the tackles with the run game, they’ll have to do the same against this Bucs’ defense.
Now, that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy, but it’s a better option than trying to challenge these linebackers on the edge. For the Matt LaFleur offense to be fully clicking, there needs to be some sort of balance between the running and passing games, or at least the defense has to believe that running the ball is an option. When that element is gone, moving the ball becomes much more difficult, and that will ring especially true against this Tampa defense.
Next. 5 Things that went Wrong vs Bucs. dark
On the flip side, if the Packers are going to run the ball 30 times with great effect — like they did against the Rams — then that coupled with Aaron Rodgers and the passing game, there isn’t a defense out there that can stop this unit.