Green Bay Packers v. Arizona: 3 Big Things from Thriller Out West
By Paul Bretl
The Green Bay Packers headed to Arizona as underdogs, facing a very good Cardinals team on a short week, while missing several key players. But the Packers came away with a thrilling win that could have huge playoff implications down the line.
As part of my recap, I have my three big things from the Packers’ performance.
Green Bay Packers establish and find success on the ground
Even if the Green Bay Packers were at full capacity at the receiver position, moving the ball through the air against this Arizona defense was going to be a tall task. The Cardinals entered the game giving up the third-fewest total passing yards per game and the third-fewest explosive pass plays. Not to mention that this defensive front ranks eighth in pressure rate.
Running the ball against a defense that allowed 5.0 yards per carry was always going to be Green Bay’s path to victory–and that’s exactly what they did.
Again, there were a few head-scratching moments, such as the three consecutive passing plays inside the five-yard line following the fumble recovery on the punt — at this point, I just don’t think that Aaron Rodgers and Matt LaFleur can help themselves — but for the most part, Green Bay was able to establish and find success on the ground.
There really was nothing fancy about what they did either–they ran right at the middle of this Arizona defense. Led by a great push by the offensive line, the Packers ran the ball on 34 of their 72 total plays and averaged 4.4 yards per carry. AJ Dillon posted 78 yards on 16 carries and Aaron Jones had 59 yards on 15 carries.
We all knew that running the ball was a must for the Green Bay offense and certainly Arizona did as well. However, they couldn’t really stop the Packers run game as Green Bay bullied their way to a win.