Packers ride run game and some big plays to victory over Cowboys

Following the Green Bay Packers’ win over the Dallas Cowboys, head coach Matt LaFleur said that all week the team knew their path to victory was going to be on the backs of Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon.

The Cowboys entered Sunday’s game with the third-best scoring defense in football and have been the best at getting after the quarterback in terms of pressures and sacks this season. LaFleur would also make sure to compliment the depth of the Dallas defensive front following the game as well.

However, where this stout defense has run into trouble has been in defending the run. Dallas entered Week 10, allowing 4.7 yards per rush and ranking nearly last — 29th — in ESPN’s run-stop win rate metric.

While that aggressive, get to the quarterback as quickly as possible mentality has Dallas being the most productive pass rush unit in the NFL, it does leave them susceptible to the run. When defenders are flying that hard upfield with only one thing in mind, edges on the outside aren’t being set, and it creates running lanes for the backs between the tackles.

So given the opponent, coupled with the up-and-down play that the Packers offensive line has experienced this year and the question marks at receiver, becoming pass-happy, or even worse, one-dimensional against the Cowboys’ defensive front was never going to be a recipe for success. Instead, the Packers leaned very heavily on the run game.

Aaron Jones led the way, carrying the ball 24 times and totaling 138 yards. AJ Dillon, meanwhile, had 13 carries for 65 yards. As a team, the Packers averaged 5.3 yards per rush attempt. Even when down by two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and with Dallas crowding the line of scrimmage, Green Bay stuck by their gameplan–something that hasn’t always happened in the past.

"“We felt like we had to stay with the run and mix in some of our shot plays in order to give us the best chance to win the game,” said Matt LaFleur."

According to ESPN Stats and Info, the Packers ran the ball on 62% of their plays, the highest rate of Aaron Rodgers’ career. Rodgers would throw the ball just 20 times, and on 52% of his dropbacks, the Packers ran play-action, building off their success on the ground.

The run game, along with play-action, then helped set up many of the Packers’ big passing plays. Both in part due to the Packers’ effectiveness on the ground along with Dallas also being aggressive and trying to challenge the Green Bay receivers, the Cowboys really tried to shrink the field by crowding the line of scrimmage and, at times, even daring Rodgers to throw the ball with their cover-one looks.

This isn’t the first time the Packers have seen this from a defense, in fact, the Lions did a lot of this a week ago. But in partnership with a good running game and Christian Watson’s speed, Green Bay was able to exploit Dallas’ efforts to slow the run game and connected on several downfield attempts–something that has been a rarity at times this season.

Watson finished the game with 58 and 39-yard touchdown receptions. Allen Lazard had a 36-yard catch in overtime — which didn’t travel 20-yards in the air but was set up by the run game — that led to the game-winning field goal, while Sammy Watkins had a 23-yard gain of his own on a catch down the sideline.

For the time being, it appears that the Packers may have saved their season, and just as importantly, they may have found a formula for success on offense moving forward.

"“I think we can run the football pretty well,” said Rodgers after the game. “And you have to in wintertime. With the question marks in protection at times and the health of our receivers, I feel like this is definitely the formula that can work for us. We still have to throw it downfield, and until we get a heavy dose of one-high, we are still going to have to run the football and use play-action and take some shots downfield.”"

Aaron Jones and the run game was the catalyst behind the Packers’ success against one of the NFL’s top defenses. Green Bay took advantage of a weak point, and that helped open up the passing game for Rodgers and his receivers. The end result was 31 points against a top NFL defense.

Now, will they stick with this recipe?