Lions give Packers normally stout offensive line fits in season ending loss
By Paul Bretl
It was in Week 10 against the Dallas Cowboys that we saw the Green Bay Packers offense begin to turn things around, with the play and health of the offensive line being the catalyst behind their success. However, Detroit very much gave this group fits, which then led to the Packers’ offensive struggles.
From the Dallas game to the Minnesota game, the Packers were averaging 26.1 points per contest on offense, which for some context, would have ranked seventh in the NFL this season if done over the course of the entire season. Green Bay also had one of the most efficient offenses by DVOA during that stretch as well.
Through the early and middle portions of the season, the Packers dealt with injuries and a lot of movement on the offensive line. In fact, prior to Week 10, they had nine different configurations up front, and against the Cowboys was the first week that Green Bay had their preferred starting five from start to finish.
Behind a very good offensive line, Aaron Rodgers was one of the least pressured quarterbacks in that stretch of games–and that is always going to be a good thing. The run game was very efficient as well and was a must if the Packers were going to move the ball with any regularity. As we saw against Detroit — along with the Tennessee game — when the passing game has to shoulder the workload, it just wasn’t good enough to do so.
The Lions had been a good but not great team at pressuring the quarterback this season. They entered Sunday’s game ranked 11th in pressure rate and often generated those opportunities by blitzing. Being blitzed wasn’t the issue for Rodgers, however, as has been the case for much of the season, he was very efficient when blitzed by the Lions, completing eight of his ten passes for 68 yards and a touchdown, although he did throw an interception.
The real issues came in the run game, with Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon being held to just 3.7 yards per carry. The Lions very much came into the game trying to stop the run by playing with heavier boxes and daring Green Bay to throw the ball, and they did that, at times overwhelming the offensive line. What I will say is credit to the Packers for sticking with the run throughout the game, having a relatively split run-pass mix, but as already mentioned, without the run game to lean on, this passing game isn’t good enough to carry the offense.
"“We didn’t block movement very well,” said Matt LaFleur after the loss when asked what went wrong in the run game."
Overall, Rodgers was pressured on nearly 39% of his dropbacks, compared to the normal 25% that had occurred over the last seven games. A pressure rate of 39% over 17 games would have ranked as the seventh-highest rate in the NFL this season.
The right side of the Green Bay offensive line, in particular, had the biggest issues. After two drives, Yosh Nijman was replaced at right tackle by Zach Tom, and of the 12 pressures that the Packers offensive line was credited with by PFF, eight came from either Nijman, Tom, or Jon Runyan.
As always, the play of the offensive line wasn’t the sole reason that the Packers lost this game. As I wrote afterwards, many of the same issues that plagued the Packers this season were prevalent on Sunday. But with that said, the overall play of what has been a stout offensive line unit was a big reason behind the offense’s ineffectiveness.