The Green Bay Packers appear to be back on track, and several positive things came out of Sunday’s win over the Minnesota Vikings. One of the biggest developments was the play of their offensive line, which helped protect quarterback Jordan Love and sparked running back Emanuel Wilson with a career game, running for 107 yards and two touchdowns.
For a group that has been criticized for most of the year, seeing the Packers push around the Vikings in the trenches was a welcome sight. One of the biggest changes came at right guard as Anthony Belton shifted inside. Packers offensive line coach Luke Butkus said that Belton had been taking reps at the new position earlier in the week, but nobody knew how it would go until he started rotating with Jordan Morgan on Sunday afternoon.
What appeared to be a battle between the two high draft picks was slanted in Belton’s favor and could change everything for his rookie season and Green Bay’s playoff push.
Anthony Belton May Have Pushed Jordan Morgan Aside in Week 12 Wins vs. Vikings
Morgan has started eight games at right guard for the Packers this season, but hadn’t performed well entering Sunday. Ranking 61st out of 87 qualifying guards with a 54.2 overall grade according to Pro Football Focus. Morgan had split time with Sean Rhyan, who was moved over to center in the wake of Elgton Jenkins’s lower leg fracture two weeks ago.
With Rhyan out of the picture, it seemed to clear the runway for Morgan to take the job. But Belton, who was drafted as a tackle out of North Carolina State in last April’s draft, was moved over to guard and had the best game of his rookie season.
Playing 45 snaps to Morgan’s 21 on Sunday, Belton’s overall grade of 42.5 wasn’t impressive, but he held his own with just one pressure allowed on 18 pass-blocking snaps. The biggest development for Belton was that he didn’t have a penalty on any of his 45 total snaps after committing eight penalties during three preseason games.
Belton had calmed down his penalties in spot duty as the regular season began with just one penalty on 137 total snaps. But if his performance wasn’t an outlier, it could give the Packers’ line a boost moving forward.
Rasheed Walker and Aaron Banks are locked in on the left side of the offensive line and Rhyan will be at center until Jenkins is able to return. Zach Tom is also locked in at right tackle, freeing up Belton to take the job from Morgan at right guard.
Such a development would validate the Packers’ gamble taking Belton in the second round and provide a boost in the trenches as Green Bay surges toward the playoffs.