It was an ugly night of football for the Green Bay Packers on Monday. While the defense did its job against the Eagles, the offense came to a complete halt as the Packers scored a season-low seven points and the second-lowest yard total of the season with 261. Without tight end Tucker Kraft and wideout Matthew Golden to throw to, quarterback Jordan Love struggled all game, and he wasn't helped by Green Bay's anemic rushing attack.
Even though Josh Jacobs scored the only touchdown of the game for the Packers, the team's struggles in moving the ball on the ground were obvious once again. This also highlighted how much the MarShawn Lloyd situation has been hurting the Packers.
MarShawn Lloyd Situation Continues to Hurt the Packers
Lloyd has had a star-crossed start to his NFL career. After appearing in only one game in his rookie campaign, Lloyd has been on the shelf once again, dealing with hamstring concerns. Head coach Matt LaFleur has recently provided an optimistic outlook, but the former USC standout is unlikely to return and make an impact on the Packers' RB room any time soon.
Getting nothing out of your third-round pick in two years must be very frustrating for the Packers' top brass. Lloyd was supposed to be the home-run hitting RB2 behind Jacobs, which would open up running lanes for the star rusher. Emanuel Wilson hasn't been able to do that so far, and the Packers don't give Chris Brooks much of a chance to prove whether he can. This results in Jacobs' runs constantly getting stuffed, as we saw in the crucial fourth down in the fourth quarter.
Some of this is obviously on the Packers' offensive line, but it's safe to say that the coaching staff and the rest of the RB room aren't putting Jacobs in the best position to succeed. As a result, Jacobs, who is fourth in the league in rushing attempts, is averaging only 3.8 yards per carry. In parallel, the Packers are 26th in the NFL in yards per carry, negatively contributing to them being 15th in points and 12th in yards through the first ten games of the season.
The Packers should have identified this problem and solved it at the trade deadline. Expecting Lloyd to return and contribute this season was obviously unrealistic. Running backs are generally easier to acquire mid-season. General manager Brian Gutekunst should have targeted an explosive RB2 option at the deadline to get some pressure off Jacobs.
Unless the Packers' anemic rushing attack miraculously improves over the next few weeks, ignoring this issue could come back to bite them.