The Matt LaFleur offense, at its best, is supposed to look exactly like this. Under Mike McCarthy, receivers were charged with winning one-on-one battles, often coming back to the ball and removing the possibility of yards after the catch. LaFleur’s offense is intended to balance a heavy run game with play-action passing to generate big plays. On Sunday against Oakland, the big play was on display as the battered and broken Packer receiving corps torched an overmatched Raiders’ secondary.
With Marquez Valdes-Scantling suiting up after a rough-looking knee injury last Monday, and Geronimo Allison fresh out of the concussion protocol, LaFleur called his most successful and creative game of the season. Mike McCarthy rarely used his running backs in the passing game and tended towards outside throws. It’s hard to imagine a LaFleur game without backs running routes as Aaron Jones set the tone early with a 21-yard touchdown pass, and Danny Vitale had a pair of big gains.
Once Jones, Williams, and Vitale established themselves as dual threats, the game was essentially over as the Raiders’ secondary found itself guessing repeatedly. The Packer wideouts didn’t catch many passes, but they made the most of all 11 opportunities, averaging an incredible 24 yards per reception. MVS led the way as he often does, behind two of the biggest plays of the day including an explosive 74-yard catch-and-run touchdown, but seemingly every healthy receiver, from Jake Kumerow, to Allen Lazard, had their moments
Lazard proved that his breakout last week was no fluke with an efficient three catch, 42-yard performance. He didn’t have the huge catch and runs like Valdes-Scantling, but he did excellent work bringing in contested catches and made the toughest play of the game on a poor throw from Rodgers. Lazard has physical tools to rival any player in the NFL, but this level of drive and polish is exciting to see in a youngster.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
Aaron Rodgers played his best game since 2014, beating the Oakland defense every which way. Rodgers had time to throw, but even with a nearly perfect pocket, he still played within the system and made throws on time and in rhythm. He finished the game with the same number of touchdowns as incompletions, and for the first time in his career, a perfect passer rating.
The Two Defenses
It’s no secret that Oakland has a poor defense, especially against the pass, but the Packers did what they were supposed to do with a weaker opponent. They kept the pedal to the floor and ensured there would be no late comeback for the Raiders. If a defense isn’t going to cover Jake Kumerow, then it would be rude for Aaron Rodgers not to take advantage.
That said, the Packer defense is still allowing an alarming number of yards. They may be outstanding in forcing turnovers, but they actually allowed Oakland’s offense to gain more yards than the Packers’ offense, and if not for a key Derek Carr fumble at the Green Bay one-yard line that rolled out of bounds for a turnover, the game may have looked different. Jon Gruden did a nice job scheming open receivers Darren Waller and Keelan Doss, and Waller continued his breakout season with 126 yards and two scores.
While the Green Bay defense is much improved from last year, they are playing a dangerous game, and a more careful team may give them problems. Without safety Darnell Savage the team has been vulnerable deep, and against Kansas City next week, that could be an issue. The Chiefs’ star quarterback Patrick Mahomes will miss the game with an injury, but coach Andy Reid is great at attacking opposing weaknesses. Matt Moore is a reasonably capable backup, and the Chiefs have enough weapons between Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce in the passing game, and a formidable committee of backs led by Shady McCoy, to make any defense nervous.
The Chiefs’ also have a formidable secondary, which may very well slow down the Packer receivers, however they have one of the NFL’s worst run defenses. It will be interesting to see just how hard Matt LaFleur goes after a glaring weakness when he sees it. This game is in Kansas City, and a strong game from Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams would help to keep things quiet. While it’s unfortunate that Mahomes is not playing, we should have an interesting chess match between Reid and LaFleur.
