Photo by Evan Siegle - packers.com
Aaron Jones - Packers-Bills Oct. 30, 2022
Aaron Jones vs. the Buffalo Bills, Oct. 30, 2022
The Green Bay Packers now have several difficult decisions to make before Tuesday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline with their playoff hopes on now on life support. A small infusion of outside talent might put them back in contention for the final wild card spot, currently held by the San Francisco 49ers, but it would hardly be a certainty. The Packers have put themselves in this position by losing their battles with the NFC East. The Giants, who own a three-game lead over Green Bay, plus the tiebreaker are currently tied with the Cowboys for second in the division at 6-2 behind the undefeated Eagles. The Commanders are also ahead of the Packers at 4-4, tied, and importantly also hold the tiebreaker over Green Bay. Catching any of them will be extremely difficult.
If the Packers do manage to beat the lowly Lions next week, the following week’s game against the Cowboys will easily be their most important of the season as winning would bring them in the neighborhood of the wild card teams and provide them a tiebreaker over at least one contender. The final Wild Card spot is currently held by the 4-4 49ers, which is currently the only playoff spot realistically within reach, but even that is complicated by the presence of Washington. It’s not enough to simply match the 49ers. FiveThirtyEight.com gives the Packers just a 17% chance to make the playoffs at this point, which honestly seems high.
It’s unfortunate, because Green Bay played quite a bit better against Buffalo in their 27-17 loss on Sunday, and a similar effort against any of the NFC East teams likely would have given them a victory. Buffalo was simply too good, as quarterback Josh Allen used his arm and his legs to slice through the Packer defense, while Buffalo’s elite defense kept the Packers’ offense in check. The Packers did manage to accomplish one feat that no other team had against Buffalo, as Aaron Jones gashed them for 143 yards on 20 carries. AJ Dillon chipped in an efficient 54 yards on 10 carries for his best performance of the season, all against the leagues’ best run defense.
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Longest Touchdown
Unfortunately, the Packers just couldn’t pass well enough, and were forced to continue running late into the game despite trailing by 17 points at half time. The passing game did manage to generate some late excitement when rookie 7th-round receiver Samori Toure hauled in his first career touchdown pass. That play is the Packers’ longest touchdown of the season, and Touré ran a crisp double move to make it happen. The rookie has been the talk of practice over the last two weeks, and he should see more time going forward, even when some of the injured receivers return.
Both he and Romeo Doubs, who added a 19-yard score of his own, were effective, and the passing offense did not suffer when both Sammy Watkins and Christian Watson were once again lost to injury. Doubs in particular benefitted from a more vertical attack, similar to how he was used at Nevada. The Packers have lacked a vertical presence all season, and perhaps this game can be a spark for the passing game.
Unfortunately, an 0-2 effort on fourth down by the offense spoiled what could have been a true breakout performance, and the run defense’s complete failure ensured there would be no late rally. Joe Barry’s defense wasn’t terrible, and forced two interceptions from Josh Allen, but as always, the pass defense was just leaky enough to put the Packers behind, and the run defense, strained by the loss of linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, and the ejection of linebacker Quay Walker, completely folded.
In Zone
It was a typical game for the Packer defense, in which Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, and JJ Enagbare created consistent pressure, which Josh Allen was generally able to escape. Jaire Alexander worked mostly in zone, and almost never against Stefon Diggs, who tallied 108 yards and a touchdown, but against a running threat like Josh Allen, it’s more difficult to play man-to-man. Still, the pass defense held Allen to just 13 completions (on 25 attempts ) for 218 yards, two scores and two interceptions, which is quite good. Against Buffalo, that should be enough to win. As always for the 2022 Packers, it was not.
Instead, the Packers need to figure out if they should be buyers or sellers at this deadline. It’s unlikely that running back Aaron Jones or receiver Allen Lazard will be returning, and Elgton Jenkins is likely to want more money than is prudent given his recent injuries. Nothing should be off the table for the Packers. They’re in a deep hole, and it may be time to face reality, and start a rebuild.
