Photo by Evan Siegle - packers.com
Carrington Valentine - Packers vs Rams Nov. 5, 2023
Cornerback Carrington Valentine - Packers-Rams at Lambeau, November 11, 2023
The Rams came in to Lambeau field missing starting quarterback Matthew Stafford, but they were still loaded on offense at the other skill positions. A strong rushing attack, and receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua still made Los Angeles a dangerous team, but Green Bay was up to the task.
Joe Barry’s defense held backup Brett Rypien to just 130 yards passing, while also forcing an incredible tip drill interception from Jaire Alexander to rookie Anthony Johnson. More importantly, the Packers played stout run defense for the first time this season, holding Royce Freeman and Darrell Henderson to just 51 yards on 22 carries. Much of the credit on defense should go to Isaiah McDuffie (7 tackles, 2 TFL), who was outstanding as a run stopper, and in coverage. Starting linebacker Quay Walker missed the game with an injury, but if anything, McDuffie was an improvement.
The other young standout in this game was corner Carrington Valentine, who was forced to step up after the midweek trade of Rasul Douglas to the Buffalo Bills. Valentine was a preseason star, but this was his first extended game action, and his aggressive style played well against Kupp and Nacua, holding to the duo to no catches on seven targets, while also drawing a pass interference penalty. He was sensational, and his outstanding performance took some pressure off backup safeties Jonathan Owens, who forced a fumble, and Johnson.
Run-Focused Game
With the defense dominating, the offense played a conservative, run-focused game, which was enough to get the job done. While the Packers continued lack of production in the first half is worrying, they actually moved the ball fairly well on the ground on Sunday but had two drives stopped by incorrect offsides calls on fourth and short situations. More importantly, the offense made a few subtle changes to personnel and scheme that may serve them well in the future.
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The first was a significant uptick in the use of Dontayvion Wicks. Wicks did have an unfortunate fumble when trying to stretch for a first down, but aside from that mistake, Wicks has been the best receiver on the Packers, on a per-play basis, for the entire season. Advanced metrics at ESPN analytics rank him as the best route runner on the team, and one of the only players on the team that can create separation reliably. Wicks has been fighting an uphill battle for playing time as a fifth-round pick, but he’s outperformed both Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs when targeted.
The second is major change involves Luke Musgrave (three catches, fifty-one yards, one touchdown). In college, Musgrave was a speedy, field stretching tight end who almost never broke a tackle. Despite a profile similar to Kansas City Chief Travis Kelce, the Packers have used Musgrave on short throws to the flat, relying on him to gain extra yardage by breaking tackles. That all changed on Sunday as LaFleur finally used Musgrave up the seam, and on deep crossers for big plays. It worked wonders for the second half offense, and Musgrave not only had his best game of the year, but also opened throws on the outside to Watson, Doubs, and Wicks.
Jordan Love struggles early, and he is still routinely underthrowing his deep ball, but he was outstanding in the second half, going 12 of 13 for 160 yards and a touchdown. He completed three passes of twenty yards or more and looked far more comfortable than in the scripted portion of the first half. Love has been much better in the second half all season, and Matt LaFleur should consider giving his signal caller more leeway earlier in games. Love is at his best when he has more freedom to check into passing plays.
The degree of difficulty will increase significantly next week as the Packers face the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers have an uneven offense behind second year starter Kenny Pickett, and in many ways, they resemble the Packers, but on defense, there are few teams better. The Steelers are currently 5-3 despite being outscored by thirty points on the season, almost entirely because of the elite play of linebackers Alex Highsmith, and former Badger TJ Watt. If the Packer offense really has improved, they will certainly have a chance to prove it.
