The Packers are Back

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Photo by Evan Siegle - packers.com

Packers locker room celebration January 7, 2024

The Packers celebrate clinching a playoff berth - January 7, 2024

Green Bay is back in the playoffs after a one-year hiatus and given how everything came together for this team down the stretch, it really is cause for celebration. The Aaron Rodgers run will rightfully be remembered as one of the most successful eras in franchise history, but there’s something more fun, and more joyous about the success of a young team learning how to win for the first time. 

The Rodgers era was also marked by a focus on Rodgers himself, and perhaps one or two of his favorite targets. So much of the recent era was Rodgers and Adams, and the rest. Both Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams are future Hall of Famers, but the current incarnation of the offense is much more of a total team effort. That starts upfront with Love, who has regular get-togethers with all of his receivers, and is willing to find, and trust any and all of them, even in crucial moments. Three weeks ago, Bo Melton was a practice squad afterthought. Against the Bears on Sunday, he accumulated eighty-six total yards, following up his 105-yard performance of the previous week. 

In any given game, Love generally targets at least eight individual Packers, there is no team in football with a more even distribution among their receivers. No Packer receiver eclipsed eight hundred total yards, but five gained over 350. No individual rusher gained one thousand yards, but two gained over six hundred, with Aaron Jones’ 656 leading the way. Green Bay ended the regular season with one of the league’s best overall offenses, and no Pro Bowl selections. They did so not because they lacked stars, but because they have too many of them, and as almost all of them are in their early twenties, the rest of the league hasn’t figured it out yet. They will, and soon.

Dominating the Game

While the final score on Sunday was a relatively narrow 17-9, the Packers absolutely dominated from start to finish, outgaining Chicago by 240 yards, and converting 7-10 of their third downs versus just 3-11 for the Bears. The Packers actually set a record of sorts, becoming the first team since at least the merger to score 17 or fewer points in a game (with one turnover or less) without punting a single time. 

With AJ Dillon missing time with a broken thumb, Aaron Jones assumed has gotten the bulk of the work lately, and he became the first running back this season to gain over one hundred yards on the ground against the Bears, finishing with 111 yards on 22 carries while pitching in 30 receiving yards. Since Jones finally recovered fully from his early season injuries, he has posted three consecutive 100-yard games, and more importantly, kept the Packer offense out of poor down-and-distance situations.

Jordan Love has taken full advantage, and he was in top form against Chicago completing 27 of 32 passes for 312 yards and 2 scores. Aside from a fumble while attempting to scramble for a first down, he was nearly perfect, and easily could have had two additional touchdowns had receivers Romeo Doubs and Bo Melton come down with difficult, but manageable catches. Dontayvion Wicks had one of his best games of the season, catching six balls for 61 yards and a score, but slot receiver Jayden Reed was a big play machine, catching all four of his targets for 112 yards, including receptions of 59 and 32 yards. Reed now holds the Packer rookie record for receptions in a season with 64, having broken Sterling Sharpe’s record. Reed also finished third in yards for a rookie behind only Billy Howton and James Lofton.

Run Out the Clock

While the receivers were outstanding, the tight ends chipped in a solid game as well, with Luke Musgrave returning from a lacerated spleen to make one important 11-yard catch to help Green Bay run out the clock. While Musgrave has been out, fellow rookie Tucker Kraft has been phenomenal as one of the best run blockers on the team, and as Green Bay’s best creator of yards after the catch. Kraft had three receptions for thirty-one yards, two of which converted long third downs. Sam LaPorta of Detroit will likely get all of the accolades as the league’s best rookie tight end, however per the advanced statistic Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA) Created by Football Outsiders, Kraft was the league’s third most valuable tight end on a per-play bases, behind only George Kittle and Isaiah Likely. 

The defense did its job as well, thanks to a solid effort from the Packer rookies on that side of the ball. Sixth round pick Karl Brooks recorded one of Green Bay’s five sacks of Justin Fields and dominated against Chicago’s interior offensive line. Brooks has become an outstanding compliment to Kenny Clark inside, and the Packers now boast one of the best defensive interiors in football. Fellow Rookie Lukas Van Ness also recorded a sack, and more importantly, remained disciplined on his outside rushes, trapping Fields in the pocket. The Packers have had issues all season losing contain on mobile quarterbacks, and Van Ness almost single-handedly prevented Fields from getting away on Sunday. It was a complete team effort in the most important game of the season, and it was a joy to watch unfold. 

The Packers will face an outstanding Dallas team in the first round of the playoffs, led by former Packer coach Mike McCarthy. Dallas and San Francisco were the class of the NFC this year and upsetting them will be no easy task. The Dallas defense is filled with stars, and Jordan Love hasn’t faced opposition this good in his young career. On the offensive side, Dallas is top-heavy, leaning on top receiver CeeDee Lamb for a high percentage of their passing attack. The only other real threat is former Badger Jake Ferguson, and quarterback Dak Prescott has done an excellent job buying time and finding his stars. 

All of that said, Dallas has struggled to score down the stretch, and if the Packers can maintain this level of play, they can do some damage in the playoffs.