By the Numbers: Comparing the Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Ravens

Eddie Lacy

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Running Backs

To much surprise, the Packers currently have the fifth-ranked rushing attack in the NFL. They average 141 yards per game on the ground and are second in rushing average at 5.3 yards per carry. This in large part has been due to James Starks‘ 5.5 rushing average, but the Packers two rookie halfbacks who will play this week also have pretty good averages. Eddie Lacy‘s 3.9 average and Jonathan Franklin’s 6.5 average trump the averages of the Ravens’ top two backs. Both Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce average 2.9 yards per carry this season.

Baltimore’s running game has struggled this season. Their offense averages 77.8 yards per game on the ground, which ranks them 26th in the league, and they’re 31st in team rushing average at 2.8 yards per carry. The Ravens have lacked explosion in the running game with only two runs this season going over 20 yards. This is half as many as the Packers have had. The Ravens also only have 19 runs for first down this season, which is ten less than Green Bay.

The Packers clearly have the advantage in the running game going into Sunday. Who would have thought that looking at the schedule before the season began?