The Green Bay Packers' offense has been a source of frustration for Cheeseheads across the country, and not just because of the mounting injuries across seemingly every position. Head coach Matt LaFleur, offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich, and quarterback Jordan Love have all been ridiculed for one reason or another because of the offense's shortcomings.
Some of that ridicule is earned, others are certainly misplaced. But, with Green Bay's offense ranking 19th in rushing yards, 12th in passing yards, and 13th in points scored, Packers fans and critics aren't wrong to point out that something is missing for a team that looked like a championship contender earlier in the season.
While Green Bay's offense is far from bad, time is running out on the season to find what works and ride it into a postseason filled with high hopes.
The offensive adjustment that could define Packers' late-season push
ESPN recently looked at 32 offenses across the league to see what has worked, what hasn't, and what needs fixing down the final seven-game stretch of the season. For Green Bay, Packers reporter Rob Demovsky suggested that the Packers' offensive woes stem from one simple element: the use of play-action.
"They had a play-action rate of 21.5% from Week 7 to Week 10, which was sixth lowest in the NFL in that span. This after a 32.5% play-action rate in the first six weeks of the season, which ranked second highest," Demovsky wrote. "They might be getting back to it, though, because in Sunday's win over the Giants, they used play-action on 34.5% of their dropbacks -- their second-highest rate of the season."
This complements his other two points: the rushing attack has been strong in the red zone, but Jordan Love also needs to get back on track.
The Packers' rushing attack hasn't been a source of volume production aside from Josh Jacobs' 11 touchdowns, second-most in the league behind Offensive Player of the Year front-runner Jonathan Taylor. However, the 4.1 yards per attempt Green Bay carries into Week 12 ranks 23rd in the league. Overall, it's not quite as efficient as the Packers would have hoped.
That can explain the natural conclusion to not utilize play-action quite as much. If the rushing attack is inconsistent, why would the defense fall for play-action, right?
But Love's numbers were much stronger outside of that four-game stretch where Green Bay got away from using play-action, as Demovsky pointed out.
"He was one of the most accurate passers during the first seven games of the season, completing 70.9% of his passes with 13 touchdowns and two interceptions," Demovsky wrote.
Sure, Love didn’t have electric numbers against the Giants' defense; few do. New York has only allowed more than 250 passing yards three times this season. Of course, Love also suffered an injury during the game, which can't be discredited. All the while, injuries beyond Love's are playing a significant factor across the offensive line and among skill players as well.
Still, play-action is a simple aspect that keeps the offense balanced and defenses on their toes, all while opening up easier opportunities for players who might not win the bulk of their one-on-one matchups. No, the Packers aren't dominant in any one key area offensively, but they are more effective when they allow their balance to serve as their strength, as they did early in the season.
Hopefully, the increased use of play-action against New York, which paid off with another victory with 27 points on the scoreboard, something the Packers hadn’t done since Week 7, will spark the trend to continue through the rest of the campaign.