A month into the NFL season, it'd be an understatement to say that there have been several aspects of the game that have... not gone the Green Bay Packers' way.
Last in penalties, drops, pass-block win rate, the list goes on and on. But something that I, and everyone else, did not see coming was the complete failure of Green Bay's rushing attack.
For a team that was in the top five of rushing rate last season and has made the moves to acquire more running backs (MarShawn Lloyd and Kaleb Johnson) and offensive linemen (Anthony Belton, Jager Burton, and Aaron Banks), the Packers finding themselves in the position of having zero viable rushing threat is a major hindrance to who they want to be as a football team.
Last season, Green Bay hammered opponents on the ground. Without the ability to project strength as a rushing team and being unable to protect Jordan Love as a passer, the Packers' offense is at a standstill.
Last weekend against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Packers finally managed to gain some yardage. As a team, they totaled 86 yards and a 3.4 yards-per-carry average. That's nothing to write home about, but compared to the preceding three weeks (66 yards, 63 yards, 17 yards), it's an improvement. Right?
Explosive plays masked the Packers' rushing problem
Not quite. Let's look a little closer.
Let's take Chris Brooks first. On the team's first scoring drive of the afternoon, Brooks takes a rush 27 yards down the field: the fourth explosive run of the year. Brooks ends the day with a 7.5 yards-per-carry average. Kaleb Johnson also has an explosive run on a Packers' scoring drive, this time for 31 yards. He ends the day with a 5.3-yard average.
Take those two explosive runs off the table for just a second. Brooks is left with a day that consists of three carries for three yards, and Johnson has seven carries for 11 yards.
All of a sudden, their numbers look a lot more similar to MarShawn Lloyd's, who had seven carries for 13 yards and no explosives. The two fumbles that this group also committed are just the cherry on top of a bad rushing day.
I'm not saying the explosives aren't important. In fact, you could argue that generating explosive runs is the most important thing that a running back can possibly do. You don't have to look much further than those two runs coming on scoring drives to realize that.
Getting more out of the running backs will lift the entire Packers offense
But as we just talked about, Matt LaFleur wants to pound the ball a lot. Last season, he did it to a frustrating degree. So, for these running backs to be putting up such inconsistent play around the explosives is a clear detriment to what Green Bay is used to doing on offense, and it's a huge reason why they have their wheels stuck in the mud.
The offensive line needs to do its part to open holes for the running backs, but it's clear now that Green Bay doesn't have backs who can create those opportunities for themselves. As the Packers continue to reinvent themselves around historically bad offensive line play, they won't be able to turn to the rushing attack for any help.
If the Packers want to dig themselves out of this offensive hole, the running backs need to start making good on their upside. Both Lloyd and Johnson were thought by some to be the best running backs in their particular draft classes, and while they are admittedly inexperienced, they've so far fallen well short of expectations.
If Green Bay can start to get a little something out of these guys, it's going to go a long way toward sustaining offensive success. With the rival Chicago Bears coming into town this week, there's no better time than now.
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