For three weeks, the Green Bay Packers have had an obvious running back problem. After Thursday Night Football, they need to address it.
In the team's 35-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday, to say the Packers couldn't run the ball would be an understatement. The team totaled just 17 rushing yards. Yes, you're reading that right: 17 rushing yards throughout an entire NFL game.
Running backs MarShawn Lloyd and Kaleb Johnson both ran the ball four times and could pretty much do nothing.
Packers' running game is causing massive problems everywhere else
It has, unfortunately, been one of the main focal points across all three games. Against the Minnesota Vikings, the team ran for just 66 yards, and against the New York Jets, they could only muster 63 yards on the ground.
That gives them 146 rushing yards. According to ESPN's Rob Demovsky, it's their lowest total in the opening three games since 1933.
That's good for third-lowest in the entire NFL, although the two teams below them, the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns, are almost sure to pass them when they play on Sunday. The Packers currently rank dead last in the NFL with 48.7 rushing yards per game, have not scored a single rushing touchdown yet, and are averaging only three yards per carry, another mark that's in the lower fourth of the league.
The Packers' running issues are a complex matter on the team, as it's not just one person's fault. At the heart of it, the team's offensive line has played absolutely atrocious football.
The line gave up 15 quick pressures tonight against the Falcons, the second-highest in the league so far, second only to the Packers' 17 quick pressures given up against the Vikings. The running backs, as poor as they've played, simply have no real room to create anything.
While the line has been bad, the backs are not blameless, either. MarShawn Lloyd, who many hyped up as a potentially big asset for the team after Josh Jacobs was placed on the Commissioner's Exempt List, has struggled. To Lloyd's credit, he is essentially playing in his very first real NFL games so far, so some growing pains are to be expected, but he looks completely lost as of now.
Not only is his vision lacking, but he seems too preoccupied looking to gain extra yards on plays than simply taking what's in front of him. Kaleb Johnson, the former Pittsburgh Steelers running back the Packers acquired on roster cutdown day, has shone a bit. However, like Lloyd, his sustained level of play is simply not enough to allow the Packers to do anything on the ground.
While the team's woes can't all be placed at the feet of the running backs, it is connected in ways many might not think.
Since his arrival as the team's head coach, Matt LaFleur has predicated his entire scheme on establishing a run game. He's talked about it endlessly, and even brought it up during Thursday's game despite the struggles.
Getting a ground game going not only makes things easier for the Packers' coach, but also opens up the offense thanks to the confusion it causes the opposing defenses. With no real running game to speak of, opponents can simply focus on overwhelming the Packers' offensive line with blitzes, which they have.
Unfortunately, it's unknown if there's any real fix to this coming. There are no star running backs on the free-agent market, and it'll be some time before teams look to trade players. While guys like Breece Hall could be potential names to look out for in the future, the Packers need answers now, not later.
Until Josh Jacobs comes back, though, it doesn't seem like any will be coming for Green Bay.
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