Doing the heavy lifting
Packers must lean on offense to find ways to win
Every week the Green Bay Packers' offense finds a different way to win.
One week everything goes through Davante Adams. The next week it goes through Aaron Jones. The week after that it it's a combination of those two and a supporting cast that includes tight end Robert Tonyan and receivers Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Allen Lazard.
And, of course, the guy pulling all the strings is quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
It's a good thing coach Matt LaFleur can lean on so many players to put up 30-plus points every week because that's what it's going to take for this team to go all the way.
Given a chance to get well against an injured 5-7 Detroit Lions team Sunday at Ford Field, neither the defense nor the special teams acquitted itself in a 31-24 victory.
There were some outstanding performances on defense and a couple of standout plays on special teams, but if it were not for a four-touchdown, 410yard performance from the offense, the Packers would be lamenting how they had blown a chance to clinch the NFC North and take the lead in the race for home-field advantage.
The game seemed like a grind for the offense even though it averaged 6.4 yards per play, which is just above its season average of 6.3. At times it was, but in reality it was merely the offense doing exactly what it needed to help this team survive a potential upset.
The game was tied at halftime, 14-14, thanks to a late Lions rally that went 80 yards in 11 plays culminating in D'Andre Swift's 3-yard touchdown run. The Lions ran 37 plays to Green Bay's 27, although its lead in time of possession was minor.
Then came the first possession of the third quarter. The Packers received the
kickoff and proceeded to inch down the field, converting four third downs during a 14-play, 75-yard drive that lasted 8 minutes, 49 seconds.
If you would have asked LaFleur what he needed to keep this game from getting away from him, he would have said a long touchdown drive.
“That was a grind,” said Rodgers, who completed five passes of 7 yards or fewer on the drive and finished it off with a 6-yard TD scramble. “I mean, I don't think there was any specific conversation about the drive. I mean, we knew the opportunity we had in front of us to go back up on top.
“And that was the focus. It wasn't a pretty drive. We had a couple of conversions that might not have looked great pre-snap that we made work. When you have that long of a drive, you've got to get in the end zone.”
LaFleur never knows how many stops he's got in his defense, so an opportunity to score a touchdown can never be taken lightly.
After the defense did pull out one of those stops on the next series, LaFleur and Rodgers could have easily tried to do something the Lions were doing everything they could to stop, which is throw the ball down the field. They could have felt they had a series to waste and why not go for a knockout blow?
Rather than risk a three-and-out and a handoff back to quarterback Matthew Stafford and his hot hand, they did what any smart team would do. They went right back to grinding.
This time, LaFleur tried to put the game on the shoulders of his running attack, which to that point had had modest success. He gave the ball to Aaron Jones five times (for 31 yards) and Jamaal Williams three times (for 15 yards).
In between, he completed 3 of 3 passes for 30 yards, the final one a 4yard pass to Tonyan that made it 28-14. The drive traveled 79 yards on 12 plays and last 7:49.
In consecutive touchdown drives, the offense had eaten up 16:38. That was 16:38 in which Stafford, who had 203 yards passing and a touchdown in the first half, was sitting on the bench twiddling his thumbs.
It was 16:38 that the defense wasn't giving up a yard.
“You know we're always trying to hunt for explosives,” LaFleur said. “But they didn't necessarily come to us. It takes a lot of discipline, especially our quarterback being able to consistently take whatever's there.
“And our guys just stuck with it, play after play.”
Staked to a 14-point lead, all that was left was for the defense to put a hurting on the Lions and take this one home. But as anyone who has watched the Packers this season knows, that just isn't going to happen.
What did happen was the Lions went on a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that lasted 5:31. Included in that drive were five Packers penalties, four of which resulted in automatic first downs. Three of the penalties were holding calls on safety Adrian Amos, linebacker Christian Kirksey and cornerback Kevin King.
The only thing the defense accomplished on that drive was knocking Stafford out of the game. Nose tackle Kenny Clark, who was one of the defensive players who had an outstanding game, drilled Stafford at the end of a 6-yard scramble and injured his ribs.
LaFleur didn't even know Stafford was being treated for the injury and throwing on the sideline to see if he could make it back when he decided to have kicker Mason Crosby attempt a 57yard field goal on the Packers' next possession.
LaFleur said he had a gut feeling and complete confidence in Crosby to hit the field goal, but you have to think the alternative of punting and letting the Lions have the ball back against his defense presented just as much risk.
Maybe punter JK Scott shanks one or puts in into the end zone, giving the Lions the ball at the 25.
Who's to say the defense is going to be any better off with the ball at the Detroit 25 than at the Detroit 47 (where it would have gotten the ball if Crosby missed).
As it was, the kick coverage gave up a 71-yard return after Crosby nailed the field goal, giving the Lions the ball at the 33. It was validation that LaFleur read the situation perfectly, knowing he needed to score points more than he needed to play a field position game.
“That's a lot of faith and belief in Mason's abilities,” LaFleur said. “He knows himself, he's been doing it a long time, and I'm just glad that he made us right.” Indeed, he did.
The defense did keep the Staffordless Lions from getting into the end zone, but Matt Prater's 32-yard field goal made it a 7-point game with 1:52 to go.
It was up to the special teams to handle an onside kick. It was nearly a disaster, but the ball just barely bounced out of bounds before the Lions could recover it and the game was back in the hands of the offense, which means the victory was safe.
One first down and the Packers went to celebrate another victory for the offense.