With a 24-7 lead for the Bills at halftime, many fans expected a blowout to continue in the 2nd half. That was not the case, as the Packers managed to outscore the Bills 10-3 in the 2nd half. And though they still lost the game, this Packers team showed fans why there is still hope this season can be turned around.
Step 1: Running the football
All season, Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon were not getting the touches that they needed to get. But after watching the Bills game, it is evident that the Packers have realized that running the ball is something they must continue to do to try and turn this season around. Jones put up season highs in the game with 20 carries for 143 yards with an impressive 7.2 yards per carry. And while Dillon was only able to put up 10 rushes, he finished with 54 yards and a 5.4 yard per carry, his 2nd most in a game this season. While it did take 8 weeks, it seems as the Packers have finally realized that their identity on offense is running the football through their star studded RBs and what frankley is a major step in the right direction for turning this season around. The offense is more open when the ball is in the bands of either of the star RBs. It is a trend that must continue if the Packers want to turn this season around and make a push for the playoffs.
Step 2: 2nd half team
The 2nd half team that the Packers had on the field yesterday was oddly different than the one in the past 7 games. While there were still mistakes made, there were a lot of really good things that happened. The defense was able to come out and hold Buffalo to only 3 points, something we haven’t seen them be able to do all season after halftime, yet they were able to do it against the best team in the AFC. Jaire Alexander and Rasual Douglas were also able to force interceptions on back to back drives, giving the Packers chances to get back into this game. The offense looked like they had something to fight for as well. Jones came out and put up 10 rushes for 83 yards after halftime, and Rodgers was able to put up 130 yards and a beautiful passing TD on a broken play to rookie WR Samori Toure. In all, the 2nd half team in this game and the ability to adjust was a critical step in the right direction that this franchise desperately needed to take.
With all that being said, the team did still lose, but this loss was much different than the other ones. There were still many mistakes, like the inability to run the two minute drill, but there was also a lot of good done from this team that will have Packers fans hanging on to hope this season can still be turned around.
