What is this unfamiliar feeling? An early Christmas present? A hallucination? No, it is indeed true that the Green Bay Packers won a football game this past weekend. The Packers beat the Bears at Chicago to renew Aaron Rodgers ownership of their franchise with a score of 28-19. The highlight to be discussed today is on the Packers offense, which looked like a cohesive unit for the first time in a while. The main reason for this success was a perfectly executed ground and air attack, which is something fans have been asking for all season. Aaron Rodgers stat line on the day included 182 passing yards and a passing touchdown, with AJ Dillon running the day with 93 yards and a touchdown on the ground. It was by no means painful to watch football when the Packers held possession, even if it was against an injured Bears secondary. There are several factors that played a part in why I believe that, going forward, this offense is about to put the league on notice.
The Game Plan
This is one of the better games Lafleur has coached this season. With a near perfect balance of 31 pass attempts to 32 rushing attempts, there is certainly no doubt that this offense needs to utilize all of their weapons in order to succeed. Rodgers appeared to be a solid game manager this week, being able to deliver on key plays to keep momentum, including the passing touchdown he threw to rookie stud Christian Watson right before half time. From there, all the running game had to do was its job, run clock and pick up crucial short yardage. AJ Dillon was the perfect candidate for both. With starting running back Aaron Jones having an injury scare midway into the game, AJ Dillon took the majority snap count and was able to average 5.2 yards per carry on 18 carries, likely one of his best stat lines for the season. Most importantly for Lafleur’s contribution however, was his ability to get creative and use the personnel he had to his advantage. This was displayed in the use of identical personnel packages several times in a possession leading to a Christian Watson rushing touchdown of 46 yards because of deception behind the line of scrimmage. Lafleur knew Watson had the speed to get it done, and trusted him to make a play which paid off big time.
The Gang’s All Here
It is by no means a secret that the Packers have been hit with the injury bug pretty hard this season. I personally believe it is ridiculous that all star Left Tackle Davud Bakhtiari is once again out for minor surgeries, however it has become a trend for veterans to get their paychecks and ride out their last season. Nonetheless, players such as Romeo Doubs will be back in full swing soon enough, and with his athleticism paired with Christian Watson’s freakish build and speed, the football field is staged to by a minefield for opposing defenses. I have written an article already about how all of the rookie wideouts should be starters, however with production like this it becomes difficult not to repeat the sentiment. Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson have combined for 715 receiving yards and 12 total touchdowns, and that is with both now missing several games already this season. That type of production is nothing to scoff at, and this duo is assuredly going to shine in the weeks to come. Who knows, they might even be the reason for a late playoff push.
Unfortunately Darius Slayton wipes