Without Bakhtiari, Top Pass Rushes Stand in Way of Packers’ Path to Super Bowl

The Green Bay Packers are No. 1 in the NFL in scoring due in large part to their protection of Aaron Rodgers.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Can the Green Bay Packers’ Super Bowl candidacy survive without left tackle David Bakhtiari? Can they win their first NFL championship in a decade with Elgton Jenkins or Billy Turner at left tackle?

Maybe, but there’s a reason why the Packers made Bakhtiari the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history in November. Simply put, there are about 94 million reasons why the Packers are a better team with Bakhtiari protecting Aaron Rodgers’ blind side. If Bakhtiari were deemed easily replaced, they would have let him walk in free agency this coming offseason.

“I don’t know if there’s a tackle in this league playing better than him right now. He’s clicking on all cylinders and playing really high-level football,” offensive line coach Adam Stenavich said recently.

As LaFleur said on Friday, the “show will go on” without Bakhtiari, starting on Sunday at the Chicago Bears. When Bakhtiari was out with a broken rib at midseason, Billy Turner filled in admirably with one sack and four total pressures allowed against Houston, Minnesota and San Francisco, according to Pro Football Focus. The other option would be Pro Bowler Elgton Jenkins, who has played well whatever the position this season.

“We’re very fortunate to have a lot of depth at that position and the versatility of guys that can play multiple spots,” LaFleur said. “So, we’ll lean on that, we’ll rally around each other and we’re going to make the best of it.”

The No. 1 seed and the first-round bye that would come with a victory over the Bears would be a huge prize under any circumstances but that’s especially true now. With a huge chink in the armor of the NFL’s top-ranked scoring offense, the bye would get the Packers one-third of the way to the Super Bowl without having to get off the couch.

The protection of Rodgers has been a huge reason for the team’s offensive success. Green Bay finished fourth in sack percentage allowed (3.98 percent) – far better than in Year 1 under LaFleur (6.28 percent) and the final year under Mike McCarthy (8.28 percent).

Throughout the season, Rodgers has credited the line but also the scheme. There’s been a variety of one-, three-, five- and seven-step drops, not to mention bootlegs to the left and right. LaFleur will have to lean on the scheme more than ever to protect Rodgers while still getting the maximum number of receivers into routes.

“I think there’s some things you may have to adjust but, for the most part, we’ve got a lot of confidence in the other guys in that room,” LaFleur said. “We played 3 1/2 games without him earlier this year, so that’s just part of life in the National Football League. You constantly have to adjust or adapt.”

With the best offense in the NFL, the potential MVP at quarterback and an improving defense, this looked like Green Bay’s best chance to win the Super Bowl since 2014. The 2016 team that reached the NFC Championship Game had been decimated by injuries. Last year’s team got to the NFC Championship Game, as well, but was overmatched against the powerful 49ers. With a five-game winning streak and a definitive victory last week over Tennessee, Green Bay looked like the best team in the NFC.

And now? It will have to get through an NFC playoff field loaded with high-quality pass rushes without the man who allowed just one sack in 446 pass-protecting snaps.

“I think it’s still kind of in the grieving process with me,” Rodgers said. “Him and I are really close friends. I know the three of us, including Tae (Davante Adams), have such a great bond and friendship, and Big Dog (Marcedes Lewis), as well. It’s tough to see a guy go down at practice like that. You’re hoping for the best. I got a call from him yesterday late in the afternoon. I was hoping for some good news; didn’t get it. You’ve got to move on but right now it’s still a little raw. We’re still sad and hurting for Dave just because it’s our brother and it’s our left tackle, our teammate. It’s been a tough time for us, and times that by infinity is probably where he’s at right now.”

Playoff Pass Rushes

Here is a look at the NFC playoff standings, with where those teams rank in sack percentage and their best edge rusher in terms of number of total pressures from the defense’s right side via Pro Football Focus.

2. New Orleans: Pass rush – eighth, 8.08 percent. Edge – Trey Hendrickson, third (47 pressures); Marcus Davenport, 21st (23 pressures).

3. Seattle: Pass rush – 14th, 6.75 percent. Edge – Bronson Mayowa, 41st (14 pressures).

4. Washington: Pass rush – fourth, 8.87 percent. Edge – Chase Young, 12th (29 pressures). Dallas: Pass rush – 19th, 5.94 percent. Edge – Aldon Smith, ninth (32 pressures).

5. Tampa Bay: Pass rush – sixth, 8.20 percent. Edge – Jason Pierre-Paul, 14th (28 pressures).

6. L.A. Rams: Pass rush – second, 9.40 percent. Edge - Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, 38th (15 pressures).

7. Chicago: Pass rush – 16th percent, 6.50 percent. Edge – Robert Quinn, 14th (28 pressures).

8. Arizona: Pass rush – fifth, 8.65 percent. Edge – Markus Golden, seventh (33 pressures).