Packers’ Offensive Line Blocks Out Personnel Losses

It hasn't been easy without David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins and Josh Myers but the Packers' remodeled offensive line has gotten the job done.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – In 2010, DJ Khaled went triple platinum with All I Do Is Win.

The song has nothing to do with football, but the lyrics are fitting for the Green Bay Packers’ offensive line.

“All I do is win no matter what.”

When the Packers line up to face the Chicago Bears on Sunday night, it once again will be down three-fifths of their starting offensive line. All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari’s comeback from a torn ACL hit a snag and hasn’t practiced for a month. Pro Bowl left guard Elgton Jenkins, who so capably replaced Bakhtiari at left tackle, suffered a torn ACL at Minnesota. Rookie center Josh Myers, also out following knee surgery, will miss his ninth game of the season.

And yet, all the Packers have done is win.

No matter what.

In ESPN.com’s Team Run Block Win Rate, the Packers rank eighth. In its Team Pass Block Win Rate, the Packers are seventh. Despite injuries that have forced the team to turn to its No. 3 choice at left tackle, Yosh Nijman, Green Bay is one of six offensive lines ranked in the top 10 in both categories.

The Packers’ offensive line probably has not been as dominant as those numbers would indicate, especially compared to last season, when they had all-stars at left tackle (All-Pro Bakhtiari), left guard (Pro Bowler Jenkins) and center (All-Pro Corey Linsley). That group powered an offense that finished first in points scored (31.8 per game), fifth in sack percentage (3.99) and seventh in rushing average (4.78). This year, Green Bay is 15th in scoring (23.6), 11th in sack percentage (5.56) and 20th in rushing average (4.08).

Still, offensive line coach Adam Stenavich’s group has largely given Aaron Rodgers time and given the running backs a chance.

Pro Football Focus has charged Green Bay’s line with 14 sacks and 117 total pressures, figures that rank 10th and 15th, respectively. In the run game, Green Bay has been stuffed – a tackle at or behind the line of scrimmage – on 6.7 percent of its carries, fifth-best in the league, according to SportRadar.

“Steno does a great job with setting the expectations of our room and making sure everybody prepares like a starter,” said Lucas Patrick, who was the Week 1 starter at left guard before moving to center. “You’re always one play away. That’s the beautiful part and kind of the sad part of the NFL, is you are one snap away from playing or not playing, so you have to always prepare like that. We’ve had a lot of older guys who’ve done that before. It’s been awesome to watch our guys respond because you really know what you have when you face adversity and I don't think we've not faced adversity yet.”

One area where the Packers have been better, even with all the problems up front, is third-and-short. On third-and-1 – the longest yard for years for the Packers – they’ve converted a league-best 93.3 percent of the time. Extending third-and-short to include third-and-2, they’re No. 1 with a 78.6 percent success rate, with almost as many touchdowns (four) as failures (six).

“I think our guys have done a great job game-planning for it,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “It really comes down to the execution, but I think (assistant coaches) Justin Outten, Steno, Hackett, Ben Sirmans, they game plan all that. Then it comes down to our players taking that game plan and making it work. I think our backs have been running really hard. The effort’s been great. But I feel like that’s the case for most plays all year long, so it really comes down to just making sure that you put your guys in a good position and they go out there and execute.”

On Sunday, that group will face a Bears defense that will be without three starters: outside linebacker Khalil Mack, defensive tackle Akiem Hicks and inside linebacker Danny Trevathan. However, outside linebacker Robert Quinn (fourth with 12 sacks) and inside linebacker Roquan Smith (fifth with 121 tackles, including three sacks and nine tackles for losses) are having superb seasons. Chicago is 21st in points allowed, first in sack percentage and 16th in yards allowed per carry. In goal-to-go situations, Green Bay’s offense ranks 24th while Chicago’s defense is fourth.

“I think this defense presents a lot of different challenges in terms of just the different structures they give you, making sure that everybody’s on the same page from a communication standpoint,” LaFleur said. “They’ve got really good players and they play really hard on top of that. It’s definitely not an easy task.”

Packers vs. Bears: Three Reasons to Worry

Every week, I come up with three reasons why the #Packers need to be worried about the next day's opponent. Some weeks are easy. Some are difficult.

Without further ado, here's Round 2 of Packers vs. Bears.https://t.co/ROKdoThe14

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) December 12, 2021