Packers Believe Running Game Ready to Roll Against Broncos

The Green Bay Packers have one of the worst rushing attacks in the NFL. And yet there’s real optimism in the locker room that the offense could be off and running.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – By every measuring stick, the Green Bay Packers’ rushing attack has been abysmal.

They don’t run it often, ranking 27th in carries per game.

They don’t run it well, ranking 27th in yards per game.

They don’t run it efficiently, ranking 25th in yards per carry.

Amid a 2-3 start to the season, Green Bay’s rushing attack, which was supposed to be the reliable cog in a retooled offense, has been as explosive as a wet firecracker.

Heading into Sunday’s game at the Denver Broncos, the Packers have three runs of 20-plus yards – all by quarterback Jordan Love. The Packers are the only team in the NFL without a 20-yard run by a running back. Heck, they don’t even have a 15-yard run by a running back.

Taking Love’s three 20-plus-yarders out of the equation, the team’s longest run was a 14-yarder by AJ Dillon on a backward pass against the Saints. Beyond that, Dillon had an 11-yard run against Las Vegas, Love had an 11-yard run against Las Vegas, cornerback Keisean Nixon had an 11-yard run against New Orleans and former Packers running back Patrick Taylor had a 10-yard run against Chicago.

Put another way, on a pure handoff to a running back, the longest gain of the year was Dillon’s 11-yarder.

And yet, through all those hideous numbers, there’s real optimism that Green Bay’s running game is about to find its legs.

In the Week 5 loss at Las Vegas, Dillon carried 20 times for 76 yards. Bolstered by a couple scrambles by Love, the Packers rushed 25 times for a season-high 110 yards.

“I think the difference last game was just the mindset,” Dillon said. “We’re tired of not performing. We went out there with the mindset of make it happen, whether it’s guys stepping up, making key blocks or backs making their own holes.

Packers RB AJ Dillon had his best game vs. the Raiders :: Photo by Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports Images

“Just try not to be denied. That’s really what it is. It’s not some formula/equation why we did better one game than the other. We’re just trying to keep getting better. We had a great mindset last game. Hopefully, we can continue that and continue to improve.”

The offensive linemen liked that establish-the-run mindset. Right tackle Zach Tom, who is mostly healthy following a knee injury that had him playing with a brace the last two games, hopes that game is the jumping-off point from a mentality and production standpoint.

“I think we really went into that game with the focus on establishing the run,” Tom said. “We had some good plays but we also still had a couple plays where I feel like we’re not getting what we should be getting. It might be a good play but there’s some plays where maybe it’s a 6-yard run but it could’ve been a 20-, 30-yard run. So, there’s some things we need to get better at but, yeah, I think we went into the game with the focus on establishing the run and I think we did that.”

With building confidence that the run game is headed the right direction, star running back Aaron Jones appears poised to return to the lineup.

Jones, the Week 1 difference-maker with two long receptions and a touchdown run in a blowout win over the Bears, has carried the ball only 14 times this season due to a hamstring injury that kept him out of three of the last four games.

When Jones is on his game, few are better. In NFL history, of all running backs with at least 700 rushing attempts, Jones ranks sixth with 5.09 yards per carry. Two of the players ahead of him, Marion Motley and Jim Brown, are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Push the threshold to 1,000 career carries, and Jones has the fourth-highest average of all-time.

“Just speed. He’s going to press that aiming point, he’s going to get outside,” right guard Jon Runyan. “Aaron Jones is probably the best player on our team. Anytime you’re missing the best player on your team, it’s going to be tough to play without him. Having him back there, he’s just really good. He’s going to get through the smallest holes and explode out there for 12, 15 yards. You never know – he might take it to the house. Having him out there is key.”

After scoring 38 points at Chicago, the Packers have averaged 18.8 points per game. The salvation could be and, given that’s where there’s veteran talent, should be the running game.

The Packers have had 13.8 percent of their runs stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage, the second-highest “stuff” rate in the league, according to SportRadar. If the Packers can turn their bad plays into decent plays and their decent plays into good plays, the offense could finally be off and running.

“If you look at a lot of the plays that we run, it’s usually just one guy here or there not doing their job and that really messes up the whole play,” Tom said. “I feel like within the offense, there’s a feeling that we’re right there. When you turn on the film, we I right there. We’ve just got to put it together.”

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“It starts with me finding those throws for him – drive starters, for instance, and first-and-10 throws that are higher-completion-percentage throws.”

The #Packers' Matt LaFleur and the #Broncos Sean Payton were singing a similar tune yesterday.https://t.co/X4wsUg5v1Z

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 19, 2023

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