Running on Empty: Run Game Off to Sputtering Start

With a young offensive line, the Green Bay Packers' rushing attack has gone nowhere fast. It won't get any easier against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers like the way their running game is trending. That’s a good thing, because it’s been pretty terrible to start the season.

The Packers enter Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers ranked 30th in rushing per game (79.7 yards) and 29th in rushing per carry (3.27). That stands in stark contrast to last season, when Green Bay was in the top eight with 132.4 rushing yards per game and 4.78 yards per carry, and even 2019, when it was in the middle of the pack with 112.2 rushing yards per game and 4.37 yards per carry.

“I think that we’ve got a long way to go still,” offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said. “It’s still early in the season, just kind of as an offense as a whole. There’s some things that are really good and then it’s just about that consistency. And I think that as we continually run the ball and continually get the guys in a groove, I think that’s where those things are going to start popping. So, we’ve just got to keep running it.

Pro Bowler Aaron Jones entered the season ranked sixth in NFL history among running backs with at least 600 carries with his 5.17-yard average. Through three games, he’s averaging 3.85.

According to SportRadar, Green Bay has three carries of 10-plus yards. Only Tampa Bay (two) has fewer. With Jones supplying the team’s longest run – he has two gains of 12 yards – Green Bay is one of eight teams without a rush of 20 yards. AJ Dillon’s longest run on 15 tries went for 8 yards. The league average is 8.2 carries of 10-plus yards and 1.5 carries of 20-plus yards.

The problem starts up front, where the Packers’ offensive line has endured some growing pains. Green Bay is starting two rookies – center Josh Myers and right guard Royce Newman. Moreover, against San Francisco, four of the five starting linemen had made a combined five starts: zero for left tackle Yosh Nijman, one for left guard Jon Runyan Jr. and two apiece from Myers and Newman.

The obvious hope is the young players will keep building until All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari returns to the lineup and sends Elgton Jenkins back to left guard, where he was a Pro Bowler last season.

“I think it’s trending the right way, but every week’s a new challenge and we just have to be more consistent, I would say, in terms of with our run efficiency,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “Because I think there are some really good moments where we’re able to spring some 10-, 12-yarders. We haven’t really hit the home run yet, so we’re still looking for that. I think it is a process, especially when you’re having a different five it seems like every week up front. That takes a second.”

If there’s a silver lining, the Packers have stayed away from a lot of long-distance situations. It has lost yardage on only four rushes; only Tampa Bay (one) has fewer. Obviously, second-and-9 isn’t ideal but it’s better than second-and-12.

The backs are doing their best with limited blocking. Of their rushing total, 43.5 percent has come after contact – 12th-highest in the league, according to SportRadar.

On a per-carry basis, each of Green Bay’s first three opponents did better against the Packers than they have for the season as a whole. That could make Sunday’s game an enormous challenge if that trend continues. Pittsburgh ranks third with 3.79 yards allowed per carry. It has 10 tackles for losses on running plays.

“We’re getting better every week,” running backs coach Ben Sirmans said. “I think up front, we're doing a better job of stabilizing things, and we got our first explosive run of the season, so that's a plus. The guys are pretty eager and hungry to make some improvements with that.”