Cheesehead
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Carolina decided to do everything in its power to take away Davante Adams and any big plays, disguising coverages behind unconventional fronts. The Packers didn't adjust and tried to force the issue, looking perhaps more for a knockout punch than the steady production that had served them so well.
The result? Five possessions, 49 total yards, one field goal, three sacks, 1-for-6 on third down (16.7%), and the need to squeak out a one-score victory (24-16) against a team that two weeks later would finish 5-11.
"We looked at it real closely," offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said. "Luckily we won that game, and you take that as an opportunity to learn, to grow as a group."
One thing the Packers saw was how they had rushed for 159 yards in the first half against Carolina and didn't insist on continuing to run the ball despite leading the entire second half.
The following week, the Packers ran for 234 yards against Tennessee on a snowy night, and it set the tone for the league's No. 1 scoring offense to reach another gear.
Over their last three games, all against playoff opponents – the Titans, Bears and Rams – here are the numbers: 25 possessions, 1,248 yards, 17 scores (15 TDs, two FGs), two sacks, 16-of-27 on third down (59.3%), and an average margin of victory of nearly 20 points.
"It's kind of the sense of urgency we've had," center Corey Linsley said of the late-season surge, "knowing that, if we want to get where we want to go, it's going to take that level of focus, that level of intent, that extra level of whatever you have to put in to perform at your best."
It might be exaggerating to say the second half against Carolina was the best thing to happen to the Packers down the stretch, but there's no denying a lesson was heeded in two quarters of football Rodgers called "clunkers" at the time.
"I think it was a good reminder for all of us how important it is to just be patient, and if teams aren't willing to stop the run, there's no need to maybe abandon it at all," Rodgers said this week.
"It's something that we took into last week against a team (the Rams) who also wanted to play some shell coverage, and I think we were patient with the run and it paid off for us."
The Packers' 188 rushing yards, using all three running backs, in last week's playoff win pushed their total over the last three games to 501 yards on the ground on 92 carries, a robust 5.4-yard average. Even take out Aaron Jones' 60-yard scamper to open the second half against the Rams, and the rushing average is still 4.8 over that span.