Packers bounce back with impressive victory over Rams
The Packers rebounded well from last week's defeat, dealing the Rams their third straight defeat.
Good morning!
The Green Bay Packers took care of business Sunday, defeating the visiting Los Angeles Rams 36-28. The Packers enter their bye week with a 9-3 record, placing them a half-game behind the Arizona Cardinals for the NFC's top playoff seed.
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Does Sunday's win over the Rams, does Matt LaFleur enter the Coach of the Year conversation?
Jason B. Hirschhorn: Yes, Matt LaFleur deserves serious consideration for the Coach of the Year award. Going into Sunday, the matchup of the Packers' severely undermanned offensive line — a unit featuring only two of its preferred starters as well as a No. 3 option at left tackle — and the Rams' star-studded defensive front headlined by Aaron Donald figured to tilt the balance away from the Packers. Instead, the game plan largely mitigated Los Angeles' pass rush, which officially registered just one sack and five QB hits, while producing 29 points on offense.
And the victory of the Rams doesn't mark LaFleur's first stellar game plan under such circumstances. Back in Week 3, injuries piled up along the Packers' offensive line, forcing the team to mitigate protection issues through play-calling against a dangerous San Francisco 49ers defensive line. LaFleur did so in that contest as well, albeit with a heavier emphasis on empty formations and quick-passing game.
Because LaFleur has Aaron Rodgers at his disposal, he doesn't receive the full credit he deserves. However, the Packers' head coach has shown once again that he can put his team in a position to win despite a battery of injuries. In lesser hands, Green Bay doesn't enter its bye with a 9-3 record.
Besides the opportunity for injured players to rest, what is the biggest thing the Packers can get from the upcoming bye week?
JBH: The week off will provide the Packers with its last opportunity to make significant changes to its special-teams units. That phase of the game continued to cause major problems Sunday, with Amari Rodgers falling down on the Rams' first punt, Randall Cobb muffing another return, and Mason Crosby flirting with the left upright on his kicks before doinking his final attempt in the fourth quarter.
At this point, it seems unlikely the Packers will make a change at kicker despite Crosby's struggles. "Proud of [Mason] making those kicks early," Aaron Rodgers said during his postgame press conference. "Those are important ones for us even though we had opportunities to stretch it to two- or three-score gains. Those are important moments for us."
But even if Crosby's job remains somewhat secure, the Packers could make changes elsewhere. They already moved on from long-snapper Hunter Bradley to Steven Wirtel and altered the blocking on the kicking unit to include some starters (Elgton Jenkins appeared there the previous two weeks before suffering his season-ending ACL tear). Perhaps more starters will join in order to stabilize the woeful protection.
Meanwhile, the Packers have two weeks to review the available returners and see if anyone can come off the street and improve that area of special teams. At almost the same time last year, the team signed Tavon Austin to serve as the jet-motion guy on offense and return punts, and the front office likely has a list of free agents who could potentially contribute in a similar role this season.
What we're hearing/seeing
JBH: The matchup of Davante Adams and Jalen Ramsey garnered significant attention during the lead-up to Sunday, and for good reason. The two All-Pros became the focus of last season's divisional-round tilt between the two teams, with Adams getting the better of Ramsey at the goal line for that game's first touchdown. This time around, the Packers had less firepower at their disposal and needed to find ways to free Adams from Ramsey.
To do that, LaFleur deployed a number of tactics, none more effective than his play call with 5:44 remaining in the second quarter. Initially, Ramsey positions himself over Adams on the left of the formation. The Packers then motion tight end Josiah Deguara from the right slot to outside of Adams, forcing the Rams to adjust on the fly. With the defense showing zone coverage pre-snap, Ramsey shifts off Adams and onto Deguara, giving the Packers the look they wanted all along.
Forty-three yards later, Adams sets up the Packers deep inside the red zone.
The big gain highlights how far LaFleur has come as play-caller. During his lone year as the offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans, these types of moments happened sparingly, occurring only slightly more often during LaFleur's first season in Green Bay. But since 2020, the Packers offense has enjoyed a considerable play-calling advantage over most opponents thanks to LaFleur's growth.
Parting shots
JBH: While LaFleur consistently put the Packers in position to succeed, Sean McVay did the opposite for the Rams on fourth down.
After failing to convert on fourth-and-1 during the first quarter, the Rams pulled their offense on every fourth down the remainder of the game. The list of opportunities blown include a fourth-and-3 at the Green Bay 18-yard line and a fourth-and-1 at the Green Bay 21, each of which resulted in a field goal. Considering the investment Los Angeles made in its offense this year — the trades for Matthew Stafford and Von Miller, signing Odell Beckham Jr. earlier in November — settling for field goals and punts in easily convertible situations represents a major failing for one of the game's premier coaches.
And this is nothing new for McVay. He regularly settles for field goals and punts when he should instead trust his offense to make a short gain. By comparison, LaFleur has thrived in this area (albeit with a notable misstep against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in last season's NFC Championship Game).
More than one factor pushed the Packers over the Rams on Sunday. However, McVay's mistakes on fourth down might have made the largest impact.