Packers offense demonstrates adaptivity it lacked early in 2022
The Packers offense looked like a one-trick pony at the beginning of the season. Now, the unit possesses versatility and adaptability that offer optimism for the future.
With an 11-day break between games, the Los Angeles Rams had plenty of time to tailor their defensive game plan to the specific strengths and weaknesses of the Green Bay Packers offense. That bespoke strategy became clear early during Monday night's prime-time tilt between the teams with All-Pro defensive back Jalen Ramsey largely assigned to Christian Watson instead of his usual shapeshifting role that moves him all over the defense.
On paper, that approach seems logical. Watson, the rookie for which the Packers traded multiple second-round picks to acquire, had established himself as the offense's most dangerous receiver. Over a four-game stretch preceding Monday's contest, the wideout delivered 15 catches for 313 yards and seven touchdowns with another 49 yards and a score coming on the ground. By any objective measure, Watson has become a rising star, and any defense that doesn't properly account for his presence has essentially waved the white flag.
With that in mind, throwing Ramsey, the Rams' best healthy player and one of the premier corners in the game, at the Watson problem made all the sense in the world. Take away the Packers' top receiver and force them to play left-handed. Up to that point in the season, Green Bay hadn't shown the adaptability to handle those situations, giving Los Angeles its best path to victory.
The Rams did limit Watson's statistical production. The rookie finished the game with four catches for 46 yards, though he probably would have added a few yards and a touchdown to those figures if not for a missed hand signal near the goal line.
But the numbers belie what the Packers accomplished on Monday. With the Rams seeking to take Watson away, the offense found effective ways to pivot midstride. Romeo Doubs, the team's other significant rookie pass catcher who had missed the previous month with a high-ankle sprain, immediately emerged as a go-to target for quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Doubs caught all five of his targets for 55 yards, leading Green Bay's receiving corps.
And while Doubs took advantage of his more favorable matchups, Watson still found ways to tilt the field to the Packers' advantage. Roughly six minutes into the third quarter, Watson drew an illegal-contact penalty from Ramsey in the end zone on a critical third down. The infraction extended the drive, and Green Bay punched it in two plays later. Later that quarter, Watson delivered the key block on a swing pass off an RPO that cleared the way for another score.
Meanwhile, the Packers' ability to move the ball down the field through the passing game created opportunities in the ground game. Aaron Jones took advantage of some wider running lanes to the tune of 17 carries for 90 yards. AJ Dillon handled the dirty work in the low red zone, busting through the Rams' defensive front twice for touchdowns.
In the aggregate, the Packers provided a glimpse of what the 2022 version of their offense always had the potential to become. The rookie tandem of Watson and Doubs handled most of the heavy lifting through the air while distorting the geometry of the defense by pulling defenders away from other parts of the field. In turn, that makes life considerably easier in the backfield where Jones and Dillon can clean up both as traditional rushers and on screens and other designed, short passing plays.
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