Paul Bretl | 9/13/2024
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Can the Packers run defense find a way to contain Anthony Richardson, Jonathan Taylor, and the Indianapolis Colts rushing attack?
It wasn’t a perfect performance against the Philadelphia Eagles run game in Week 1–but it’s not going to be when facing Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley–but the Packers held their own in this phase of the game for the most part.
“When you look at the run defense as a whole,” said defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, “I thought on the first down and those early downs I thought they were a lot of zero yard gains and there were TFL’s. And I thought the guys for the most part did a really good job there and then we had some unfortunate misfits and some mis-alignments and balls that got out on us and those yards count just as much as if they have a good play. So I’m not taking that away at all or making any excuses, but there’s some really good stuff in the run defense and there’s some stuff we’ve got to clean up.
On the surface, Barkley’s 109 rushing-yard performance against the Packers, while averaging 4.5 yards per attempt, doesn’t tell the whole story in regards to how the game unfolded. For much of the contest, the Packers were able to bottle him up. Outside of a 34-yard run by Barkley, he averaged 3.2 yards per carry on his other 23 attempts. This, of course, does not discount that long gain–I mean, it happened after all–but the point being is that the Packers run defense largely did its job.
“I thought our run defense was pretty solid,” said Matt LaFleur. “We just got gashed on a couple runs where we weren’t in the right gaps. We had a misalignment that really hurt us on Saquon, I think it was on his first touchdown. And there was some details there that we absolutely have to clean up and get that fixed moving forward because we have another great back coming in here and another really good offense and great offensive line.”
To limit Hurts as a ball carrier, the Packers took a more controlled, power-rushing approach in an effort to keep him in the pocket and limit his ability to extend plays. Once again, the Green Bay defense largely accomplished this. Hurts longest run was for eight yards and he totaled just 33 yards on 13 carries.
Collectively, the Eagles rushing offense averaged only 3.8 yards per attempt–the 10th best rate among all defenses coming out of the first game of the season.
“I thought last week for three and a half quarters we did a really good job of bottling up Jalen in the pocket,” LaFleur said. “Then in the last drive he was able to use his legs a couple of times to move the sticks when we got a little bit more up the field and it opened up some holes inside.
“One time they were in empty, we stunted and we shouldn’t have been stunting in that situation and it opened up a huge rush lane inside that he was able to scramble out. So I think it’s a balance in terms of what are you asking to do and you’ve got to play that game in terms of what you think they are going to do and how they’re going to attack you as well.”
The Colts are coming off a game against the Texans where Taylor totaled just 48 yards on his 16 rush attempts. The Packers, however, certainly are not expecting that trend for Taylor to continue. Behind the same starting five on the offensive line, the Colts ranked top-10 in yards per rush last season and have a healthy Taylor.
Taylor has unfortunately dealt with injuries the previous two seasons, appearing in just 21 total games during that span. But regardless, when on the field, he’s remained impactful, averaging 4.5 yards per carry over the last two years. Then, of course, in 2021, he was the NFL’s rushing leader and unlike last year, he’s had a fully healthy offseason to prepare for the regular season.
“Really good player,” said Hafley of Taylor. “He’s strong, he’s fast. He’s very patient. He stays square and you gotta bottle him up. We’ve got to wrap up. We’ve got to get multiple people to the ball, we better be where we’re supposed to be and we better be in the gaps we’re supposed to be in, because he’ll jump out and make you look silly if you don’t.”
The added stressor that the Colts can put on opposing defenses in the run game is the combination of Taylor and Richardson in the backfield. For one, undisciplined rushing lanes can create avenues for Richardson to exploit with his legs. Last week against Houston, Richardson rushed for 56 yards on only six carries.
The Colts are also very willing to use Richardson on designed quarterback runs, not to mention that their heavy usage of RPOs can stress defenses horizontally, which as a result, will up open running lanes for either Richardson or Taylor to exploit as well as opportunities in the passing game with second level defenders over committing to help in the run game.
“I think it’s going to be a great challenge,” said LaFleur of the Colts’ run game. “I think you look at Jonathan Taylor, and certainly their ability to run the quarterback is very similar in a lot of ways in terms of to what Philly was able to do. They’re an explosive offense. You saw it last week. Richardson threw the ball 60 some odd yards in the air, 66, so I think that this is a very explosive offense.”
In general, when an offense can find success on the ground, there’s a positive trickle-down effect to the rest of the unit. This creates short down-and-distance situations, opening up the entire playbook for the offense and forcing the defense to defend the whole field.
On the flip side, struggles in the run game puts the offense in predictable passing situations where the defense has the advantage. Without a run game to lean on against the Texans, the Colts offense was very boom-or-bust, either generating big plays or not being able to put together long drives.
Every week the Packers defense–or any defense–is trying to keep points off the board, but with Malik Willis likely under center for Green Bay, the need for a strong defensive performance becomes paramount. Finding a way to contain what can be a very explosive Colts’ offense likely begins in the trenches.
“For us, we’re going to line up every down and do everything we can to stop them and force them to punt,” Hafley said. “No matter who lines up at quarterback for us, I hope the mindset never changes. You got into every game with the mindset you’re playing the best team in the NFL and the players in the NFL.
“We’ve got to give everything we’ve got and not worry about anything else. We’ve got to take the ball away and give it back to our offense. That’s who we have to be. Over and over and over. We’ve got to get off the field on third down and we’ve got to play better than we did last week, and I can’t wait to get back out there.”