With the Green Bay Packers surging to a 9-3 record through the first 13 weeks of the 2024 NFL season, the postseason is comfortably in their sights. A tough NFC North race has made things tough for the Packers to factor into the divisional race, but they are still very much in the running there.
There has been major growth on the offensive side of the ball for the Packers, as this season is the second with Jordan Love at the helm. His growth, along with a better offensive game plan orchestrated by Matt LaFleur, has made a team that made a surprising journey to the playoffs last season even better.
The offseason addition of running back Josh Jacobs takes the cake for headlines, but it is the Green Bay offensive line that deserves the most credit. While Jacobs is just under the 1,000-yard rushing mark on the season, he wouldn’t have produced those numbers if not for the offensive line.
Role in the Running Game
The top two rushers on Green Bay this season, Jacobs and Emmanuel Wilson, are averaging over four yards per carry. Specifically for Jacobs, his 4.5 yards per carry put him in the top-15 of all running backs this season.
If the season ended today, Jacobs would have put up his third-highest YPC average in a season, which shows just how efficient the OL has been. Jacobs has been an incredible addition for the Packers to help inject some much-needed juice into the rushing attack.
Green Bay has recorded the fifth-most rushing attempts (372) so far this season, a testament to LaFleur relying on the strong suit of this Packers offense. Not shying away from running the ball shows growth from LaFleur, who in the past has become too reliable on one facet of the offense, at times getting in his own way.
Role in the Passing Game
Keeping Love upright has helped this offense succeed through the air, even if Love has been a bit interception-prone so far this year. After his Week 1 injury that resurfaced later on in the year, Love’s health has become a key focus for the play of the offense, something the OL has had a hand in.
Love has only been sacked 10 times through the first 12 games, averaging out to less than two sacks per game. This is one of the lowest totals in the entire NFL, even better than O-Line units that help protect Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and others.
It hasn’t always been this clean of a pocket for Green Bay QBs, but Love has been a big-time benefactor of a well-built OL unit. Rasheed Walker has led the way for this starting group, ranking inside the top-20 offensive tackles in pass rush win rate.
Walker has played a huge role in the success of the OL, protecting Love’s blindside. While the unit as a whole has been impressive, Walker has only allowed two sacks across 772 offensive snaps. His penalties (eight) have been low as well, showing how well-rounded he is.
The other lineman to highlight is right guard Sean Rhyan, who has stepped into the starting role after beginning the year alternating work with rookie Jordan Morgan. With Morgan suffering a shoulder injury, Rhyan has stepped up in a big way, only allowing three sacks and being called for four penalties across 659 offensive snaps.
In general, the OL in Green Bay is a stout unit that does a lot of things well and is technically sound. But this season, a year where the OL doesn’t have any big names, it almost feels more impressive.
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Mike Johrendt has been an avid fan of the Packers ever since he can remember. He is now a writer at PackersTalk and you can follow him on Twitter at @MJohrendt23
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