Perfect Game at the Perfect Time
There were plenty of plays that showed Matt LaFleur’s aggressive play calling throughout the game. After Green Bay’s defense forced a punt to open the game, the Packers took possession on their own 9-yard line and to get out of the shadow of their own end zone, LaFleur called a flea-flicker Tight End screen which gained 13 yards and set the tone for the rest of the drive, and game. A perfect play call for the situation. After that, the game was in Love’s hands – scrambling for 6 yards on 2nd & 9, then hit Golden on a crosser to gain a first down on 3rd & 3. Green Bay then tried to establish the run, which was effective enough – especially for play action. After a 2-yard run on 3rd and 1, LaFleur dialed up a shot play that saw Watson blow by everyone for a 42-yard touchdown to open the game. Just as I said was needed, win the toss, defer, get a quick stop on defense, then go down and score to open 7-0 and kept the tone for the remainder of the game.
The 1st down offense was the big difference for the offense’s execution/productivity. They threw the ball on 15 of the 27 first down plays they ran. Many of which resulted in huge plays. When passing to open a drive, Love was 7/8 for 186 yards for an average of 23.35 yards per pass when starting a drive. That tells me to throw more often on 1st downs, or maybe exclusively? It’s also the best down to pass, as long as you’re not in 5-wide.
Cleaner Game
This was a much cleaner game for Green Bay committing only 4 penalties for 25 yards. There was one crucial penalty that put points on the board for Chicago, however, no killer holding penalties that wiped out a big play. There was a ticky-tack OPI that LaFleur said made him “rage call” the next play. The next play was 3rd & 22 from Green Bay’s own 47-yard line – while normally he would’ve called a screen or draw, or some “safe” throw. If you throw a bomb, the worst-case scenario is a sack, otherwise an interception would act as a punt. However, you could potentially get a pass interference…The risk ends up being minimal. Green Bay also was able to get just enough from their run game. The backs and Love combined for 72 yards rushing on 24 attempts (3 yards/rush). They did have 2 rushing touchdowns, both by Marshawn Lloyd, and the first was an impressive truck stick over Chicago’s Jayon Johnson.
Lastly, the drops seemed to disappear; by my count there were none, including on defense, resulting in 3 interceptions and completely shutting down Ben Johnson’s offense in doing so.
(2-3) Dallas Cowboys @ (3-2) Green Bay Packers
Coming into this matchup pits the 3rd place Dallas Cowboys against the 2nd place Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football. These matchups will likely have tiebreaker scenarios at the end of the season – it’s the 2nd most important matchup other than divisional games.
We’re in the heart of the schedule now with Green Bay facing off against 6 consecutive NFC opponents, with 2 of them being against divisional foes and 4 at Lambeau Field. Green Bay dropped the first of these v. Atlanta, but has responded nicely escaping Tampa Bay with a win and crushing Chicago last week.
Dallas, per usual, has a ton of offensive talent, but has an atrocious defense. With recent injuries to DT Hargrave, ILB Cooper, and Edge Parsons still a way away from returning, it’s another example of where Matt LaFleur should put the game in Love’s hands. Until the weather flips, just air it out – also, Josh Jacobs is reportedly able to return next week, which will absolutely help the rush game.
Matchup Matrix
This is a game where something may have to give – Dallas has the worst rush defense while Green Bay possesses the worst rush offense. Depending on whether Zeitler plays, this could be an ideal opportunity for Green Bay to get their ground game going. The idea is that the Packers could get their play action game rolling again since Green Bay should have some ground success. Entering this game, the Cowboys are allowing a 120.5 passer rating through 5 games – with Love coming off his best game of the season, this is the time to keep the foot on the gas.
On the flip side, when Dallas has the ball, they have the 11th best offense in terms of yards, and 7th in scoring. Their 5th ranked passing attack faces the 5th-best pass defense in the Packers, who allow just the 4th-best passer rating (in terms of defense) of just 76.8. Albeit against a bevy of backup QBs, this is the matchup to watch.
Looking through all the matchups, Jonathan Gannon and his defense seem to have the advantage. The defense has played really well outside of 4 quarters (4th Q @ Min, and quarters 2-4 v Atl). This should be Gannon’s toughest test up to date. The Cowboys have scored 30+ three times already, they’re very dangerous but struggled against a backup QB in Jalen Daniels and the Bucs last week, scoring just 16 points, at home.
Prediction Time
This game, and the remainder of the season, will depend on Matt LaFleur’s aggression. Not saying he needs to go for it on 4th downs when in Field Goal range, but pushing the ball down the field and relying on Love’s big arm and to trust him to make the right decision and make the throw.
Season: 2-3
Overall: 119-80
