Slowing Saquon Barkley and the New York Giants’ run game needs to be priority No. 1 for the Green Bay Packers defense, and the game plan needs to reflect this goal.
Green Bay has allowed three 200-plus yard rushing performances by opposing offenses this season, including the Pittsburgh Steelers. That was a game where the Packers should have tried to put more of the onus on Kenny Pickett, and while adjustments were made and the play up front did improve, there was also a lot of Cover-2 looks early on that the Steelers were able to exploit. As a team, Pittsburgh averaged 5.7 yards per rush.
That game needs to be a learning opportunity for the Green Bay defense. Right out of the gate against New York, the focus needs to be on slowing the Giants’ run game, with perhaps more Cover-1 to help account for each gap along the defensive front and, in general, shrinking the field by playing closer to the line of scrimmage to provide more help.
If step one is being situationally and schematically prepared for the Giants’ run game, step two is the execution of that game plan. Following that same Steelers game and as recently as this past Sunday against Kansas City, Matt LaFleur mentioned post-game that even in instances when the Packers should have been equipped to slow the run, they were unable to because of missed gaps and assignments up front.
“It’s not just our five guys,” said run game coordinator Jerry Montgomery on Thursday. “It’s never just our five. The front seven, you can’t say the front five without the backers. It all correlates. You could have backers that are triggering and hitting their spots, and you could have a D-lineman out of the gap. You could have D-linemen attacking and knocking back the line of scrimmage and then have people fitting the wrong gaps. It takes all of the front seven to be coordinated.
“When we bring a safety down, again, what’s happening, when mistakes are made, there’s normally someone there that cleans it up. But when there’s one mistake that happens, and there is no one there to clean it up, the second level, the third level, then you have an explosive run. It still has to be coordinated and you have to believe what you see and everything starts with alignment, assignment, and key.”
As a team, the Giants are averaging just 3.9 yards per rush and rank 30th in ESPN’s run-blocking win rate metric. Regardless of what Barry dials up, the Packers’ defensive front should have the opportunity to win their one-on-one matchups in the run game against this offensive line. However, Pittsburgh was another team averaging fewer than 4.0 yards per carry as a team when they faced the Packers, and we still saw them find a ton of success.
This season, Barkley is averaging 4.2 yards per rush but has been picking up steam as of late, averaging over 5.0 yards per carry in three of his last four games. He ranks 17th in yards after contact average and has the ninth most rushes of 10 or more yards in the NFL.
“He’s an in-and-out runner,” said Montgomery, “so you have to be really gap sound. You’ve got to make sure guys are doing their job and rallying to the football. You’ve got to have all 11 guys. He’s not an easy tackle. A good back, proven, explosive, so a good challenge.”
If the Packers are able to slow Barkley and the Giants run game, it’s going to put the offense in predictable passing situations. This then allows the defense to get into favorable matchups, but it will also provide Green Bay’s strength, their pass rush, with the opportunity to exploit what is perhaps New York’s biggest weakness on offense: their pass protection.
Coming into Week 14, the Giants have allowed the highest pressure rate in football this season, and that has resulted in the most sacks given up as well. When Tommy DeVito has been under duress, he is completing just 45 percent of his passes at 4.0 yards per attempt, according to PFF. Led by Kenny Clark, the Packers pass rush has been picking up steam over the last few games.
Each week, slowing the opponents’ run game is always important, but this week, against this opponent, it’s where the emphasis needs to lie for the Packers–and, of course, the execution by the players has to follow.
“To me, I’m a firm believer in our fundamentals,” added Montgomery. “If you’re not looking at the right things, you’re not going to be able to play what you’re supposed to play or as fast as you’re supposed to play it. And that goes for all 11 guys.
“Again, I promise you, if you go back and watch film and you sat with a coach, and you say well, why isn’t this right? Why isn’t this a good defensive call? Well, it’s not that it’s not a good defensive call, it’s just this play broke down because this guy’s eyes were in the wrong place. Who’s the next guy that’s supposed to help him out when he makes a mistake?”
