It’s a fact: The Green Bay Packers run defense ranks 11th in the NFL yielding just under 110 yards per game.
A deeper dive reveals a more disturbing story. The Packers rank 26th in the NFL in yards per carry allowed at 4.6.
“I don’t evaluate run defense based upon yards per game,” Voice of the Packers Wayne Larrivee tells Wisconsin’s Afternoon News. “You get a game like Detroit where the Lions run like what…15 times?”
Yards per rush is a much more telling stat.
The Packers high-octane offense is the great assist to a defense built to put pressure on the opposing quarterback. The formula is simple. Build a lead and force teams to pass their way back into the game. Use a talented core of pass rushers to tee-off and voila! But what happens when the Packers are forced to come from behind, or their lead is tenuous?
“When the Packers opponent have made a concerted effort to run the football – that’s 25 rushing attempts in a game or more – they have averaged about 130 rushing yards per game, and the Packers are 2 and 3. That’s the concerning area for the Packers defense,” Larrivee concludes.
Let’s take a closer look at how the run defense performed on days the Packers scored fewer than 30 points:
Week 5 at Tampa Bay (38-10 loss): Tampa Bay rushed 35 times for 158 yards. An average of 4.5 yards per carry.
Week 8 vs Minnesota (28-22 loss): Minnesota rushed 34 times for 173 yards. An average of 5.1 yards per carry.
Week 10 vs Jacksonville (24-20 win): Jacksonville rushed 23 times for 109 yards. An average of 4.7 yards per carry.
Against teams with legitimate playoff chances (the Saints and Colts) the Packers run defense allowed 6.1 and 3.8 yards per carry, respectively.
The Packers may dodge a bullet on Saturday night if Panthers all-pro running back Christian McCaffrey is unable to play. Panthers Head Coach Matt Rhule tells reporters it is unlikely McCaffrey will be available.
Green Bay will likely not be so lucky in week 16 when the Tennessee Titans come to town. Titans running back Derrick Henry leads the NFL in rushing with 1,532 yards…a 5.2 yards per carry average.