Veteran right tackle Bryan Bulaga is out for the season and wasn’t around for Sunday’s game at Chicago. Rookie running back Aaron Jones went down with a knee injury at Soldier Field against the Bears. No matter, because the Green Bay Packers still managed to rack up 160 yards on the ground in the team’s much-needed 23-16 victory over John Fox’s club.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak that coincided with quarterback Aaron Rodgers going down with a broken collarbone in Week 6 at Minnesota. Mike McCarthy’s club now owns a 5-4 record and is tied with the Detroit Lions for second place in the NFC North.
So what about that aforementioned ground game? Yes, even with Jones sidelined with an MCL injury and the offensive line not quite intact, the Pack is ready to make a run at the postseason thanks to the run.
The current backfield
The loss of the 2017 fifth-round draft choice from UTEP for reportedly a month (via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk) put the load right back on the Green Bay Packers’ original starter in the backfield. On Sunday, while rookie Jamaal Williams, a fourth-round selection from BYU, led McCarthy’s team with 20 carries for 67 yards, it was Ty Montgomery that exploded for a 37-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and finished with 54 yards on the ground on only six carries.
Jones finished with 12 yards on three attempts before going down and starting quarterback Brett Hundley added 16 yards on four carries. Add in wide receiver Randall Cobb (4-8) and fullback Allen Ripkowski (2-3) and Green Bay’s 160 yards came on 37 running plays. That’s also a big reason the Pack won the time of possession battle vs.
the Bears, controlling the clock for an impressive 33:53.
Up next are the Ravens
This Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field, the Green Bay Packers host the Baltimore Ravens. John Harbaugh’s club had Week 10 off so that means a little extra preparation time for their first appearance at Lambeau Field since 2009. But it will be interesting to see how much improvement the usually-sturdy Ravens’ defense made during that downtime.
While Baltimore is ranked sixth in the NFL in total defense in terms of total yards allowed per game, only four teams in the league are allowing more rushing yards per game. Opponents have gouged the Ravens for 125.9 yards per game on the ground this season. This was a team that gave up the fifth-fewest rushing yards in the NFL in 2016. It’s a perfect opportunity for Montgomery, Williams, and the Green Bay ground game to continue its recent resurgence.
