With 49ers Looming, Packers’ O-Line Fuels Offensive Resurgence
GREEN BAY Wis. – The old saying goes if you have two quarterbacks, you don't have any.
There isn't a saying like that for left tackles or right guards, but that is the world the Green Bay Packers were living in midway through the 2023 season.
Rasheed Walker wasn't supposed to be entrenched as the starting left tackle. Instead, David Bakhtiari was supposed to be the blind-side protector for first-time starting quarterback Jordan Love.
That plan lasted for one game. The knee injury that had haunted Bakhtiari for three full years reared its ugly head.
Walker was inserted in the starting lineup after leaping over Yosh Njiman on the depth chart. Walker struggled, as just about every young player did for the Packers, and started rotating with Yosh Njiman.
In addition, right guard Jon Runyan Jr. began rotating with Sean Rhyan. Sometimes that would be a series here or there. At other points, it became a rotation on a possession-by-possession basis.
While Runyan and Rhyan have continued to rotate at guard, Walker began to thrive and has taken a firm hold at left tackle.
Starting with a meeting against Rams star Aaron Donald in early November, the Packers were facing a gauntlet of great pass rushers.
With the offense floundering, it looked like things were only about to get worse.
Fast forward to Jan. 14, and the Packers' offensive line is feeling as good as it has in years.
In their last three games of the regular season, they faced Carolina’s Brian Burns, Minnesota’s Danielle Hunter and Chicago’s Montez Sweat.
None of them sacked Jordan Love and were all relative non-factors in a three-game winning streak that catapulted the Packers from the doldrums of mediocrity and into the playoffs.
In the final three games of the regular season, Love was only sacked twice.
The Packers piled up 83 points in those three games.
Their playoff debut was a different challenge.
Cowboys stars Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence combine for one of the best pass-rushing duos in the NFL.
Combine that with a road game in a hostile environment, there was a chance the offensive line and young quarterback could have been overwhelmed by the environment.
Instead, the Packers thrived.
Love was not sacked. Parsons was credited with one pressure, according to PFF.
The offensive line kept Love clean and Green Bay's offense rolled up 41 points on a Dallas defense that was in the top 10 in points allowed during the regular season.
The Packers planned masterfully for one of the league's premier players.
"Yeah, I mean, I think it’s just the ability to try to keep ‘em off balance where you’re running the ball efficiently and you can drop back,” coach Matt LaFleur said. "We did a lot of things to try to disrupt his game with some of the cross-sifts in the run game, just to try to slow him down a little bit because he’s so dynamic.
“They do such a great job of moving him all over the place. You never know where he’s going to line up, right side, left side as a linebacker, over your center, or over your guards. He was definitely a focal point going into the game in terms of the communication, where he’s going to line up and we had adjustments off of that."
This week's challenge might be even greater than the one the Packers faced a week ago.
The Packers have faced Nick Bosa and this 49ers defense twice in the playoffs since LaFleur became coach.
The 49ers were dominant both times, including a disappointing 13-10 loss in the 2021 divisional round.
Bosa sacked Aaron Rodgers in the red zone to force a field goal that kept the 49ers in the game.
The Packers' first mistake that night may have been benching Njiman in favor of Dennis Kelly.
No such overthinking will be required this time around. The Packers know the six guys that will be playing when they line up in what has become their biggest house of horrors.
The Packers have not won a playoff game in San Francisco since dropping the 1997 NFC Championship Game. They've lost their last two games by double digits.
This version of San Francisco's defense could be the best one the Packers played against under LaFleur.
Bosa is flanked by Arik Armstead, Javon Hargrave and Chase Young after a midseason trade.
It's a tough front to block in both run and pass as each player presents a unique challenge.
The good news for the Packers is Walker and Tom are coming off their best performance as a tandem.
Walker did not allow a single pressure. Tom, who has been excellent all season, only allowed two pressures.
This week's game is a new challenge, but it looks to be one the Packers are up to.
