Packers see chance to jump-start beleaguered run game against Cowboys
GREEN BAY — The Green Bay Packers enter Sunday night at Lambeau Field with the league’s least productive rushing attack. The Dallas Cowboys bring the NFL’s worst run defense, giving Green Bay a clear chance to change course. That assessment comes from a Packers.com report by Mike Spofford.
The Packers are averaging 60.4 rushing yards per game this season but have shown signs of life recently, gaining 156 rushing yards over the past two games compared with 146 in the first three. Guard Laken Tomlinson, who has taken over at left guard, said the offense works on run execution daily and called Sunday the team’s “best chance to show what we can do.” The team also produced three runs of 20 yards or more in the last two games and recorded its first two rushing touchdowns of the season, both by MarShawn Lloyd against the Chicago Bears.
Green Bay adjusted its offensive line this month with Tomlinson at left guard, Travis Glover stepping in at right guard and Anthony Belton settling in at right tackle after Zach Bako-Bewele suffered a season-ending knee injury. Since those changes, the ground game has shown signs of life. Quarterback Jordan Love said the backs must continue to understand aiming points and grow with each carry, adding that “there is a lot more out there for us in the run game.”
The offense still has too many zero-yard or negative runs that create tough down-and-distance situations. Over the past two games the team produced three explosive runs of 20-plus yards — one by the since-injured Chris Brooks and two by Kaleb Johnson — and Lloyd scored his first two career rushing touchdowns. Lloyd, a 2024 third-round draft pick who missed two years because of injuries, is slowly showing why the Packers used a top-100 pick on him 2 1/2 years ago.
The Packers see the matchup as timely because Josh Jacobs is expected to come off the commissioner’s exempt list soon, the report said. The Cowboys are surrendering nearly 400 yards per game overall and 168.4 rushing yards, which ranks last in the league. Tight end Tucker Kraft stressed the small details that determine rushing success, calling the run game “literally a game of inches” and emphasizing discipline and aggression on blocks.
Green Bay will try to run against a Dallas defensive front that features four-time Pro Bowler Quinnen Williams. Packers defensive linemen Kenny Clark and Rashan Gary will be familiar figures on the other side of the line. Head coach Matt LaFleur and offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich have urged more consistency and efficiency, with LaFleur asking rhetorically, “Can you stay ahead of the sticks?”
NFL Sports Blog Take
The matchup gives Green Bay a clear chance to record its first 100-yard team rushing performance this season after a high of 86 yards through five games. Recent offensive-line adjustments and the emergence of MarShawn Lloyd provide reason for cautious optimism. The Packers will need to convert positive-yardage plays into sustained drives and avoid negative runs that create long down-and-distance situations. If they can protect the line of scrimmage and get the running game going, Dallas may have to respect the run instead of focusing solely on limiting Green Bay’s downfield passing game.