The “next man up” mentality runs deep through the National Football League. NFL rosters need depth to make it through a grueling season.
Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers put the NFL on notice after walloping the second-seeded Dallas Cowboys, 48-32. Dallas was a touchdown favorite, and the Packers won by 14 points. Green Bay’s young offense scored nearly 50 points in a game where their leading receiver in the regular season, Jayden Reed, did not record a catch.
Few people saw this upset coming.
The Packers have faced a plethora of injuries and setbacks throughout this year. Green Bay was 2-5 on Halloween. Fans were asking questions about their young quarterback and firing up mock draft simulators because the Packers looked like they would get a top pick in 2024.
Green Bay had just lost David Bakhtiari for the year. Aaron Jones and Christian Watson were injured, and their availability for the rest of the season was uncertain. On the defensive side of the ball, the Packers’ secondary was banged up all year. Eric Stokes, Jaire Alexander, Rudy Ford, and Darnell Savage missed significant time. For those keeping score at home, that’s the entire starting secondary from the start of the year.
The Packers are also the league’s youngest team. There was a time during the season when Elgton Jenkins was the oldest player on offense, not named Bakhtiari. Green Bay drafted Jenkins, 28, in 2019. Outside of Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon, Love’s pass-catchers were all first- or second-year players. Some were banged up for a few games, like Luke Musgrave and Dontayvion Wicks.
So, to recap, the Packers were without the following players for large parts of the season:
- David Bakhtiari
- Jaire Alexander
- Aaron Jones
- Christian Watson
- A.J. Dillion
- Luke Musgrave
- Darnell Savage
- De’Vondre Campbell
- Rudy Ford
That list of players would be too much for most teams to recover from. But these injuries may have been a blessing in disguise for Green Bay.
With Watson out, the Packers gave more reps to young wideouts Reed and Wicks. Green Bay plugged Musgrave in as the starting tight end immediately. But rookie Tucker Kraft became the next man up when he went out with a lacerated kidney in Week 12.
Green Bay’s leaders at the tight end and wide receiver positions were both rookies. Reed recorded 793 yards on 64 catches, and Kraft barely edged out Musgrave for the lead tight end in yards with 32 receptions for 355 yards. Musgrave finished the year with 352 yards but played in six fewer games.
Romeo Doubs was not Green Bay’s most consistent player throughout the year. Still, the second-year player has been consistently clutch for the Packers. Doubs was the Packers’ leader against Dallas, catching all six passes for 151 yards and a score.
Jordan Love also has played his best football when it matters most.
Love has led the Packers to a 7-2 record since mid-November. He has thrown for 2,422 yards, 21 TDs, a 116.5 quarterback rating, and only one interception since Week 10. Love has succeeded in Matt Lafleur’s offense, no matter who he’s throwing to. The lack of reliance on one player has allowed Love to thrive.
Injuries have created next-man-up situations for the Packers, allowing the depth players to experience pressure situations before the playoffs. And they delivered when the Packers needed it most. Jones and Doubs were the heroes in Dallas, but someone else could step up against the San Francisco 49ers.
Even the defense rose to the occasion. Unlike previous in playoff stints, the Packers limited stud running back Tony Pollard to 3.7 yards a carry. Barry and Co. also held Dallas’ star receiver, CeeDee Lamb, to a minimal day until garbage time (three catches for 23 yards in the first half).
With his job on the line, Barry adjusted his defensive game plan and held a top-five regular-season offense to seven first-half points and forced two turnovers. That seemed unimaginable only four weeks removed from the 30-point meltdown against Carolina Panthers, the worst team in the NFL. But the Packers had a pretty healthy defense for this game, and Barry maximized their talent.
The Packers have overcome adversity all year. They have grown as a team on and off the field through injuries and inexperience. They are no longer reliant on a single player to win games. Having Aaron Jones and Jaire Alexander healthy against Dallas was a plus, but the Packers persevered without them until they stepped up in the biggest moment.
Jaire Alexander said it best:
The Pack is back.
All stats and data via ESPN unless otherwise noted.
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