The Green Bay Packers will need to run the ball to beat the New York Giants. Dexter Lawrence’s return to the lineup will provide a large impediment to that plan.
The 6-foot-4, 340-pounder is one of the top run-stopping defensive tackles in the NFL. After missing the Week 12 victory over New England due to a hamstring injury and then getting the benefit of last week’s bye, Lawrence was listed as questionable by coach Brian Daboll for Monday night against Green Bay.
“I’m hopeful … he’ll be ready to go,” Daboll said.
Assuming he plays, Lawrence will be the man to beat for center Josh Myers, in particular, and Green Bay’s offensive line, in general.
What makes him so good?
“He’s huge, for one,” Myers said. “Physically, he’s a very imposing man. He’s huge but he also laterally is very quick and is quick in his pass rush, as well. He’s got the speed with the size, which makes him different than most at that position. He’s got a lot of speed and a lot of size. He’s got a lot of both. It’s going to be a challenge, for sure, but it’ll be fun.”
While defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux, who will spend most of the night going up against Rasheed Walker and/or Yosh Nijman at left tackle, ranks among the league leaders with 11 sacks, limiting Lawrence’s impact will be the most critical factor of the game.
“He’s one of the best in the league,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “He’s just a massive human that does a great job of getting push in the pocket. He’s a big man. He’s hard to move in the run game. He’s one of those guys that he definitely has a tremendous impact on the game both in the run game and in the pass game.”
Even with Lawrence’s presence, the Giants are 31st with 4.80 yards allowed per carry. The difference between when Lawrence is on the field and when he’s off the field is almost 0.60 yards per attempt, according to league data.
Lawrence, who had just 3.5 sacks during his final two seasons at Clemson, has developed into more than just a two-down run-stopper. In his last five games, Lawrence tallied four sacks. That’s on the heels of his career-high 7.5 last year, when he was named second-team All-Pro.
“I’m not going to always get the sack, we’re not going to always get the sack, but if we can create a turnover by affecting the quarterback, that’s a positive, too,” Lawrence said recently.
Injuries have robbed the Packers of three of their top playmakers with running back Aaron Jones expected to be inactive, receiver Christian Watson ruled out and tight end Luke Musgrave on injured reserve.
Over the last few games, with Watson and quarterback Jordan Love finding their groove, Green Bay’s offense has become one of the more explosive in the NFL.
Without Watson, it’s going to be harder for the Packers to get those big plays through sheer skill. From offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich’s perspective, the key to offsetting the loss of Watson will be “lean(ing) into the run … to set up” the downfield passing game.
That means it’s going to be critical to handle Lawrence so the Packers can run the ball and then dial up those play-action attempts. Moreover, running the ball will keep the offense out of third-and-long and mitigate some of Giants defensive coordinator Don Martindale’s extensive blitz packages. With Martindale calling the shots, the Giants are fourth on third down.
It’s worth remembering the Giants’ defense last season got after Aaron Rodgers, limiting the veteran to just 9-of-17 for 70 yards on blitzes. Love has handled the blitz well but this will be a big challenge.
Discussing Green Bay’s rising offense, Martindale said this week: “You can really see it’s catered around the quarterback and Matt’s personality of his offense. It’s definitely a tough out.
“The receivers, that’s a deep room. The running backs, a deep room. When I say deep room, they have a lot of talent – maybe the deepest rooms in the league. Those young guys are really playing well. They’ve got some good football players over there. I think Luke Butkus has this offensive line playing really well together. So, it's going to be a great challenge for us.”
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