The Green Bay Packers improve to 7-8 and keep their playoff hopes alive. The Carolina Panthers made a late run and essentially ran out of time with a chance to tie the game. The Packers defense once again struggled to defend the pass.
This article will list the top five worst and best PFF-graded players from each side of the ball. We will also include some stats and some context to the grades.
By Analyzing these stats, we can get a better idea if they match up to what we see statistically. The PFF Grades are not everything, but give a good measure of where the player stands. A grade above 70 is good, and the 60s is average. A grade that is below 50 would be considered below average.
Green Bay Packers Offense
Top Five Offensive Grades
1. Aaron Jones – PFF Grade: 81.4
2. Bo Melton – PFF Grade: 79.1
3. Jordan Love – PFF Grade: 77.4
4. Romeo Doubs – PFF Grade: 71.5
5. Dontayvion Wicks – PFF Grade: 68.3
Bottom Five Offensive Grades
1. Samouri Toure – PFF Grade: 38.2
2. Rasheed Walker – PFF Grade: 40.6
3. Josh Myers – PFF Grade: 41.3
4. Sean Rhyan – PFF Grade: 44.8
5. Zach Tom – PFF Grade: 46.6
Green Bay Packers Offense Analysis
Aaron Jones looked back to his old self, and he brought a lot of juice to the offense. This team missed him this year. He had 21 carries for 127 yards. Averaging six yards a carry opened up the passing game for the Packers. You can see Jordan Love’s confidence keeps growing with the throws he’s making.
The Packers were down Christian Watson and Jayden Reed. Dontayvion Wicks was injured shortly after his touchdown catch. With all their primary guys injured, the practice squad call-up of Bo Melton looked good. Regardless of who catches passes for the Packers, they find a way to make plays.
The offensive line needs to find some consistency. Rhyan and Runyan split equal snaps. Rasheed Walker has won the left tackle job. Walker has dramatically improved his pass blocking but still struggles with run blocking.
Overall, the offense is improving towards the end of the year, which is promising.
Green Bay Packers Defense
Top Five Defensive Grades
1. Karl Brooks – PFF Grade: 80.0
2. Lukas Van Ness – PFF Grade: 71.0
3. Preston Smith – PFF Grade: 70.3
4. Colby Wooden – PFF Grade: 67.8
5. Jonathan Owens – PFF Grade: 65.9
Bottom Five Defensive Grades
1. Devonte Wyatt – PFF Grade: 40.2
2. Anthony Johnson Jr. – PFF Grade: 40.7
3. Isaiah McDuffie – PFF Grade: 43.3
4. Keisean Nixon – PFF Grade: 51.4
5. Rashan Gary – PFF Grade: 55.9
Green Bay Packers Defense Analysis
Rinse and repeat. The Green Bay Packers give up another career day to a struggling quarterback. Bryce Young finished with 312 yards and two touchdowns and was nominated for FedEx Air Player of the Week.
The Carolina Panthers had their best offensive game of the year.
- Season High Yards (394)
- Season High Points (30)
- Season High First Downs (26)
- Zero Turnovers
The concerning part is who is at fault on the defense. Joe Barry blitzed a season-high 44% of Bryce Young’s dropbacks. They went man coverage 64% of the time. Barry was anything but passive against the Panthers, yet the defense was gashed.
The Packer top three largest cap hits are all guys on defense. Rashan Gary and Jaire Alexander did not play well. Kenny Clark was solid but not a game-wrecker. The defense has been regressing since beating Mahomes and the Chiefs back on December third.
The small positives are that 2023 first-round pick Lukas Van Ness has had back-to-back weeks in the top five, though his snaps are limited. Hopefully, he can keep improving and become a much larger part of this defense next year.
Overall, it was a sad, pathetic performance once again, with little accountability. I’m unsure where this defense goes from here as they prepare for the Minnesota Vikings.
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