Being good for all 60 minutes of an NFL game is extremely hard and rarely achieved. The Green Bay Packers didn’t put together a complete game against the Detroit Lions, but they still came away with a victory and plenty to celebrate. After defeating the Lions, and with some help from the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay claimed the top seed in the NFC with three weeks left in the year. They also clinched the NFC North in back-to-back years. It’s something to smile about briefly, but in no way are they satisfied just yet.
Right now, the Packers are 10-3 and one of the best teams in the league. However, they aren’t perfect. During Sunday’s game, the defense allowed Matt Stafford to throw for 203 yards in the first half. This year, Mike Pettine’s unit has been the embodiment of the bend but don’t break philosophy by relying mostly on timely stops to help the offense just enough. For now, it works.
What’s made this Green Bay team tick this year can be tied to their proficiency during the second and third quarters. Actually, no team has been better than Green Bay in the middle two quarters in games in 2020.
According to teamrankings.com, the Packers are scoring 13.7 points during the second quarter this season, good enough for first in the NFL. Last year, they averaged 5.4 points, which was 27th. Either Green Bay has magically transformed into a better second-quarter team in a year, or head coach Matt LaFleur has placed an emphasis on being a better offensive team heading into halftime. Something tells me it’s the latter.
Coming out of halftime, the Packers don’t score as much as they do during the second, but it’s still plenty. At 6.8 points per third quarter, Green Bay ranks third in the NFL, trailing only the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals. Last year, they were sixth in the league at 6.4 points during the third quarter. In his first two years, it has become clear that LaFleur has been great at making halftime adjustments for his offense.
He did it once again this week against Detroit. The Packers held the ball for nearly 9 minutes on the opening drive before scoring a touchdown to go up 21-14. After the defense forced a quick three and out, the offense manufactured yet another long scoring drive to go up by 14. By the time the third quarter ended, the Lions had only possessed the ball for one drive that lasted 1:21. If Green Bay doesn’t have such a dominating third quarter, they probably don’t win the game.
In 2020, the Packers were the top-scoring offense in the league at 31.6 points per game coming into this week. 20.5 of those points are scored in the second and third quarter, and there’s really no rhyme or reason as to why.
This Green Bay team isn’t perfect. In fact, most might say their flaws are well-documented. However, it’s worth noting how good this team has been in the second and third quarter.