One part of the field where the Green Bay Packers’ offense has been consistent and efficient is in the red zone. Not a bad place for that to happen.
Through four games, the Packers have a red zone touchdown rate of 69.2 percent, which is the fourth-best rate in the NFL. The 2022 Green Bay offense finished with a touchdown on only 52 percent of their red trips.
“A lot of it starts with running the ball,” said offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich on Monday. “That’s always the No. 1 thing in the red zone that you want to try and do. But I think we’ve had some pretty good plans and able to attack defenses.”
As Stenavich said, red zone success begins with running the ball well. In a condensed part of the field where there is less space to operate in, it can become more difficult to move the ball through the air. With that said, what makes the offense’s current feat all the more impressive is that Green Bay has struggled to move the ball on the ground this season. The Packers currently rank 29th in yards per carry with 3.3 yards.
So what has allowed the Packers to be so efficient in this part of the field? Well, as always, there are several factors.
One is Matt LaFleur’s play-calling and the red zone game plan the Packers have in place. On several of their touchdowns inside the 20 yard line, we’ve seen pass catchers getting the ball in space leading to yards after the catch opportunities and some relatively easy scores.
Also, despite the lack of success on the ground, the Packers have still effectively used play-action in this part of the field. Even if the run game isn’t ripping off chunk runs, if the defense believes the offense will run the ball in a specific situation, play-action can still be effective.
Sans the Detroit game, the pass protection has held up well, giving Jordan Love time and allowing the receivers to get open. Even in a condensed part of the field where the secondary may benefit, eventually players are going to come open if the quarterback has time to go through each of his progressions.
“Then our guys having the right mentality,” added Stenavich. “You get the ball, you get vertical and go score. That’s the biggest thing. There have been some things we have to clean up down there, but that’s been a pretty good spot for us so far.”
Lastly, Love’s feel in the pocket and ability to extend plays has shown up in the red zone as well. For someone with not a lot of NFL experience yet, Love has shown great instincts in the pocket, knowing how to navigate it to avoid pressure, when to extend the play beyond the pocket, and when to take off. Green Bay has also dialed up some run-specific plays for him. Against New Orleans, Love scored on a read-option in which he kept the ball. Then against Detroit, he scored on a quarterback keeper with the middle of the field wide open.
In terms of red zone attempts per game, the Packers are about league average with 3.3 scoring opportunities each week. The long periods of ineffective football they have experienced in each of the last three games can be traced back to a lack of consistent early down success. However, despite those struggles at times between the 20s with how efficient Green Bay has been once inside the red zone, they still rank 10th in points per game this season.