They weren’t supposed to make it this far, but the 2019 Green Bay Packers have defied expectations all year long.
Before the season began, few could have envisioned a 13-win campaign and a No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs from a reeling former perennial playoff contender.
After all, this was a team that had won just 13 games over the two previous seasons combined.
But everything changed over the course of one offseason.
On Jan. 7, Matt LaFleur, the offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans, was hired to become the new head coach of the Packers.
It was labeled a curious decision by some. The 39-year-old LaFleur was one of the hot coaching names in 2019 as a descendant of the Kyle Shanahan/Sean McVay coaching tree, but he was also a rookie head coach with everything to prove and his previous track record as an offensive play-caller was uninspiring, to say the least.
With LaFleur calling the plays, the 2018 Titans ranked 27th in points, 25th in yards, 29th in passing yards and 23rd in red zone scoring, so naturally, the coaching hire was met with plenty of skepticism when it was announced a year ago.
But the skepticism quickly faded away as the wins continued to pile up. By midseason, the Packers had gotten through the more difficult part of their schedule with a stellar 7-1 record, and by season’s end, they were a 13-3 squad with a first-round playoff bye and legitimate Super Bowl aspirations.
While LaFleur didn’t completely resurrect a once-great offense in one year as Packers head coach or dramatically improve their overall production from the previous season, he did make some major changes that had positive consequences. In 2019, the rookie head coach oversaw a greatly improved Green Bay rushing attack and that, along with the defensive improvement, has enabled quarterback Aaron Rodgers to do less of the heavy lifting week to week.
Inheriting an offense with Rodgers, running back Aaron Jones, wide receiver Davante Adams and a top-notch offensive line certainly helped his cause, but LaFleur has undoubtedly breathed new life into this team and helped them establish a new identity.
LaFleur is, of course, a big reason for the Packers’ dramatic improvement from 2018 to 2019, but he’s not the only reason. Several key offseason additions and great injury luck have also allowed Green Bay to reach far greater heights following a two-year playoff drought than many would have anticipated.
Adams missed four games with a turf toe injury and safety Raven Greene missed almost the entirety of the regular season with an ankle injury, but otherwise, the Packers were unaffected by major injuries to key players this year.
The Packers also lucked out when it came to injury-induced absences on opposing teams. In Week 8, they played the Chiefs without quarterback Patrick Mahomes, left tackle Eric Fisher and pass rushers Chris Jones and Frank Clark. In Week 10, they played the Panthers without quarterback Cam Newton. In Week 16, they played the Vikings without running back Dalvin Cook. In Week 17, they played the Lions without quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Free-agent signings and draft picks also played a major role in Green Bay’s quick turnaround, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
Marquee offseason signings Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith were at the forefront of the Packers’ defensive resurgence. With a combined 25.5 sacks this season – more than any other pass-rush duo in Packers’ history – the Smith brothers completely shattered expectations.
The other major offseason signings – safety Adrian Amos and guard Billy Turner – didn’t grab as many headlines as Za’Darius and Preston Smith, but they were solid contributors throughout the season as well. Turner had a bit of a slow start to the season but began playing significantly better down the stretch. Amos isn’t a player that typically makes a lot of highlight plays but he’s always been a reliable, assignment-sound football player. This year was no different for him.
Rookie Elgton Jenkins was superb as a first-year starter at left guard, where he didn’t allow a single sack in 571 pass-blocking snaps this season, per Pro Football Focus.
Rookie Darnell Savage was a strong contributor at safety, where he forced four takeaways (two interceptions and two fumbles), earned a top-30 PFF coverage grade among safeties and allowed a modest passer rating of 71.1 on passes into his coverage.
A couple of under-the-radar players also made significant contributions this year.
Undrafted free agent wide receiver Allen Lazard, who didn’t make the initial 53-man roster, stepped into a sizable role as the team’s No. 2 receiver as the season went along.
Undrafted free agent cornerback Chandon Sullivan played 350 snaps for the Packers this season. On 31 targets, he allowed just 11 completions and a 34.3 passer rating. While Sullivan functioned as more of a role player for the Packers’ defense this year, mostly seeing the field in subpackages, he quietly had a sizable impact.
The Packers have exceeded expectations this season for a number of reasons, and they’ve answered quite a few burning questions throughout the year like what their offensive identity would be under LaFleur, how good the defense would be with new additions and how they stack up in the NFC.
Now, ahead of the Divisional Round of the NFC Playoffs, one big question remains: do they have enough talent to win the Super Bowl?