It was a night to forget for head coach Matt LaFleur and the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, as the team suffered a 37-8 beat down at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers in what was arguably the most important game for the team since the 2016 NFC Championship Game.
Seemingly nothing went right for the Packers offense – or the entire team, for that matter – but what stuck out most was LaFleur’s willingness, or lack thereof, to use running back Aaron Jones in the passing game.
Entering Week 12, quarterback Aaron Rodgers had a league-leading 132.4 passer rating when targeting running backs, according to PFF. Rodgers had a 123.5 passer rating when targeting Jones and 131.9 rating when targeting Williams. Jones had the fourth-highest receiving grade from PFF entering Week 12, while Williams had the third-highest.
But for the second-straight game, Jones didn’t have a catch, and he only has one reception for -1 yard on four targets over the past three games combined.
Despite the clear and obvious lack of production from the Packers receiver group on Sunday night, LaFleur failed to pivot from whatever the coaching staff saw on tape leading up to the game, and continued trying to force a square peg into a round hole.
On a night where receivers Geronimo Allison, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Allen Lazard and Jake Kumerow caught four passes for 23 yards on 10 combined targets, Jones only saw one target, an incomplete pass on third down in the first half.
Rodgers had just 104 passing yards on 20 completions and 33 attempts, his lowest total since 2015 against the Denver Broncos where he posted just 77 yards.
Simply put, the offensive game plan from the Packers on Sunday was inexcusable, and Jones must be more involved going forward.
Aaron Jones in October: 22 catches, 280 yards, 3 TDs
Aaron Jones in November: 1 catch, -1 yard, 0 TDs— Zach Kruse (@zachkruse2) November 25, 2019
Sunday night’s blunder becomes even more staggering when looking at how the season started. In the first eight games, Jones hauled in 34 receptions (42 targets) for 355 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. In fact, after the first eight games, Jones was the team’s leader in receptions.
Also noteworthy is the fact that Williams and Jones had a nearly 50/50 split in terms of snap share. Against the 49ers, Jones was on the field for 41-of-80 offensive snaps, while Williams was on the field for 39-of-80 snaps. More importantly, Williams was the go-to guy in the passing game, hauling in seven receptions on eight targets.
For whatever reason, Jones has failed to be involved as a receiver over the past several weeks. LaFleur stated last week that the team used the bye week as an opportunity to “self-scout.” Going forward, he’ll need to recognize that Jones needs to be one of the main focal points on offense, particularly in the passing game.
[lawrence-related id=35486,35467]