Tag: red zone

The Green Bay Packers entered the bye week after converting only 16 of 34 red-zone trips into touchdowns during the first nine games of 2024 — a conversion rate that ranked 29th out of 32 NFL teams to start the season.

The first test coming out the bye for Matt LaFleur and Jordan Love?

The Chicago Bears’ top-ranked red zone defense.

Through 10 weeks, the Bears have allowed only 10 touchdowns on 27 trips into their red zone. The 10 red-zone touchdowns are the second fewest in the NFL, and Chicago’s defense is one of only two (Los Angeles Chargers) with a touchdown conversion rate inside the red zone under 40 percent this season.

The success inside the 20-yard line is a big reason why opponents have attempted 24 field goal attempts against the Bears this season, ranking as the fourth most in the NFL. This is bend but don’t break — which is partly why the Bears rank 13th in yards allowed but seventh in points.

Can LaFleur and Love find answers inside the 20-yard line on Sunday?

There’s no doubt the Packers spent time during the bye studying what went wrong in the red zone. LaFleur said penalties have been a big factor in stalling drives because getting off schedule in the red zone is often hard to overcome. The Packers led the NFL in penalties inside the 20-yard line during the first nine weeks. Drops have been another problem at every spot on the field.

One factor to consider: Love’s health. He should have two healthy legs coming out of the bye, which would allow him to create more accuracy and more off-schedule plays. In a condensed area, accuracy and timing is vital for creating completions And when plays break down, a quarterback must often buy time and move around to create throwing windows. When the Packers got hot late last season, Love was creating extended plays to help create touchdowns in the red zone.

It’s one thing to get into the scoring area. The Packers have created explosive plays so consistently this season that red-zone trips haven’t been scarce. But converting has been a season-long issue, and the Packers won’t truly reach their potential until they are turning more trips inside the 20 into seven points.

One way to keep the reeling Bears in the game on Sunday would be settling for short field goals in the red zone. Can the Packers take a big step forward in a key area coming out of the bye and unlock one of the NFL’s best red-zone defenses?

The Green Bay Packers’ offense has had opportunities to put points on the board the last two games but struggled to do so in the red zone.

The Packers finished 2-for-5 scoring touchdowns inside the 20-yard line during each of the last two games, both losses.

“You’ve always got to look critically at yourself,” said coach Matt LaFleur on Wednesday. “Are you putting the players in the best position possible? And if the answer is no, then you better come up with some different stuff. There’s been a little of that and then there’s been some lack of execution. That’s football. These guys get paid too on the other side. That’s been a point of emphasis.”

With how the last two games ended for the Packers, the defense is understandably garnering a lot of the attention. However, missed opportunities by the Green Bay offense in the red zone contributed to these losses as well.

Against the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Packers had scoring chances, with a total of 10 red zone visits, including five in each game. For some context, the Dallas Cowboys lead the NFL with 4.2 red zone trips per game. Unfortunately, on 10 visits, Green Bay left with only four touchdowns–two in each contest.

“There’s a lot of things that play into it,” said Jordan Love on Wednesday. “I think just giving guys a shot in the end zone and going to make a play is the biggest thing we can focus on. I still think we are a really good team and once we get down to the red zone we do a really good job. We have done a really good job and obviously last week wasn’t good enough. I think we will bounce back this week and be able to put up more points down there.”

Of course, when the Packers were on their three-game winning streak, they were much more efficient in the red zone. When up against the Los Angeles Chargers, Detroit Lions, and Kansas City Chiefs, the Packers converted 7-of-10 red zone opportunities into touchdowns. However, those types of performances have actually been the outlier for the team this season. Overall, Green Bay’s touchdown rate inside the 20-yard line sits at 50 percent, which ranks 22nd.

As Love mentioned, there isn’t one specific reason as to why they’ve struggled in this part of the field. In the early to middle portion of the year, you can point to the offense’s overall inconsistencies and inability to get out of its own way.

The Buccaneers have been one of the best red zone defenses in football, allowing a touchdown at the fourth-lowest rate entering Week 15.

Previously, LaFleur has discussed how red zone success starts with having a run game to lean on. Although it’s improved in the second half of the season, whether it be due to injuries or inconsistency, the Green Bay run game hasn’t been overly dominant by any means either.

In general, it’s also more difficult to move the ball in the red zone, especially through the air. With this being a condensed part of the field, there is simply less space to operate within with more defenders in a confined area.

The theme among LaFleur, Love, or Elgton Jenkins when asked about Green Bay’s red zone woes all goes back to execution and better responding to what the defense is throwing at them.

“Just the execution of assignment,” said Jenkins. It’s the O-Line not making a block. The receivers not making a block or not making a catch. The quarterback not making the read or whatever. It’s really just the details and getting in there and wanting it more, for sure. I feel like when you get in that area, people anchor down a little bit more. Send more pressure, a little more disguise, and we’ve got to be able to communicate and get the job done.”

This week against Carolina will provide the Green Bay red zone offense with the opportunity to get back on track. The Panthers enter Week 16 allowing a red zone touchdown on 71 percent of their opponents’ visits–the highest rate in football.

The Packers have experienced an immense amount of growth on offense since Week 9. Love ranks eighth in yards per pass attempt during that span. However, even with that being the case, they’ve eclipsed the 24-point mark on offense just once during that seven-game stretch. Taking that next step as a unit comes once they can be more consistent and effective within the red zone.

“Get down there, that’s when you’ve got to be at your best,” added LaFleur. “Whether it’s in the red zone, whether it’s on third down, fourth down. You have to be at your best in the most critical moments. I don’t think it’s for a lack of effort, a lack of focus. But we obviously haven’t performed the best we can, and I’m talking everybody, from myself down to the players.”

A difficult red zone matchup for the Green Bay Packers against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense could be a determining factor in Sunday’s game at Lambeau Field.

Opponents have found success moving the ball on the Bucs, particularly through the air. Tampa will enter Sunday’s game allowing 7.2 yards per pass attempt, the fourth-most in football. As a result, opposing offenses are making their way to the red zone against Tampa 3.3 times per contest, the ninth-highest average in football.

However, once there, this Bucs’ defense has been one of the best at keeping teams out of the end zone. Led by a stout run defense and two rangy linebackers, Tampa Bay is allowing a touchdown on only 41.8 percent of their opponents’ red zone visits, good for fourth-best this season.

“They’re a physical defense,” said offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich on Thursday, “and their linebackers have really good range. (Lavonte) David and (Devin) White are excellent players. So their front, they set the edge, they are big and physical inside, and their DBs are really physical on the edge. It kind of just caps everything in there, and those linebackers can really cover ground and make plays.

“They have some really talented players, and their scheme is tough. They do a lot of double coverage and things like that when they are playing coverage. So it’s going to be a challenge for us.”

Compared to the rest of the NFL, the Packers have been a below-average offense in the red zone. The good news is that they give themselves opportunities with 3.6 red zone attempts per game, but they convert those scoring chances into touchdowns just over 51 percent of the time and rank in the bottom third of the NFL.

At the end of the day, red zone efficiency was the difference in what ended up being a loss to the Giants, with Green Bay going just 2-for-5 in the red area and New York 3-for-4.

“Ultimately, we’ve got to do a better job,” said Matt LaFleur on Thursday. “Everybody, making sure especially when we get into the red area. Tampa is one of the best in this league at it and we’re going to have to execute and have a better plan for Tampa.”

As LaFleur has discussed previously, a key component to red zone success begins with the run game. In part, this is due to being in an already condensed part of the field, which makes moving the ball through the air more difficult with there being less space.

Green Bay’s run game has been improved over the last month-plus compared to where it was through the first half of the season, but it is still far from dominant. Not to mention that there is some uncertainty at running back currently as AJ Dillon deals with a broken thumb and Aaron Jones works his way back from an MCL sprain. Even if both were to play, neither may be on a full workload.

The Tampa defense has been one of the better units against the run this season, allowing only 3.9 yards per attempt. Not only in the red zone, but in general in this game, the burden may have to fall on the Green Bay passing game to move the ball, and as Stenavich mentioned, the Bucs do a great job, specifically in the red zone, of funneling everything to the middle, where their dynamic linebacker duo of Lavonte David and Devin White can make plays.

“It’s hard to run the ball on them down there,” added Stenavich. “So again, it’s another challenge that’s something we have to overcome to make sure we can score some touchdowns, for sure.”