Tag: red zone

The Green Bay Packers not only entered the red zone five times on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers but also scored five touchdowns inside the 20-yard line during a 38-10 win at Lambeau Field.

For a second early on, it looked like recurring problems would once again stall out a drive in the scoring area. Elgton Jenkins was flagged for holding, setting up 1st-and-20. But the Packers overcame the penalty, using an 11-yard completion from Jordan Love to Jayden Reed and an 11-yard touchdown pass from Love to Tucker Kraft on a tight end screen to get the ball rolling on what turned out to be a perfect day for the Packers offense in the red zone.

Josh Jacobs scored a trio of 1-yard touchdown runs, and Love finished off the onslaught with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Malik Heath late in the fourth quarter.

The Packers came into the contest having scored only 19 touchdowns on 39 trips into the red zone. A graphic from FOX during the television broadcast helped illustrate why: When the Packers didn’t have a penalty in the red zone, they scored touchdowns on 68 percent of trips. When they did have a penalty, however, they scored on just 17 percent.

On Sunday, the Packers overcame their one red-zone penalty and had no problems on their other four red-zone trips.

Efficiency was there. In fact, only twice did the Packers have to convert a third or fourth down to convert a drive, and they hit on both — one on a defensive pass interference penalty in the end zone, and another on a quarterback sneak from Jordan Love.

Kraft scored on a tight end screen to finish off the first possession, and he set up one of Jacobs’ 1-yard touchdown runs with a 15-yard catch in the second half.

Jacobs was a freight train. None of his three 1-yard runs were particularly clean along the line of scrimmage, but he powered his way into the end zone each time. On his second score, Jacobs got his at about the 2-yard line but carried a defender into the end zone. The 49ers had big problems tackling him all afternoon.

The Packers haven’t struggled to get the ball into the scoring area this season. A combination of explosive plays and takeaways have set up numerous opportunities. On Sunday, those opportunities didn’t end in three points or no points. In a big game against a playoff rival, the Packers turned all their best chances into seven points — and the red-zone success led to a blowout win over the short-handed 49ers.

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.”