Before the Green Bay Packers lost the game with a 64-yard field goal miss from kicker Brandon McManus, the offense’s previous drive stalled out at midfield because of a turnover on downs. To add insult to injury, the Philadelphia Eagles’ defense knew exactly what was coming on that fourth down.
On 4th and 1, the Packers lined up in the shotgun, which generally makes defenses second-guess whether a run is coming. Because of the predictability of Green Bay’s offense, though, all disguise was blown.
The Packers often run out of the shotgun in these short-yardage looks, and the Eagles knew it.
Listen to the audio in the clip above. Right before the snap, a Philadelphia defender screams, “Inside zone this way, inside zone this way.” And by God, it was inside zone that way.
This isn’t too tough of a call, considering most gun runs go opposite of where the running back lines up, since he has to cross the midpoint of the formation to get the ball from the quarterback. You sort of cut the field in half by nature there. But STILL.
The Eagles’ defensive linemen got off the ball very quickly, forcing Josh Jacobs to bounce the play backside, right into two linemen who were shedding their blocks, made by Jordan Morgan and Luke Musgrave, and a safety coming into the box as an extra fitter.
Ultimately, success on that play wouldn’t have mattered for the Packers, because they also committed a pre-snap penalty on the run — an illegal formation because both Musgrave and receiver Dontayvion Wicks were on the ball on the same side of the field.
So not only was Green Bay sloppy with their details on the got-to-have-it down, but they were also very predictable while doing it.
This offense stinks.
