The 2026 Green Bay Packers have a lot going for them in terms of Super Bowl credentials.
Quarterback Jordan Love is playing fantastic football, they have high-level pass catchers and one of the best offensive play-callers in the league, as well as a defense which has been excellent and will get Micah Parsons back soon.
But if they cannot fix their inept running game, the Packers will not be a true contender, and at this stage it seems that rectifying that issue could be impossible.
If Green Bay’s run game issues had a clear root cause, it would be easier to correct. Unfortunately, it seems to be a stew of different problems combining to make the Packers one of the worst rushing attacks in recent NFL history.
The offensive line is perhaps the biggest
problem. The pass protection has essentially been solved, with Green Bay allowing the sixth lowest pressure rate allowed since Week 4.
They are still not moving anyone off the ball in the run game though, and it is giving the Packers’ backs very little to work with. Even with some modest improvement in the last couple of weeks, they have still only averaged 0.93 yards before contact in the last two games, which ranks 22nd.
At this stage, it feels like Green Bay have made all the moves they are going to make on the offensive line. They signed Laken Tomlinson, Kevin Zeitler and Mekhi Becton, and have not seen fit to play two of the three.
Brian Gutekunst is invested in Jordan Morgan, Anthony Belton and Sean Rhyan, so it is very unlikely there will be any changes at tackle or center once Rhyan is back from a high ankle sprain. All they can really do is keep shuffling the pack at guard if they do not get results.
It is partially on the coaching staff to put the players in positions to succeed, and they are surely turning over every stone in terms of which plays to run in an attempt to get the run game going.
The only real tangible change that can be made at this point is to add another running back to the mix.
Josh Jacobs has returned to the picture after being on the Commissioner’s Exempt list, but despite a couple of plays where he made something out of nothing, he has not been able to elevate the run game down to down.
Perhaps as he knocks the rust off, Jacobs can make the difference, but there are now also more accusations of physical abuse against him, and Green Bay’s other backs have not shown themselves to be good enough.
That could be Jonathan Taylor, whom the Packers reportedly have trade interest in, or a less glamorous option like a Tony Pollard.
Pollard would be cheaper, less of a long-term commitment and has been one of the best backs in the NFL this year in making the most out of very little run blocking. The Titans rank 30th in yards before contact per attempt, yet Pollard is 10th in yards after contact per rush.
It would likely not take anything like a premium pick to get the 29-year-old out of Tennessee, and it would give the Packers a viable tag team partner for Jacobs, as well as insurance in case another suspension comes. Does Gutekunst want to take one last crack at fixing the run game?
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers Super Bowl hopes rely on fixing the run game: Can it be done?
