The Green Bay Packers already had the worst offensive backfield in the NFL based on hard statistics, and things got even worse with news on running back Chris Brooks that the team released Friday.
Brooks will miss the Packers’ Week 5 contest against the Chicago Bears, according to the official injury report. Several other key players are either questionable, doubtful or already ruled out.
“The #Packers have ruled Chris Brooks and Savion Williams out for Sunday’s game,” Kyle Malzhan of WFRV reported via X on October 9. “Jager Burton, Anthony Campbell, Javon Hargrave all questionable. Aaron Banks and Jacob Monk are doubtful. The #Bears have listed Kyle Monagai out and Caleb Williams … as questionable.”
Chris Brooks’ Top Pass Protector in Packers RB Group
The Packers have produced the worst rush offense in the league through four weeks, averaging just 58 yards per contest.
Brooks is not even the most effective runner in the group of participants, which to date has included MarShawn Lloyd and Kaleb Johnson, the latter of whom Green Bay traded for with the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier this season.
In fact, Brooks has tallied just 70 yards on 15 carries, both of which rank third on the roster over the first month. However, he does lead the RB room with an average of 4.7 yards per carry.
A significant factor in Brooks’ average yards per attempt statistic is that he is often on the field during likely passing downs because he is the running back the coaching staff trusts most in pass protection. That typically means lighter defensive boxes on plays that Green Bay decides to run when the opposing team is expecting a pass.
Brooks has just three catches for 24 yards on six targets this season, and all of those numbers trail the pass-catching stats Lloyd has produced. Still, Brooks’ 45 games of NFL experience and 525 cumulative snaps of offense over that stretch render him far more seasoned in the crucial, and often complex, skill of pass blocking from the RB position.
Packers Added Pierre Strong Jr. to RB Room Amid Chris Brooks’ Injury
The Packers added former Cleveland Browns running back Pierre Strong Jr. to round out the position group against the Bears, but how much they can rely on him in-game this week is a real question without a certain answer.
Chicago does not have an overbearing pass rush, nor does it employ the same kind of blitz-happy chaos that Brian Flores’ defense in Minnesota prefers.
That said, the Bears do have a handful of players in Montez Sweat, Austin Booker and Dayo Odeyingbo who can get to the quarterback, and Chicago can make that happen either off the edge or straight up the spine of the defense.
Green Bay likely won’t have starting guard Aaron Banks at its disposal and will probably start Kevin Zeitler for the first time ever as a member of the Packers. The offensive line has struggled mightily all season, and losing Brooks isn’t going to help matters no matter how the lineup shakes out.
Packers Catch Tough Blow to RB Room Ahead of Bears Showdown