Green Bay Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd rushed the football twice as many times against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1 as he did across his first two years of NFL football combined, but the results simply were not there.
Lloyd finished the day with 13 carries for 37 yards (2.8 yards per attempt) and no touchdowns. Prior to the season-opener, he had appeared in one game and logged six total rushes amid two seasons ravaged by one injury after another.
On Thursday, September 17, head coach Matt LaFleur focused less on Lloyd’s shortcomings in the first start of his professional tenure and more on the fact that he got through it absent any health issues, which was a legitimate hurdle/question mark for the RB heading into last Sunday.
“I think he did a good job. It’s something to build on. … He’s shown a lot of confidence that he’s able to do it, and that gives me confidence.”
“I think he did a good job. It’s something to build on,” LaFleur said, per Jason B. Hirschorn of The Leap. “He’s shown a lot of confidence that he’s able to do it, and that gives me confidence.”
Packers RB Josh Jacobs Still Absent Return Timeline
With Josh Jacobs still on the Commissioner’s Exempt List and likely facing a suspension from the league whenever the NFL concludes its independent investigation into his now past off-field legal issues, Lloyd appears likely to remain in the RB1 role heading forward.
Chris Brooks logged seven carries last week for 29 yards, while quarterback Jordan Love ran the football once. The Packers produced 66 yards as a team on 21 carries (3.1 yards per attempt), which simply wasn’t good enough.
By contrast, Love threw the football 42 times for 387 yards. The offensive line struggled in both the run game and pass protection.
And the Packers’ transformation into essentially a one-dimensional offense over the course of the game, coupled with a deficiency of talent and experience on the interior of the offensive line, led to four sacks and a whopping 15 QB hits on Love.
It also led to two turnovers that Minnesota immediately turned into touchdowns as part of a 29-point blitz over the last 20 minutes of the contest.
Packers Didn’t Use RB Kaleb Johnson in Opening Game
There are no easy fixes for what ails the Green Bay offense, but an improved showing against the New York Jets in Week 2 must include both better O-line play and a stronger commitment to the run game.
It is almost ironic to say that, given LaFleur’s sometimes over-reliance on/affinity for the ground attack over his eight-year tenure as the Packers’ head coach.
One change could be a decision by Green Bay to utilize Kaleb Johnson this upcoming weekend. The Packers traded a sixth-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers in return for Johnson near the end of the preseason after it became clear that Jacobs would not be available for several games.
Johnson is a much larger person physically than Lloyd and was a third-round selection out of Iowa last year before a couple of high profile mistakes derailed his rookie campaign in Pittsburgh.
But regardless of splits, Lloyd is going to have to lead the way for the Packers in Week 2. Remaining healthy and available is just the first test, which he passed last Sunday. Now it’s about being more productive on a consistent basis.
Packers Update MarShawn Lloyd Status After Ugly Vikings Outing