The Green Bay Packers have been one of the NFL’s most well-balanced and dominant teams since coming out of the Week 10 bye. From Week 11 on, the Packers rank third in EPA/play on offense and fourth in EPA/play on defense. Matt LaFleur’s team is 5-1 overall and have clinched a playoff berth with two weeks remaining.
Who have helped power the dominant stretch?
Improvements from these players have certainly played a part:
QB Jordan Love
PFF grade since bye: 79.5
In six games since the bye, Love has averaged an NFL-best 9.2 yards per attempt, thrown nine touchdown passes and just one interception and posted a passer rating of 113.8. He’s still creating all the explosive plays of the pre-bye stretch without all the turnovers. That’s a winning combo for Love, who is now healthy, more mobile and more accurate after getting over knee and groin injuries during the bye. Not surprisingly, the Packers have scored 30 or more points in five straight games, and Love hasn’t thrown an interception since Nov. 17.
LB Edgerrin Cooper
PFF grade since bye: 88.5
Cooper has played in only three games since the bye due to a three-game absence with a hamstring injury, but he’s been dominant when on the field. On only 123 total snaps, Cooper has produced 19 tackles, 11 stops, three pressures (including a sack), an interception and a near-interception. His overall grade since Week 11 trails only Myles Garrett, Nik Bonitto, Leonard Williams and Will Anderson Jr. He’s emerging as a legitimate game-changer down the stretch of his rookie season.
RB Josh Jacobs
PFF grade since bye: 90.3
Jacobs wasn’t a slouch during the first half of the season, but he is now the third-highest graded skill position player in the NFL since the bye. He’s scored an NFL-high 10 rushing touchdowns and forced an NFL-high 31 missed tackles while catching 16 passes for 212 yards (third most among running backs) over the last six weeks. His receiving grade of 92.0 is first among running backs. He’s become near automatic in the red zone while drastically improving his production as a weapon out of the backfield.
WR Christian Watson
PFF grade since bye: 71.6
Watson has 387 receiving yards since the bye, by far the most on the team over the last six games (Tucker Kraft is second with 242). He’s averaging 29.8 yards per catch (first in NFL) over 13 catches and 3.37 yards per route run (third best), with four contested catches on seven opportunities. He’s battling a knee injury coming out of Monday night’s win, but the Packers need him back near 100 percent for the postseason. He’s not only influencing coverage but also creating big plays.
DE Brenton Cox Jr.
PFF grade since bye: 75.3
Since the Packers traded away Preston Smith and opened up opportunities at edge rusher, Cox has produced 4.0 sacks and 13 pressures over 80 pass-rushing snaps while creating a pass-rush win rate of 16.5 and leading the team in pass-rushing productivity. He’s winning over 25.0 percent of his pass-rushing opportunities from “true pass sets.” It’s possible the Packers need to get him on the field more in obvious passing situations.
CB Eric Stokes
PFF grade since bye: 75.5
After a difficult stretch to start the season, Stokes has settled in as a starter on the perimeter. Since the bye, Stokes has allowed only six catches for 22 yards (long of only 5 yards) on 14 targets into his coverage. He gave up a touchdown pass in Detroit, and he still hasn’t broken up a pass this season, but his overall coverage grade since Week 11 ranks as the fourth best among NFL cornerbacks. The drastic improvement came at an ideal time considering Jaire Alexander has played only 10 snaps since Oct. 28.
DE Rashan Gary
PFF grade since bye: 78.0
Gary has 22 pressures over the last six weeks, which ranks 11th among edge rushers, and his 12 defensive stops rank eighth among edge rushers. His disruptive production has increased since the bye, and he’s become an excellent defender against the run. The Packers have big games coming up. Can Gary make the 1-2 big plays each game that every championship contender needs out of its top edge rusher?
Others
DE Lukas Van Ness: His overall PFF grade isn’t spectacular since the bye, but the second-year edge rusher does have 13 pressures and a near elite pass-rushing grade since the bye.
DL Kenny Clark: Since the bye, Clark has 12 pressures, 10 stops and a vastly improved run defense grade.
LB Quay Walker: Before his injury, Walker was flashing dominant, game-changing ability against the run. His run defense grade is 80.2 since the bye.
