The Green Bay Packers are first on offense and defense by DVOA over the first two weeks of the season. The team beat the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders, so there aren’t many reasons to complain about the performance.
“If the goal is to keep it going, then I think we can go undefeated, honestly,” left tackle Rasheed Walker said. “I mean, personally, I also tell people that we could have gone undefeated the past two seasons. We lost a lot of the games off a couple plays, but I feel like our offense has been playing so good and so disciplined, and our defense is playing even better.”
However, for a group that believes in a Super Bowl run, every detail matters. And there is one specific area where improvement is possible and needed: Run blocking.
Packers’ underwhelming run blocking
Head coach Matt LaFleur’s scheme is not necessarily run-heavy, but it is run-centric. Playaction and even some dropback concepts are tied to the team’s ability and willingness to run the ball, so this aspect of the game is particularly relevant.
However, run-blocking has been mediocre—and it’s just following a trend from last year. In 2025, through two weeks, the Packers are 21st in yards before contact per carry (0.87), 13th in stuffed run percentage (18.2%), 15th in run block win rate (71%), and 21st in PFF run block grade (54.6).
Even with an elite running back in Josh Jacobs, the Packers are seventh in rush success rate and just 14th in EPA/rush—this combination shows that the run game is fairly effective on a play-by-play basis, but the unit is lacking explosives.
Last year, Jacobs had a 21.2% breakaway rate—percentage of plays over 15 yards. It wasn’t necessarily a great rate compared to other elite running backs, but it’s certainly much better than what it’s been so far this year: 10%.
Jacobs has had a solid 3.02 yards after contact per attempt, which is lower than last year (3.45) but still respectable—22nd out of 55 qualifying running backs. The bigger problem is the lack of rushing lanes.
On Sunday, the Cleveland Browns offer a tough challenge. The Week 3 opponent is third in ESPN’s run stop win rate and first in PFF’s run defense grade.
Individual performances
Most offensive line stats are collective numbers. However, the individual stats that we have confirm the somewhat concerning scenario. Left tackle Rasheed Walker is the only Packers’ lineman on the top 20 in ESPN’s run block win rate, and he’s 20th (93%).
According to PFF, center Elgton Jenkins is the best on the team in run block grade (68.5). Right guard Sean Rhyan and Walker also have grades over 60, while Aaron Banks (40.5) has the worst grade.
PFF run block grade through two weeks:
Elgton Jenkins 68.5
Darian Kinnard 66.7
Sean Rhyan 63.2
Rasheed Walker 62.7
Zach Tom 56.4
Anthony Belton 56.4
Jordan Morgan 42.5
Aaron Banks 40.5
Having Zach Tom back on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns should help, and a bigger sample size with the full group available may give us a better understanding of where the unit truly is. But after two amazing games for the Packers, this is the offensive aspect that needs attention.
