A look at the Packers passing game against the Seahawks
The Packers had not won in Seattle since 2008, but they took care of that this time around to the tune of a decisive 30-13 victory. They had 4 possessions in the first half and scored on all 4 (2 TDs, 2 FGs). If they hadn’t bungled the time management at the end of the first half, that very likely could have been 3 TDs and 1 FG.
The defense looked good (welcome back Edgerrin Cooper), Josh Jacobs had another big game, and Jordan Love? Well, let’s talk about him.
To the chart.
Mainly short, more deep than I can remember seeing in a while, and very little intermediate. Also, much more concentrated in the middle of the field than we’ve seen for the majority of this season.
Love’s ADOT (Average Depth of Target) was 7.4 yards, tied for the second-lowest of the season (per PFF). As you can see from the chart, it was a game of extremes for Love, with 33.3% of his attempts behind the LOS (Line Of Scrimmage) and 22.2% of his attempts over 20 yards. Check it down or chuck it deep.
A lot of the conversation coming into this game revolved around how Love would deal with the blitz. Seattle has a creative blitz package and Love has struggled against the blitz at times this year, so it was a valid talking point. In this game, Love shredded the blitz. Per PFF, Love was blitzed on 10 dropbacks. On those dropbacks, he went 8/10 (80%) for 119 yards (11.9 YPA) and 1 TD (QB Rating 149.6). When blitzed, his average time to throw was 2.22 seconds, so he was quickly diagnosing and finding the right place to go with the ball. Sometimes it was a deep shot, but he also was able to find shorter options if he didn’t like the deep throw.
Overall, it was another good day from Love and this passing offense. This offense has been humming since the bye week, finding a really nice balance between their creative/bruising run game and their bombs-away approach in the passing game. They’re currently the 3rd best offense by FTN’s Weighted DVOA (behind the Ravens and the Bills). They’ve been top-10 in offense all season, but the consistency is finally starting to show up. And with the playoffs right around the corner. Huh. How about that?
Let’s look at a play before we get out of here. We’re heading to a play that takes place on 1st & 10 with 9:32 remaining in the 4th quarter with the Packers ahead 23-13.
They come out in 12 personnel (1 RB, 2 TE, 2 WR) out of shotgun. They’ve got a balanced line, with a tight end on each side (Tucker Kraft [85] on the right, John FitzPatrick [86] on the left). The two receivers start in a stack on the left, with Dontayvion Wicks [13] at the point and Christian Watson [9] underneath. The Seahawks are in a two-high safety look with an 8 man box (6 men at the line, 2 linebackers), leaving a single defender over the Packers’ wide receiver stack.
Watson goes in a Return motion before the snap, motioning under the line to the guard spot, then reversing course back to the stack side. The Seahawks aren’t bumping anyone over, so it looks like a two-on-one advantage for the Packers.
They’re running an RPO off a power run concept, pulling Elgton Jenkins [74] and Rasheed Walker [63] over to the right, while the right side of the line blocks down. Josh Jacobs [8] crosses Love’s face for the handoff, looking to follow the blocks of Jenkins and Walker. The pass tag is a quick-game concept called Hank: a hitch from the inside and a flat route from the outside.
With the Seahawks in an 8 man box and a numbers advantage to the passing concept, this makes for an easy decision for Love. When Watson motions back out, the defender to that side bumps out slightly, making this an easy read: Wicks will be open on the hitch.
He shows the handoff to Jacobs, with his head up and looking to the passing side to make sure there are no surprises. There are no surprises, so he pulls the ball and fires to Wicks for an easy 12 yards.
Easy as lyin’.
Albums listened to: mewithoutYou – Brother, Sister; Frightened Rabbit – Painting of a Panic Attack; Bob Dylan – The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan