We’re continuing our journey through the Green Bay Packers’ top 10 plays of the 2024 season as voted on by the APC staff with play #2 in our countdown (check out #3 here). Today we’re hopping in the time machine and traveling back to week 5, a game that also featured the #6 play on the list.
The Game
The 2-2 Packers headed to Los Angeles to face the 1-3 Rams. The Packers had beat the Colts and Titans with Malik Willis at QB in weeks 2 and 3, but lost to the Vikings in Jordan Love’s return in week 4.
The Packers got the ball first and promptly went three-and-out. The Rams kindly returned the favor, giving the ball back to the Packers with 11:50 remaining in the 1st quarter.
The Situation
On the first drive, the Packers dialed up a couple deep passing concepts, which didn’t go too well for Love. He missed Dontayvion Wicks on a High Cross on his first attempt, then was sacked on 3rd & 7 on his next dropback.
The second drive started a little more promising, as the Packers went with a couple quick-hitters, going 2/3 for 11 yards. With the score 0-0 early in the 1st quarter, the Packers were looking at 2nd & 10 on their own 45.
The Play
The Packers are in 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR) in 2×2 formation. Ben Sims [89] is the TE, and he’s in-line on the left, with Bo Melton [80] split out wide. On the right, Jayden Reed [11] is the point man in the stack, with Malik Heath [18] behind him. Emanuel Wilson [31] is the lone RB.
The Rams are showing a single-high safety at the snap, with the boundary defenders playing off the line. In looking at it pre-snap, it looks like the Rams are going to be playing Cover 3.
The Packers are running a Dagger variant from the right, with Reed on the vertical clear-out and Heath on the in-cutting route behind. On the left, Melton is running a deep curl route. With Reed on the big over route, this plays out like a Portland/Mills concept with a Dagger component.
At the snap, the Rams rotate back into a Tampa 2 look, with two safeties playing half of the field each and a linebacker running straight up the pipe.
As Jordan Love is reading the rotation, the defender over Melton (Ahkello Witherspoon [4]) is staying low. He’s drifting back, but he’s not bailing for the deep half. With Reed easily outpacing the linebacker in the middle (Christian Rozeboom [56]) and with inside leverage on the deep safety to his side (Quentin Lake [37]), Love lets this sucker fly.
However, Witherspoon is keeping his eyes on Love and bails to get deep as soon as the ball is released. He gets a little too deep, outrunning Reed down the field. With Lake leaping over Reed’s back and Witherspoon trying to get back in position, the ball drops in a perfect position and Reed hauls in the pass for 53 yards.
The Impact
Josh Jacobs scored on the next play, giving the Packers a 7-0 lead after the Brayden Narveson extra point. The Packers would go on to win, pushing their record to 3-2 and kicking off what would end up being a 4 game winning streak.
Albums listened to: Brother Bird – Another Year; The Kinks – Something Else; Sarah Bethe Nelson – Weird Glow