The Packers' guard play saved the offense. Will they stick with what's working?
- Injuries turned the Packers' O-line into Swiss cheese; now 34-year-old Laken Tomlinson and 2024 sixth-rounder Travis Glover are playing like sharp cheddar.
- After ranking 31st in pressure rate (44.7%) through Week 3, Green Bay suddenly ranks FIRST in the NFL at 20.3% over the past two games.
- Jordan Love got pummeled 31 times in three weeks; he's taken just 7 hits since the scrubs stepped in—coincidence? The front office hopes not.
- The team signed $77M man Aaron Banks and vet Kevin Zeitler, but neither can stay healthy enough to steal the job from the new guard duo.
- Despite the line's revival, the run game still stinks—Green Bay averages a league-worst 60.4 yards per game.
- Coach LaFleur says the guard spot is 'fluid,' which is coach-speak for 'we have no idea what we're doing but it's working.'
Brief Summary
The Green Bay Packers' offensive line went from a five-alarm dumpster fire to a surprisingly stable wall, thanks to two unheralded replacements: Laken Tomlinson, a 34-year-old castoff pulled from the Cowboys' practice squad, and Travis Glover, a 2024 sixth-rounder who missed all of last season after lat surgery. Their emergence has cut Jordan Love's hits from a league-worst 31 in three weeks to a measly 7 in two, while the team's pressure rate allowed flipped from 31st (44.7%) to first (20.3%)—a statistical miracle of mediocrity becoming competence.
Why This Matters
For fans, this isn't just about a couple of games; it's about whether the Packers can avoid turning Love into a human piñata again. The front office's plan is shaky—they're paying Aaron Banks $77 million and signed Kevin Zeitler, but injuries have made both spectators. If they bench Tomlinson and Glover to 'get their money's worth,' they risk re-opening the floodgates of pressure and sabotaging the season. The lesson: sometimes the answer isn't the priciest guy; it's the hungry veteran and the wounded soldier who just want to block.