Budding Offensive Line Holds Key to the Green Bay Packers' Fate in 2014

Lost in the MVP surge of quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the roller coaster ride on defense has been the recent blossoming of the Green Bay Packers offensive line, a development which may end up having a bigger say in how Green Bay's season finishes than any hardware for Rodgers or steadying of the defense. 

Rodgers would still be great behind even the worst of NFL lines, and the Packers defense proved Monday night that it is still liable to lay the occasional egg. But a top offensive line—which the Packers can now claim to possess—magnifies the brilliance of Rodgers and helps mitigate any lingering problems left to solve on defense.

Rodgers has been sacked just six times over the last five games, all Packers wins. Meanwhile, Green Bay has averaged 141.2 rushing yards over that same span, topping off at a season-high 179 Monday night against the Atlanta Falcons.  

Just as impressively, the Packers have finished off each of the last three games in the four-minute offense—pounding away at defenses that know the run is coming to effectively kill off the clock and preserve wins. 

"The offensive line has been playing so good that we've been controlling the line of scrimmage," Rodgers told reporters, via the team's official website. "When the line plays like that, we can be balanced."

Now a week into December, the Packers have established a necessary equilibrium of passing and running. Green Bay has countered the increasingly more common two-deep safety looks with a steady diet of Eddie Lacy, who has 69 attempts and 296 yards over the last three games. Backup James Starks rushed for a game-high 75 yards against the Falcons Monday night. 

	Attempts	Rushing Yards	Average	TD
vs. CHI	32	132	4.1	0
vs. PHI	25	110	4.4	1
at MIN	32	155	4.8	1
vs. NE	29	130	4.5	0
vs. ATL	30	179	6.0	2
TOTALS	148	706*	4.8	4

Over the last five weeks, the Packers are averaging 4.8 yards per rush. Only the Seattle Seahawks have more total rushing yards since Week 10. 

The pass protection has been equally efficient. While Rodgers took three sacks against the New England Patriots, he has endured one or zero sacks in four of the last five games. 

According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Rodgers has dropped back to pass 164 times over the last five weeks. He's been under pressure on just 47 of those plays, while taking only five quarterback hits (not including the six sacks). The Packers are allowing just one pressure for every four dropbacks, while keeping the beating on Rodgers at a bare minimum. 

	Dropbacks	Pressures	Sacks	QB Hits
vs. CHI	27	9	0	1
vs. PHI	29	10	1	0
at MIN	33	6	1	2
vs. NE	34	9	3	1
vs. ATL	41	13	1	1
TOTALS	164	47	6	5

Green Bay's 93 allowed pressures are the fifth least in the NFL. 

So far this season, Rodgers is averaging 2.9 seconds to throw (third-best among qualified quarterbacks) and 4.07 seconds to be sacked (second best), per PFF (subscription required). 

Effectiveness running the football and time in the pocket are a dangerous combination when Rodgers is controlling an offense. 

"The offensive line, again, I'm going to say it, they've been playing great," Rodgers said. "When they give me that kind of time, we have so many playmakers outside that we expect to make some plays in the passing game." 

Rodgers and his receivers made plenty of plays Monday night. 

Rodgers rolled right without a defender within five yards and found receiver Jordy Nelson for 22 yards to set up Green Bay's first touchdown. A possession later, he stood tall in a clean pocket and delivered a 30-yard strike to tight end Andrew Quarless on 3rd-and-17. The Packers later scored. 

"

"The Green Bay Packers offensive line. The best kept secret in Wisconsin" - Gruden pic.twitter.com/1cU7VkKryL

— ESPN Monday Night (@ESPNMondayNight) December 9, 2014"

Even when pressure did eventually come, Rodgers improvised like only he can. He eluded Kroy Biermann's free release and found Nelson for a 10-yard touchdown right before the half to put the Packers up 31-7 at the break. Overall, he finished with a 152.1 passer rating under pressure against the Falcons. 

The game's decisive points came in the fourth quarter, when Rodgers went deep to Nelson off play action for a 60-yard touchdown. The scoring play came without any semblance of pressure altering his delivery, despite a deep drop and the time needed for Nelson to get behind the coverage. 

On several occasions, Rodgers sat alone in a pristine pocket and simply waited for one of his many talented receivers to get open. Other times, he made one move in the pocket to buy more time. Telecasts of Packers games are routinely portraying Rodgers' dropbacks as if they were basketball possessions, measuring the time between snap and throw in shot-clock fashion. 

Rodgers becomes an impossible quarterback to defend when the five linemen in front of him are playing as well as Green Bay's are right now. 

The numbers back up the claim. Over the last five games, Rodgers has completed 107 of 166 passes (64.5 percent) for 1,560 yards (312.0 per game, 9.4 per attempt), 16 touchdowns and zero interceptions—good for a passer rating of 127.1. He entered Week 10 among the MVP candidates. He'll begin Week 15 as the overwhelming front-runner. 

	Cmp/Att	Yards	TD/INT	Passer Rating
vs. CHI	18/27	315	6/0	145.8
vs. PHI	22/36	341	3/0	120.3
at MIN	19/29	209	2/0	109.7
vs. NE	24/38	368	2/0	112.6
vs. ATL	24/36	327	3/0	123.3
TOTALS	107/166	1560	16/0	127.1

But even as great as Rodgers is, it helps to have a running game that can put a game on ice. And in three straight games, the Packers have done just that. 

Up three points against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 12, the Packers ran Lacy five straight times to kill off the remaining three-and-a-half minutes. Minnesota never got the ball back. 

Two runs, a short pass to Randall Cobb and three kneel downs were enough to melt away the final two-and-a-half minutes against the New England Patriots in Week 13. Down just five points, Tom Brady never got another chance to drive for the winning score. 

The Packers probably shouldn't have needed the four-minute offense Monday night, but when Atlanta pulled within six points at 43-37, head coach Mike McCarthy went to the ground to put the final nail in the Falcons' coffin. With Lacy on the bench with a sore hip, Starks did the heavy lifting—carrying five times (including a 41-yard gallop that put the game on ice) to freeze out the Falcons. Rodgers also ran off the right side for 12 yards. Once again, the opposing quarterback (in this case Matt Ryan) was not given a final opportunity against the Packers defense. 

Maybe that's the difference between the Super Bowl champion team of 2010 and the Super Bowl-caliber Packers of 2014. The '10 title team got big plays from the defense in so many games, especially late in the season and in the playoffs. This year's club is keeping the defense on the sidelines with a clutch offense. Who needs a late defensive stop when the offense can melt away what remains of the fourth quarter clock?

It all circles back to the offensive line, a unit which is no longer just surviving but thriving. Guards Josh Sitton and T.J. Lang have played like Pro Bowlers, center Corey Linsley is one of the best rookies in football, left tackle David Bakhtiari has taken a step in his second year and right tackle Bryan Bulaga has remained (relatively) healthy. It's a group that is gelling at the right time. 

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Green Bay's final three games should provide an attractive primer for the postseason. 

A trip to Buffalo in Week 15 will pit the Packers offensive line against one of the top defensive lines in the NFL. It probably doesn't get much better than Mario Williams, Marcell Dareus, Kyle Williams and Jerry Hughes. The four have combined for 36.5 sacks this season. 

Week 16 sends the Packers to Tampa Bay, where defensive tackle Gerald McCoy waits. One of the most disruptive interior players in football, McCoy has 8.5 sacks and five tackles for loss this season. 

A rematch with the Detroit Lions in the season finale could hinge all on the offensive line. The Lions rank right alongside the Bills among the game's best front fours. Ndamukong Suh, Ziggy Ansah and a host of other game-changing talents anchor Detroit's league-best defense. 

And if the Packers truly want to play for a Super Bowl this season, it's likely that Green Bay will have to beat a team such as the Lions or Seattle Seahawks. Both clubs punched the Packers in the mouth in earlier defeats in 2014. 

Then again, Green Bay's offensive line wasn't playing nearly as well then as it is right now. The Packers can throw a few counter punches up front now that weren't available early in the season. The bullied has become more and more of a bully. 

For the most part, Rodgers is still great and the Green Bay defense is still unpredictable. Those two factors aren't likely to change over the next month or so. However, the one factor that is becoming consistent—the play of the five offensive linemen—can be the driving force for another Super Bowl run.  

The Packers will score points and preserve wins if the offensive line continues at this level. In such a scenario, Rodgers will win his MVP, the defense will become a lesser factor and maybe, just maybe, Green Bay will be lifting another Lombardi Trophy. 

Zach Kruse covers the NFC North for Bleacher Report. 

Follow @zachkruse2