Reemergence of Eddie Lacy Driving Force Behind Packers Offensive Surge

By the time he was done with the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday, Eddie Lacy had amassed twice as many touchdowns yards in three quarters as he had in any game through the first four weeks of the 2014 NFL season. 

The Green Bay Packers win over the Vikings, notable for featuring the most balanced offensive showing so far this season, also marked the first time in 2014 that the Packers attempted more rushes (28) than passes (22, between Aaron Rodgers and Matt Flynn). 

It was a symbiotic relationship; As Green Bay's play-calling and the offensive line's blocking gave Lacy greater opportunities to break out, the running back's explosive performance helped the offense achieve the balance it had been lacking so far this year. 

Heading into Week 5, Lacy had one touchdown on the season, scored last week against the Chicago Bears. He was averaging just 3.0 yards per carry, down from 4.1 in 2013, and had yet to rush for more than 50 yards in a single game. 

His longest carry had been 17 yards. 

On Thursday, Lacy ran, rumbled and roughed his way to 105 yards on 13 carries for two scores and an eye-popping average of 8.1 yards per carry. His breakaway run of 29 yards was his longest, but six of his 13 attempts went for 10 or more yards and two were over 20. 

Against Minnesota, Lacy had the same number of carries he had averaged during the first four games of the season, so he wasn't given more opportunities but rather was more effective with the ones he had. 

Week	Carries	Yards	YPC	TDs
Week 1 @ SEA	12	34	2.8	0
Week 2 vs. NYJ	13	43	3.3	0
Week 3 @ DET	11	36	3.3	0
Week 4 @ CHI	17	48	2.8	1
Week 5 vs. MIN	13	105	8.1	2

What caused the light to turn on for Lacy and the Packers offense in the last two weeks?

First, it's no secret that Green Bay faced three of the toughest defensive fronts in its first three games of the season. The Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets and Detroit Lions are all currently top 10 in run defense, ranked No. 2, No. 3 and No. 7 respectively.

The Packers were held to less than 100 yards on the ground in each game until Thursday's thrashing of Minnesota, and one need not look too hard to figure out why: Each of the three teams noted above have held opponents to under 81 rushing yards per game this season.

But it wasn't just the stout fronts that were hindering Green Bay's run game. The Bears, who have allowed an average of 122.5 rushing yards per game, actually held the Packers to their lowest rushing total in a game this season, just 56 yards.

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

No matter the opponent, the Packers offense was still struggling to get anything going on the ground—though Lacy did score his first touchdown of the season against Chicago.

What changed Thursday night against the Vikings? 

To start, the Packers did a better job of establishing Lacy earlier in the game. On Green Bay's first drive against Chicago—a six-play, 81-yard march—Rodgers passed the ball five times which set up the sixth play, a two-yard Lacy touchdown run. 

Against Minnesota Thursday, it was the reverse. After a quick three-and-out drive to start, the Packers put together a four-play, 61-yard scoring drive that began with three long rushes by Lacy and a quick touchdown strike by Rodgers to Randall Cobb. 

Green Bay maintained that balance all night, settling into their most balanced pass-to-run ratio of the season.

Week	Passing Attempts	Rushing Attempts	% Rushing
Week 1 @ SEA	33	21	39%
Week 2 vs. NYJ	42	22	34%
Week 3 @ DET	27	22	45%
Week 4 @ CHI	28	18	39%
Week 5 vs. MIN	22	28	56%

Now, the Packers are rarely going to be a run-first team, and with Rodgers under center, they shouldn't be. Thursday's play-calling was skewed by the blowout lead heading into the fourth quarter, when Green Bay decided to pull Rodgers and Lacy and run down the clock by feeding the ball to James Starks.  

But that's part of the bigger picture. Green Bay opened the second half against Minnesota with a 35-0 lead. Against Chicago, it was a 24-17 lead. 

Versus Seattle in Week 1, however, the Packers trailed by 10 to start the second half. They were also behind at halftime in Detroit. 

But if the Packers can find offensive balance early on in games, as they did against the Vikings, they can put themselves in a position to be leading games going into the second half, which will allow them to dictate to the defense more with their play-calling than if they are forced to play catch-up. 

Greater success in the running game also means that Rodgers will find greater opportunities to pass, as opposing defenses are forced to go to seven or even eight-man boxes to contain Lacy. 

But the play-calling can only go so far, and then comes execution. Lacy turned it on Thursday, and whatever had been missing through the first four games this season was back. Mike McCarthy had high praise for Lacy's dominant performance.

Though it didn't always show up on the stat sheet, Lacy had still demonstrated his elusive ability this season, breaking or avoiding 13 tackles heading into Thursday's game per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), good for eighth-best among running backs. 

Against the Vikings, however, Lacy's elusiveness was on another level. According to ESPN Stats & Information, just before he was pulled for the night Lacy had 78 yards before contact. Through the first four games of the season combined he had just 80 yards before contact. 

He also made good decisions on his cutbacks, such as the one he made to score his first of two touchdowns. 

And it wasn't only on the ground that Lacy made a difference for Green Bay. His three receptions were tied with Cobb for the most on the night, and his 21-yard catch was the second-longest among the receivers. Once he got into space, he was nearly impossible to stop. 

In his postgame presser, McCarthy said, "Eddie was Eddie." Lacy's performance through the first quarter of the season had many Packer fans wondering where he'd gone, but after the clinic he put on against Minnesota, there's no question that the Lacy we saw emerge in 2013 has returned.

Green Bay's offense will be better for it.