Packers Getting Push from Run Game Just in Time for Playoffs

Coming into Monday Night Football, everyone thought Aaron Rodgers was going to be the talk of the matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Atlanta Falcons.

Rodgers was making his 100th start, Brett Favre was in town and the Falcons had been noted for having a poor pass rush the entire season. Everything was set up for him to go off and steal the night.

And while he was able to put together a performance of over 350 total yards and three touchdowns, Rodgers wasn't the only one having fun against the Atlanta defense. Overall, the team had 179 yards on the ground for the game.

A couple of weeks ago, against the Minnesota Vikings, Packers running back Eddie Lacy had the game of his season in a close 24-21 win.

On Monday night, he also performed at a high level. For the match, he was able to net 106 total yards on 18 touches for two scores.

The highlight play of the night, other than the Aaron Rodgers to Jordy Nelson bomb for a touchdown, could have been his 22-yard dash. On the back of those snaps, and the combined effort of Lacy and Rodgers, the Packers again came away with a 43-37 win in a single-score game against the Falcons.

The Alabama product ran for 5.6 yards per carry, second-best for his season when rushing 13 or more times in a game.

Point blank, the run offense has been coming on as of late. It seems as though the offensive line is jelling now. There are two young players in the starting lineup, David Bakhtiari and Corey Linsley, who were still trying to piece together their games at the beginning of the season, and Bryan Bulaga, the starting right tackle, who missed some games due to injury.

With everyone on the same page, Rodgers has had more time to throw, and the ground game has noticeably improved over the course of the season. Remember, after the first few weeks of the year many were asking where Lacy and Randall Cobb even were in the Packers' offense. Now, they're all over.

The most interesting part of the night was that Lacy didn't even have the highest rushing yardage total on the team.

Instead, James Starks held that title. Creating a nice one-two punch, Starks is the long-striding, change-of-pace back in the Green Bay offense which complements Lacy's bruiser style of play. On 12 touches, Starks stringed together 101 total yards, 75 of which came on the ground, and a rushing touchdown. Averaging 7.5 yards per carry, this was the former Buffalo Bull's most efficient game since 2013.

And to think what almost wasn't. A free agent after last season, the running back entertained the idea of playing in Pittsburgh, or at least visited, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tyler Dunne, for the Steelers. Matching up with Le'Veon Bell, who is having a great year for himself, could have made one of the best, if not the best, backfields in the league. After what happened to LaGarrette Blount, another 2014 free-agent signing, I bet the Steelers wish they could reapproach that decision.

A lot of credit goes to Ted Thompson, the general manager of the Packers. Rather than investing large sums of money or high draft picks in the ground game, he's taken years to develop players for head coach Mike McCarthy's system.

Bulaga, a first-round pick, was a high selection, but he's the norm for the rest of the NFL and the exception for the Packers, who field three fourth-round picks and a fifth-round rookie on the rest of the offensive line. According to NFL Live's Trey Wingo, via ESPN's Louis Riddick, 24 of the NFL's 32 franchises have a first-round tackle on their roster.

"

Great note from @LRiddickESPN 24/32 teams in NFL have an OT drafted in 1st round. The @Panthers don't have one that was even drafted

— trey wingo (@wingoz) November 11, 2014"

According to Spotrac.com, some teams have invested up to an NFL high of $13.5 million dollars on their running back unit. The red hot Packers' offense is made up of the 77th highest-paid running back in Lacy and the 41st highest-paid runner in Starks, totaling a cap hit just over $1.5 million. Being able to produce between the tackles with the fourth-lowest paid backfield in the league says a lot about how the franchise has an eye for talent and value.

Going into the playoffs, the Packers are slowly shaking away doubts from earlier in the season. Yes, Rodgers can man an entire game by himself. Yes, the team has proven they can beat quality opponents like the New England Patriots. And finally, yes, they can run all over competitors if asked.

Whether it comes in the Wild Card Round or after a bye entering the divisional round, Green Bay's ready to hit the ground running.