Toucher & Rich: Mike Flynn Explains Why Patriots Abandoned Run In Green Bay
BOSTON (CBS) - The NFC North-leading, Super Bowl favorite Green Bay Packers came as advertised, and on Sunday they put away the New England Patriots 26-21 in Lambeau Field in Week 13 of the NFL season.
The Patriots called more than double the pass plays (35) than they did run plays (17), and a legitimate second-guess emerging today is why the team didn't elect to run more against the 30th ranked run-stopping defense in the league.
On Monday morning, 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich had former NFL veteran Mike Flynn in studio to help break it all down.
"I didn't have a problem with the play calling early. Going back and looking at the play sheet, the Patriots came out and tried to run the football and they got stuffed on that 3rd-and-1 in the first drive. Then they came out in that second series and did three passes. Before you know it you're down 13-0. They had red zone stops, but in terms of stopping the Packers offense it wasn't there," said Flynn.
This season the Packers at Lambeau Field have basically been untouchable and unstoppable, averaging 43.8 points per game in front of the Wisconsin faithful.
Down 13-0 and fearing the game could get out of reach, it's no wonder the Patriots decided to go toe-to-toe with Rodgers and start slinging it.
"New England played fantastic red zone defense, but Green Bay only punted once in that game. As an offensive coordinator maybe Josh McDaniels got wrapped up in wanting to put points on the board, how many more possessions we'll get, how much time we're gonna have, etc. I'm not saying it's right to get away from the run. There was plenty of time to establish the run. When they did run the ball and were physical they were getting good results, but they didn't commit to it. It didn't need to be 50-50, but I think there were opportunities to run the football. Maybe McDaniels felt like it could get out of hand and they needed to keep pace with the Green Bay offense."
In those 17 called run plays the Patriots totaled 85 yards, good for five yards per carry.
Listen below for Flynn's full appearance!
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