Derrick Henry’s Performance Was A Warning Sign For the Packers’ Playoff Momentum

The Green Bay Packers’ defense felt like it was teetering after allowing the Chicago Bears to carve them up late in Week 16. After three quarters of dominance against the Bears, they lost control of the game while injuries continued to pile up.

When it was announced that Lamar Jackson would miss the game this week, the task at hand appeared easier (no offense to Tyler Huntley). Jeff Hafley's defense knew what the blueprint would be and still couldn't stop the Baltimore Ravens in one of the most embarrassing Packers performances in recent memory.

There is no other way to frame it other than to accept that Green Bay got bullied from start to finish. There are countless stats in the record books that back it up.

Derrick Henry ran for 216 yards and four touchdowns, stiff-arming his way through the Green Bay defense. Those 216 yards were just seven shy of the all-time record for individual rushing yards allowed by the Packers in a game. Tommy Wilson of the Los Angeles Rams ran for 223 yards against Green Bay ... in 1956.

The Ravens piled up 41 points in the win, which marked just the third time since 1984 that Green Bay has allowed 40 or more points at Lambeau Field.

What made it all the more alarming is that there were no gimmicks, no surprises. With Jackson out and Huntley in, Green Bay knew Baltimore would lean on the run early and often. They still provided no resistance at the point of attack.

When asked about it afterwards, head coach Matt LaFleur gave

Thankfully for those who wanted accountability, multiple Packers players, including Javon Bullard and Lukas Van Ness, didn't cushion the blow. Per Bullard:

Van Ness didn't use quite as many expletives but got his point across just as firmly:

Huntley attempted just 20 passes but was extremely effective with them, completing 17 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown. The 20 pass attempts paled in comparison to the ground game, where Baltimore ran it 53 times for 307 yards and ripped off one chunk play after another.

The Packers knew what the recipe was, but if you didn't know any better, it looked like a defense trying to solve a Rubik's Cube while blindfolded. That's alarming for a team that has clinched a playoff spot but is doing its best to back into it, with little sign of a pulse.

When LaFleur spoke to reporters Sunday after watching the film, he offered a pretty simple summary of the run defense's performance: "baffling."

Baffling indeed.

Bringing up that the Packers are without Devonte Wyatt and Micah Parsons for the year is valid, but only to an extent. The run defense's performance can’t simply be chalked up to missing those two. The overall lack of effort has nothing to do with the ridiculous number of injuries the Packers have gone through.

When it's no secret what the opposition is going to do, and they still dominate, it's reasonable to sound the alarms. On the one hand, the Packers are fortunate to already have a postseason berth wrapped up. On the other hand, whoever they play will watch this film and try to mimic it to some extent to see if they can break Green Bay's spirit.

Saturday gave plenty of reasons to run towards the panic button for this team this year, for those who hadn’t already mashed it several times.