Packers best plays of 2023, #2: Love to Wicks against Dallas

Packers best plays of 2023, #2: Love to Wicks against Dallas

With the Green Bay Packers already out to a 14-0 lead over the favored Dallas Cowboys, the Packers were once again driving. On the very edges of the red zone, the Packers faced 3rd and 7. It would have been easy at that point to play it safe, take the three points (though that carried a higher level of risk for Green Bay than most teams last year), and try to go into the half with a three-score lead, but that is not what happened. Instead, Jordan Love had one of his better plays of the season.

This play gets strong credit across the board, offensively. Noted Packers Twitter member Dusty Evely does a very nice succinct breakdown of it here.

This type of play is the perfect combination of play-caller, quarterback, and offensive weapons executing. Reed driving hard across the middle to clear out the space is vital to creating the window. Wicks’ strong route-running ability and selling an outside break expands the window.

The only group that kind of messes this up is the offensive line. It’s cover-0, so the Cowboys are bringing seven blitzers, but the Packers also have seven in the protection, with Tucker Kraft and Patrick Taylor staying in on the wings. Taylor and Kraft are each responsible for the most distant pressure on the edges, and the line’s job is to clean up the interior pressure look once Love has identified the blitz via his hard count. Current starting guard Sean Rhyan ends up whiffing on his block entirely, but the rest of the line handles the pressure with ease. Love’s arm talent takes over here, as despite having the pressure in his face he’s able to combat a little hitch in the timing and deliver a perfect strike to Wicks, which can only fully be appreciated from the endzone angle.

Stay tuned for our top play of 2023 coming tomorrow!