Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy knew his team had to run the ball better.
David Bakhtiari
He went into training camp thinking DuJuan Harris would compete with Eddie Lacy and James Starks for playing time.
Harris is no longer in the picture because of a season ending knee injury, but Lacy is. Lacy joined the Packers as a rookie 2nd round draft pick out of Alabama and has been a hit. He had a career high 29 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown, helping the Packers knock off the Minnesota Vikings 44-31 in their final game at the Metrodome.
James Starks is back from a knee injury he sustained in week 3 against the Bengals and looked like he was ready from the very start, rushing 7 times for 57 yards and a touchdown.
The two combined for 151 yards.
AUDIO: Mike McCarthy said they want to have a couple of backs sharing the load :14
For the season, the Packers are averaging 4.8 yards on the ground per carry. That’s almost a full yard better than last seasons average of 3.9 yards per carry.
The Packers are serious about their ground attack. Sunday night, they passed the ball 29 times and ran it a total of 42 times.
Aaron Rodgers
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers passed for 285 yards and 2 touchdowns in the win, both scoring strikes to Jordy Nelson. Nelson caught TD passes of 11 and 76 yards. He caught 8 passes for 123 yards on the day.
Nelson now leads the team in receptions with 39 for 649 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Offensive line
Another great job by the Packers young offensive line, especially rookie left tackle David Bakhtiari. Bakhtiari’s job was to hold down Vikings defensive end Jared Allen and he did just that. Allen didn’t register a single quarterback sack or a tackle.
AUDIO: Mike McCarthy says Bakhtiari is getting better & better :14