The Green Bay Packers put together a complete performance against the struggling Dallas Cowboys as their offense appeared to find its form. According to head coach Mike McCarthy, he opted to call the offensive plays in Week 14 which played a factor in getting in. The other factor was a much-improved performance from Eddie Lacy who appears to be back in the good graces of McCarthy after getting benched for James Starks.
Lacy has not had the best season. The running back has been dealing with injuries and inconsistencies on the field which has caused him to lose carries and be benched at times. Entering Week 14, he was in need of major improvements and he certainly answered the call with 24 carries for 124 yards and a touchdown. James Starks followed with 11 carries for 71 yards. According McCarthy, he never lost faith in the running back as he called Lacy "rejuvenated" and crediting Nick Saban for the wake up call to the running back. Lacy was grateful things turned around.
"I know the last few weeks, things were a little different," Lacy said, via ESPN.com. "But I think it was just the way to show me like this is what I love to do and without it, I'm miserable. With coach taking me out and going through that, it just showed me that's not what I want. And by him giving me a chance to come out and redeem myself, I think it was just a blessing in disguise."
Going forward, Lacy is to remain the starting running back so long as he keeps the focus McCarthy believes he has found. Starks is a very capable running back and McCarthy has proven that he is not afraid to use him if needed. Lacy understands he is on notice with the head coach and must continue the solid production on the field.
"I've always believed in Eddie," McCarthy said, via ESPn.com. "We all make a couple bad decisions along the way and that doesn't change my opinion of Eddie [or] any player. So he needed to refocus and he did that, and you could see it from when we stepped on the field [last week]."
McCarthy calling the plays showed the Packers re-committing to the run game which worked in the favor of Lacy and Starks. According to ESPN, of the team's first 40 plays, half of them were run calls. In return, that opened the door for more play-action passing from Aaron Rodgers. The quarterback thrived in the position while re-gaining chemistry with Randall Cobb. The receiver had one of his better performances of the season with eight catches for 81 yards. The Packers still need a better supporting cast for Rodgers as James Jones finished second with just four catches for 49 yards. If players like Jones and Davante Adams can improve, the Packers will begin looking like playoff contenders again.
