The Green Bay Packers have gotten off to a 2-0 start this season, beating NFC North division rivals in each of the first two weeks.
The Packers topped the Chicago Bears by a score of 10-3 in their season opener, and then, on Sunday, they defeated the Minnesota Vikings 21-16.
That's all well and good. Winning is always nice, and beating divisional foes is even better. But in spite of Green Bay's shiny record, the club's early start feels somewhat hollow, and it's because of its lackluster offense.
Typically, the Packers are known as an offensive juggernaut with defensive issues. That has historically been Green Bay's modus operandi throughout Aaron Rodgers' tenure with the club.
But this season? It has been the other way around.
In spite of a new, offensive-minded head coach in Matt LaFleur, the Packers have mustered just 31 points over their first two games and rank 29th in the NFL in total offense.
Of course, it's a very small sample size. Heck, the New York Giants rank sixth, and they have scored the same amount of points as Green Bay.
But given that the Packers' offense was largely average last year, as well, there should be some cause for concern here.
Rodgers has looked more ordinary than usual thus far, and it's hard to tell if it's a result of a decline or the lack of big-time weapons outside of Davante Adams.
Aaron Jones looked great against the Vikings, making up for a poor Week 1, so that's a plus.
But the Packers simply have not been able to cash in, particularly in second halves, where they have scored just three points.
It should be noted that Green Bay has faced two defenses that ranked in the top four in the NFL a year ago, but that generally has not stopped Rodgers and the Packers from lighting teams up in the past.
So is it Rodgers showing his age? Is it a lack of overall talent? Is it LaFleur's play-calling?
Look: LaFleur was hired to revolutionize the Packers' offense, so if this is all he is going to bring to the table, I'm not sure how long he is going to last, as it's defensive coordinator Mike Pettine who is stealing the show at the moment.
Green Bay's defense may certainly win the club some more games throughout the season, but what happens when the Packers face quarterbacks better than Mitchell Trubisky and Kirk Cousins? Will the defense remain dominant? Or will cracks surface?
And if that occurs and the offense is still laboring, the Packers could be in some trouble.
For that reason, it's hard to give LaFleur that much credit for Green Bay's early “success,” so I am giving a C grade thus far.
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