GREEN BAY, Wis. – It will be a cold day in Arizona when an opponent comes into a game worrying about the Green Bay Packers’ running game more than it does its passing game.

But total disregard for the Packers’ ability to run the ball?

You wouldn’t think it would be that way anymore, not after five consecutive 100-yard rushing days, including a season-high 179 yards in 36 carries Sunday in a 38-7 victory over the Oakland Raiders at Lambeau Field.

The Raiders were forced to adjust after coming out in a two-deep safety look that was counter to their usual run-stopping eight-men-in-the-box defensive approach. They started out worried about the Packers’ spread passing attack and wound up desperate to find a way to stop the run.

“I think the attempts is probably the most important statistic outside of the actual production in the run game,” coach Mike McCarthy said Monday. “Because when you’re able to run the ball that many times, you’re accumulating first downs. So just to have the opportunity says a lot. But as far as our other opponents (down the road), that’s not the goal. It’s really to wear the opponent down.”

Still, if the Packers are a balanced team when the playoffs hit, they’re going to present far more problems for opposing defenses than they did even back when they were making 300-yard passing games seem like a habit. Even today, you can imagine the St. Louis Rams, the Packers’ opponent Sunday, asking themselves whether they can afford to dismiss Grant in order to defend the passing game.

McCarthy doesn’t appear willing to get caught up in a cat-and-mouse game with opponents and said he wasn’t going to try to prove the Packers can run the ball whenever they want to in the final three games of the season. His intention is to devise game plans to exploit the opponent’s weaknesses, starting with a passing game that can put five wide receivers on the field and move the ball consistently.

“One thing I think we have shown offensively is we can play at whatever end of the spectrum we need to based on who we’re playing,” McCarthy said. “That to me is the ultimate goal of an offense, and it’s a reflection of your system having the versatility. I think we have accomplished that.

“We need to continue to improve in the run game. It’s been an emphasis that we’ve talked about over and over again.”

Up until Sunday, you could argue that the Packers’ running game has piggybacked off its second-rated passing game, taking advantage of the fact opposing linebackers and defensive backs are practically in a backpedal when the Packers snap the ball. Before Sunday, there isn’t a game where the Packers just lined up and tried to shove it down someone’s throat since Grant became the primary runner.

When they made their first big statement against the Minnesota Vikings and their top-rated run defense, they did it by spreading the field with three-, four- and five-receiver sets and running Grant off the edges. They rushed 32 times for 120 yards and a touchdown en route to a 34-0 victory.

What they did to the Raiders was more conventional. Using a heavy dose of two-receiver, two-back base offense, the Packers tried to exploit Oakland’s suspect run defense. If they get to the playoffs and have to face Seattle or the New York Giants or the Dallas Cowboys, they’re going to run into a lot more resistance than they did Sunday.

“We’re improving,” offensive line coach James Campen said. “It’s not 100 percent where it should be, but we’re taking steps. And it’s not just the offensive line. Everyone is improving, the backs, the wideouts, everyone. I think that’s what’s helping.”

The Packers were so poor running the football to start the season that even as late as the week of the Carolina game Nov. 18, they ranked dead last in the NFL in rushing with a per-game average of 77.4 yards. The league average at that time was 110.5 yards per game, which tells you something about how the Packers were winning games.

After Sunday, they have climbed eight spots to No. 24 in rushing yards and are averaging 92.5 per game. The league average is down slightly to 109.5. In their final three opponents – St. Louis, Chicago and Detroit – they won’t be facing a team with a highly ranked rush defense. The Rams rank 21st, the Bears rank 25th and the Lions rank 16th.

They won’t really find out until the post-season whether they can line up against a top-line defense and pound out rushing yardage, which might be a necessity should they play a home game in cold and windy conditions. In the meantime, however, they can run the ball a lot so that their offensive line, with Junius Coston and Jason Spitz at guard, can continue developing.

“It’s been getting better and better,” offensive line coach Joe Philbin said. “I would think you’d have to look at us and say these guys pose a threat to run the ball if you give them an opportunity.”

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AP-NY-12-10-07 2023EST