Down 17-7, facing first and ten at midfield in the second half, the Green Bay Packers pulled out a wild card. They unveiled a nasty vertical variation of their signature ‘Dash’ motion, ripping off a 22-yard gain that totally caught the Falcons defense flat-footed.
The “Dash” We Knew
Look, we’ve seen the Packers grinding on that ‘Dash’ motion for a couple weeks now, right? It’s that slick play where a tight end arcs back pre-snap, then fires toward the line. Up until now, it was almost always a power run call: motion man kicks out the End Man on Line, guard pulls to lead the way. Sure, we saw some minor wrinkles. Matthew Golden snagged a first down on a backside slant against a blitz in Week 1. Then in Week 2, he caught a big pass off a Bubble to set up the game-winning field goal in overtime. Both were clutch, but just slight tweaks on that run-heavy theme. The core of ‘Dash’ was always that downhill threat.
Hello, New “Dash”
But this week? Man, they absolutely opened it up! First drive of the second half, Packers down 17-7, facing first and ten right at the 50-yard line. They rolled out in 12 personnel, two tight ends, two receivers, in a 2×2 condensed look with TEs in-line. Then Josh Whyle, number 81, goes into that familiar Dash motion, looping four yards behind Jordan Love. At the snap, Whyle blasts toward the line, looking exactly like he’s gonna kick out the end man. Divine Deablo, the Falcons linebacker, totally bit! He drove down hard, trying to take away the run at the point of attack. HUGE mistake, dude.
Whyle just keeps going! He releases clean through the line, angling toward the sideline. Deablo even kicked out a foot and took him down, but the trick was played. Meanwhile, Christian Watson, number 9, is pushing vertically down the field, selling that deep route. The Falcons were in a two-high safety look, and the safety covering Watson was backpedaling hard against his vertical push. Watson puts on the brakes 15 yards down the field, and with that safety deep and Deablo out of the play, there was a beautiful, wide-open space. Love fired it, Watson turned upfield for a few more yards, and BOOM: a 22-yard gain! That’s how you build off a concept you’ve been showing for weeks. That’s next-level stuff!
This wasn’t just some random play, it was a brilliantly executed evolution of a core concept. The Packers have been setting this up for weeks, priming defenses to expect one thing, then hitting them with a totally different look. I’ve been waiting for some vertical variations off that Dash motion, and it looks like we’re finally starting to get them. This shows they’re layering their offense, making defenses guess constantly. Expect to see even more wild stuff built off this ‘Dash’ motion moving forward. Can’t wait to see what else they cook up next!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Acme Packing Company.
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