Boy, was it ever nice to come out of watching a Packer game and not feel about 10 years older. It’s not just that the Packers haven’t been fun to watch this year—it’s that they’ve been actively exhausting to watch.

This week against the Dolphins was a game the Packers absolutely had to have, and had to impress in, to prove there’s at least a prayer they can turn their season around. While the team certainly had its struggles, it came out well ahead of a Dolphins team it was supposed to defeat soundly. It’s an encouraging sign, though certainly not yet an indicator that this is a team that’s going to be capable of pushing for a title.

A hallmark of the Packers’ season so far this year has been horrendously slow starts. The Packers needed to get out and score quickly, something they almost bungled early on until they were able to benefit from a botched snap by the Dolphins’ offense.

Aaron Jones was the star of the day. Though he only carried the ball 14 times, he finished with more than 140 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also had the big run that did the heavy lifting in propelling the Packers to the fast start they needed.

The context

First quarters have not been great for the Packers for much of this season. Miami went down the field relatively easily on its first drive, but fumbled a snap. They then went down the field to get a field goal. You could forgive Packer fans for being nervous that a Brock Osweiler-led offense was able to get within striking distance on the Packers multiple times in the first quarter.

A touchdown on this drive would put the Packers ahead by two scores, which is a lot for a dismal quarterback to be expected to overcome, even in just the first quarter. Jones got the Packers most of the way there on this run, one that is characterized just as much by the Dolphins’ defensive ineptitude on the play as it is by Jones’ excellence and some outstanding run blocking by the Packers’ offensive line.

The play

The setup for the play is relatively simple—two split out left, Jimmy Graham with his hand in the dirt on the line, and Marquez Valdez-Scantling lined up tight just off his right shoulder. It’s a singleback look for Jones, who’s looking for a hole right up the middle. He gets it.

Here you can see the formation of the excellent sealing blocks, with Corey Linsley and Lane Taylor doubling their man to the left and Bryan Bulaga and Byron Bell doubling their man to the right. This is executed to perfection, allowing Jones to burst up the hole untouched.

The fact that Jones is completely untouched is crucial, because of what you’ll see in the next couple photos.

Both the circled defensive backs here are really slow to react to the play. Watch it in real time and you’ll see what I mean. They each push straight forward as though they’re going for outside containment, even though Jones is already heading straight up the middle.

If Jones is touched by one of the defenders at the line or held up behind is blockers, then they probably have a chance to reset their feet and take the correct angle. But the perfect blocking at the line lets Jones burst straight through, and these two never even have an opportunity to get to him.

The linebackers also both come crashing down, and by the time Jones is at the line of scrimmage, they don’t have a prayer of being able to reach him.

A hair later. Here, you can see the safety in the back has completely fallen down, which essentially takes him out of the play even before Jones is within 10 yards of him. You can also see once again what being so late to react to the direction of the play does to the defensive backs who were circled in the previous image.

It’s up to #25 to come all the way from the other side of the field and chase Jones down, as he’s now the only one on the field in any kind of position to get the right angle on Jones, even before Jones has gone more than a yard past the line of scrimmage. This, again, is a result of Jones being able to burst through the line untouched and turn on the jets immediately.

And here you see it once again. Jones is too fast for the people trailing him, and the safety that fell down has not had a chance to get up to speed yet.

Great play by Jones and the Packers’ offensive line, helped out by some awful reaction times and mistakes by the Dolphins’ defense.

Here’s hoping Jones keeps getting more and more touches and that Mike McCarthy doesn’t hold on to whatever mysterious grudge he has against the guy.