Our offseason opponent breakdown series on theRams.com continues with us getting caught up on Los Angeles' Week 5 home opponent, the Green Bay Packers (Oct. 6, 1:25 p.m. PT on CBS).
The Rams' 2024 schedule release is presented by Confirmed360.
2023
According to ESPN Stats & Information research, the Packers entered last season with the NFL's youngest active roster with an average age of 25.7. That youth didn't deter some analysts from projecting Green Bay as one of the NFC Wild Card teams, but they weren't a consensus playoff pick by any means.
The circumstances were similar to that of the Rams, who had the second-youngest active roster. And like Los Angeles, Green Bay managed to exceed those external expectations.
It wasn't looking like that initially, especially with a 3-6-record through Week 10, but going 6-2 over the final eight weeks of the season – including a playoff berth-clinching win over the Bears in Week 18 – got them there and helped them secure the No. 7 seed.
In the postseason, the Packers upset the Cowboys 48-32 at AT&T Stadium in wild card round before falling to the 49ers 24-21 in the divisional round.
Taking over for Aaron Rodgers after Rodgers was traded to the Jets, third-year quarterback Jordan Love flourished in his first season as the Packers' starter, completing 64.2% of his passes for 4,159 yards with 32 touchdowns against 11 interceptions.
Key changes
A longtime focal point of their run game and offense overall, running back Aaron Jones was released on March 11 and later signed with division rival Minnesota. Veteran left tackle David Bakhtiari was also released that same day.
In free agency, the Packers signed former Raiders running back Josh Jacobs to a 3-year deal.
The Packers also parted ways this offseason with defensive coordinator Joe Barry, who had held the position since 2021, and replaced him with former Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley.
Head coach
Matt LaFleur enters his sixth season as head coach of the Packers, compiling a 56-27 regular season record and 3-4 playoff record through his first five years.
What to watch for
A young Packers offense with a season of experience under its belt, plus a new Packers defense
Green Bay is poised to potentially field the youngest active roster in the league once again in 2024, with much of that youth on the offensive side of the ball. However, that group also showed impressive growth over the course of the 2023 season, so it will be a more experienced unit than the one the Rams defense faced last November.
Meanwhile, Hafley's arrival signals a major philosophical shift defensively. Packers.com senior writer Wes Hodkiewicz in February wrote that "Hafley favors a vision-based, press-man style of defense that brings with it a shift to a 4-3 base front, an alignment Green Bay hasn't regularly deployed since 2008." So the Rams' offense will be preparing for a different scheme compared to what they've seen since 2021.
