Green Bay got their asses handed to them Week 12 by San Francisco. (Yes, I said asses.) Physical teams have not been good for the Packers this season. (Check the Chargers tape too.) Games are won in the trenches and the Packers failed on both occasions. In that revelation, the Packers knew they needed to be physical. A goal they accomplished Week 13, against the New York Giants.

The physicality didn’t really show up in the stats, but this isn’t the only indicator that should be used to determine this. The tape, however, shows all and doesn’t lie. Consistently the defensive line of the Packers pushed the Giants’ offensive line backward and put pressure on quarterback Daniel Jones. Did they record a sack? No. But that pressure hurried Jones’ internal clock and hurried his decisions. This lead to three interceptions thrown for the young signal caller.

Green Bay’s offensive line didn’t show much physicality in the run game. (Less than idea footing in the snow hampered both teams.) Just 26 rushes for 79 yards. I like the number of attempts because it kept the Giants defense honest and unable to sit on Aaron Rodgers. The passing game is where the physicality was at. The O-line kept Giant defenders back and allowed Rodgers to find receivers all day. (Also picked up a non-sucky 4 touchdown game in the process.)

There’s no such thing as a bad win, but this certain doesn’t move the needle. I appreciate the effort to get more physical, it will pay dividends down the road. But it’s much easier to do this against an inferior team than it is one that is on par with you. (Breaking news, I know.)

Regardless, the Packers took care of business. This is what you want. But they’ll need to continue their efforts to win in the trenches, if a deep playoff run is what they desire. Sunday was a good first step.