Green Bay Packers v New England Patriots
Green Bay Packers v New England Patriots | Michael Owens/GettyImages
The Green Bay Packers' blowout win over the New England Patriots provided a lot of good. It also showed exactly why one player who hasn't had a chance to play much should be doing so moving forward: Kevin Zeitler.
Almost everyone played well on offense. The exception, perhaps unsurprisingly, is found on the offensive line. Aaron Banks, who has had his ups and downs throughout his time with the Packers, had what would be largely considered a "down" game. In his 46 snaps on offense, Banks was easily the worst of the Packers' offensive linemen, according to Pro Football Focus' grading.
Banks finished the game with a 38.9 overall grade and an absolutely abysmal 22.0 pass-blocking grade. While center John Williams finished the game with a slightly worse grade, Banks' was a much bigger problem along the line.
He gave up three pressures, a hurry, a quarterback hit, and a sack in his limited time, and Banks' play was so rough that the Packers finally looked elsewhere, in the form of Kevin Zeitler.
Kevin Zeitler must play for Packers to be the best version of themselves
The free-agent signee, who joined the Packers in October and was thought by many to be a presumptive starter by now, hasn't gotten much time on the field. Zeitler finally got involved on Sunday, though, and perhaps unsurprisingly to many again, he ended up playing pretty well.
According to PFF, Zeitler finished with a 55.6 overall grade, which actually ranked as the second-best across the offensive line.
He also allowed zero pressures or hurries in his 20 snaps and was on the field for some of the Packers' run game's biggest plays. Most importantly, though, he proved one thing that has been abundantly clear for some time now: for the Packers to be at their best, Zeitler must be playing.
It's no surprise that, when Zeitler got into the game, the Packers' run game got a bit better. As we discussed at the time of his signing, Zeitler was still a legitimately very good player by most metrics last season.
Despite missing most of the offseason due to rehab from an injury, that doesn't seem to have changed much. In just his brief 20 snaps for the team on Sunday, Zeitler showed a level of stability and poise.
Of course, the biggest bugaboo the Packers face right now isn't whether Banks should play, but whether the team has what it takes to do the hard part and bench him. Banks signed with the Packers for a massive four-year, $77 million contract in 2025.
To say he hasn't lived up to that would be a bit of an understatement, and earlier this year, the team made that commitment even riskier by restructuring his deal to create cap space. It pushed money into future years and makes it more expensive to move on next offseason.
With his contract so unmovable as it stands, the Packers have been giving Banks the chance to play, potentially due to his standing with the team (he does seem to be a well-liked member of the roster), his veteran status, and the fact that the team is paying him a lot. Benching him would leave one of the Packers' largest contracts essentially inactive on game day, a tough pill to swallow for any team.
However, the Packers need to make that move. Allowing Banks to play and making the offensive line worse is just malpractice at this point. Zeitler has not only earned the right to try to win the job, but has shown that he can play at least at the level Banks has all year, if not more. If the team is serious about becoming the best version of itself, they must make the hard choices and get Zeitler into the offensive line now.