Entering this weekend, both of these teams would be in the playoffs. Both sit at 6-7. Tampa Bay is currently leading the NFC South division while Green Bay holds the 7th and final playoff seed in the NFC. Should the playoffs begin this weekend, the Packers would be traveling to Dallas to take on the NFC East-leading Cowboys while the Buccaneers would host the 10-3 Philadelphia Eagles.
Safe to say this is a huge game for both sides. Should Green Bay win out, they’d secure a playoff spot and finish with a 10-7 record. However, should the Packers lose just one more game, it’d be tough for them to get into the playoffs at 9-8…but they still could.
Tampa Bay, while leading the NFC South, shares the same 6-7 record as their divisional rival Falcons and Saints. That division will come down to the last weekend, and the winner will be awarded a home playoff game – fair or not, it is what it is.
Matchup
The rankings are entering Week 15 and do not include the TNF game between the Chargers and Raiders.
The Packers get to face one of the worst rush offenses in the NFL. However, that may not be a good thing. The Bucs may just see what they’re able to accomplish by running the ball all game long in hopes of keeping it close, which would likely work. What Packer fans should hope for, is Baker trying to take over. In his previous two starts at Lambeau (one as a member of the Browns on Christmas Day in 2021, Mayfield threw 4 interceptions, with the last sealing the game on the final drive when only trailing by 2. Then last season, 51 weeks later, this time with the Rams, the former Heisman winner was less than pedestrian and lost 24-12. There may be something about Joe Barry that Baker can’t figure out, and with the 29th-ranked rushing offense, hopefully the Packers are able to take advantage and win the turnover battle – which seems to be the reason why Tampa has 6 wins, as they’re +6 in the turnover differential department.
This game may be decided by the availability of Tampa Bays’ outstanding DT Vita Vea (#50). He can dictate a game, however, if the Packers’ OL plays like they did in their last outing at Lambeau (Dec. 3rd vs Kansas City), Love should resemble the QB during the 3-game win streak vs the wind-influenced performance at the Meadowlands this past Monday night.
QB Tommy DeVito (#15) and HB Saquon Barkley (#26) combined to rush for 157 yards on 30 carries (5.2 yards/rush).
The Packers have given up 200+ rush yards in four separate games this season. That’s absolutely atrocious. Any team preparing to play Green Bay should just focus on pounding the rock for 60 minutes. Then, if close, towards the end of the game, the corners will play 12+ yards off the line of scrimmage.
The above graphic will make any defensive-minded person puke. It should come as no surprise the Packers are 0-4 in such games. If Green Bay would’ve been bailed out (twice) with a missed field goal at the end on Monday Night, it shouldn’t have sat well with anyone knowing that the Giants had no issue marching up and down the field with the worst offensive line in the NFL quarterbacked by a practice squad local…embarrassing isn’t strong enough of a word.
Special Teams are…Special
Just a couple of more penalties on special teams, paired with Nixon’s butterball routine…the Packers have the highest paid special teams coach in the entire NFL, yet nothing has improved. Hell, it may have (somehow) worsened. In the linked article, it states “To finally put an end to those annual embarrassments, LaFleur made Bisaccia the league’s highest-paid special teams coordinator, with a reported annual salary of over $2 million per year.
So far, it appears to be money well spent.”
Whether that says more about The Athletic (the publisher) or LaFleur’s choice in hiring coordinators (Joe Barry refuses to stop the run and play press man coverage on 3rd downs, unless it’s against Patrick Mahomes).
Was there any Good News?
The Packers won the time of possession. The best item about the game…Love, as we’ve seen all season, “keeps comin’.” The kid just continues to play, doesn’t ever seem to give up – that’s the 2nd best attribute a QB can have (behind clutch). After Saquon kicked the door back open by fumbling deep in Packer territory, up 5, with 4:01 left in the 4th, Love and the Packers were able to capitalize on the opportunity and score a TD. Leaving too much time for the Giants facing a Defense coordinated by Joe Barry to kick a game-winning field goal as time expired.
Current Situation~ If everyone thinks something is a trap, is it a trap? The Giants are 4-8, currently sitting as the 13th seed in the NFC playoff seeding…they’re essentially dead. Should they win out, they’d be 9-8 and likely would need help to make the playoffs. That said, they did finish 9-7-1 last year and beat Minnesota in the Wild Card round to be the surprise of the NFL. The Packers have a chance to kill the Giants for the 2023 season, even if not mathematically.
Green Bay on the other hand is one of the hottest teams in the NFL, and much of that is to do with the kids getting reps (been advocating for this all this season and next), and beginning to gel. The Packers currently sit as the 7th seed in the NFC playoffs, and would travel to Dallas should the playoffs start today. The Packers actually have some wiggle room, but with Detroit losing in Chicago yesterday, Green Bay has an outside shot at winning the division. If Green Bay is able to win out (finish 11-6), they’d need another 2 losses by Detroit, which is possible. However, first things first…beat NY.
Matchup
As always, the matchup chart (above) shows the potential mismatches in an upcoming game. There should be 2 things that stand out…first, the Giants possess, arguably, the worst offense in the entire NFL. They’re dead last in passing and total yards, while scoring the 2nd least amount of points (Patriots- 13.0). Second, the Packers have a below-average defense, in terms of yardage, yet top-10 in scoring – meaning Green Bay does a good job keeping teams out of the end zone. The dreaded Bend but Don’t Break method…that’s truly it, because the Packers are tied for 27th in taking the ball away, so that’s not it.
Players to Watch
New York Giants Defensive Tackle, Dexter Lawrence.
Lawrence is a stud. Simply put. He’s relatively unknown outside of the the East coast, but this guy can flat out play. He’s also huge. I’ll leave it to former Packers Pro Bowl Guard, Mike Wahle, to explain what makes Lawrence special. Much like Chris Jones on the Chiefs, Lawrence can wreck a game, and he may do it without registering a statistic. Much like Aaron Donald, he’ll require the Packers’ offensive line to account for him every snap. They’ll also need to know when he’s not on the field as that will change the entire approach to attacking the defense.
The Packers are going to be missing quite a bit of star power in this one…while they’re used to it, it’d be nice to have Quay Walker (one of the best ILBs in the NFL) in the middle, let alone one of the best corners in the NFL in Jaire to play (missing a 5th straight game).
Everyone knows Saquon Barkley, and holding him down will be priority #1, but their homegrown Tommy “Cutlets” DeVito. He’s quarterbacked them to consecutive wins and come in, like Green Bay, feeling good. This should be a good matchup tonight. That, and the Giants are wearing their 80’s/90’s throwbacks, which are always great.
Predictions
This will be a close game, hard fought, and will come down to the 4th quarter and Green Bay will come through, this time. Think similar to Week 2 vs. New Orleans…Green Bay came back from 17-0 in the 4th, and still needed a stop to ice the game – same thing tonight, I think…
Christian Watson hauls in the high pass at the outstretched arms of Chiefs’ CB (#2) Joshua Williams.
If it wasn’t obvious before, this team can beat anyone. It also can lose to anyone. They’re young and keep in mind that the main goal this season was to get the kids reps. The media continues to talk about this team turning it around and that “maybe we owe Gutekunst and LaFleur an apology.” That’s not it. This season was never about winning, it was about growing and learning – learning which kids to keep and grow around.
That was one of the best games in recent memory for Green Bay fans…maybe in years. This team continues to prove they’re capable of beating anyone, including themselves…which happens with youth. First things first, Matt LaFleur may have called his best game as a play-caller of the Green Bay Packers. Starting out with long touchdowns drives on their first 2 drives is about as perfect as you can start.
In addition, Jordan Love played his best game. He finished the game 25/36 (69.4%), 267 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, 118.6 passer rating. That was against the 6th best passing defense and 3rd scoring D. That’s something real. It also came without their best offensive weapon, Aaron Jones. It was also without Luke Musgrave, their up-and-coming TE weapon. No worries, LaFleur mixed in the right number of rollouts, pre-snap motions, and similar looks that opened up plays later in the game to keep control.
Special Teams Came Through
Packers’ Special Teams Coach, Rich Bisaccia, looks on during the game vs. Kansas City on Sun., Dec. 3rd, 2023 at Lambeau Field.
The Packers’ special teams came through in a huge way on Sunday night. The two 4th quarter field goals extended the lead from losing to a field goal, to not being able to lose in regulation (got the lead to 8 points, which would’ve required a successful 2-point conversion had Kansas City sored a touchdown at the end of regulation). Both kicks were clutch due to the situation. Kudos is deserved.
The Concern?
The rush defense is still a problem. The Packers allowed 148 yards on the ground on only 25 rush attempts. Isiah Pacheco was hit early, but he runs angry and gained tons of YAC (yards after contact). He almost scored after being in a pile at the 9 yard line…that simply can’t happen. Other than that, the Packers played as close to a perfect game as you can ask – hence the victory.
Should Green Bay continue to win the turnover battle and time of possession, expect good things to ensue.
Kansas City is looking to keep pace with Baltimore for the 1-seed in the AFC playoff picture. With a win, they would jump back to the 1-seed via better conference record than Baltimore. Green Bay on the other hand, is the first team out looking in at the playoff picture in the NFC. With a win, the Packers would jump ahead of Seattle (tied with a 6-6 record, but better win % in conference games) and hold the 7th seed (last playoff spot). It’s quite the game for both sides.
Matchup~
KC off.
(rank)
vs.
GB D.
(rank)
Rush
106.5
17th
135.2
27th
Pass
258.5
7th
205.1
9th
Total
365.0
8th
340.3
18th
Pts
23.5
11th
20.4
T-10th
KC D.
GB off.
Rush
113.4
19th
102.7
T-21st
Pass
176.6
4th
222.1
16th
Total
16.5
3rd
324.8
18th
Pts
20.2
10th
21.0
17th
T/O
KC
GB
Takeaways
14
T-20th
12
T-26th
Giveaways
19
T-23rd
12
T-6th
Diff.
(5)
T-23rd
0
16th
ToP
KC
GB
31:25
10th
28:38
25th
These teams are fairly evenly matched when Kansas City has the ball, evidenced by the ranks of each…however, the Chiefs may be able to gouge the Packers in the run game with Isiah Pacheco, a hard, vicious, runner. It’ll be interesting to see if the Packers can keep Mahomes in check as they did in their last meeting, holding the Chiefs to just 13 points at Aarowhead in Jordan Love’s first career start.
This will be a good test for the Chiefs as well, as a foreign team coming into Lambeau for a night game is about as tough an environment as there is. Kansas City is the better team, they’re on the cusp of a dynasty, and if they earn the 1-seed, they’d be on track to host a 6th consecutive Conference Championship game.
The One Matchup That Will Dictate the Outcome
Packers C Josh Myers.
He’s been better as of late, but he’s had some awful “blocks” over the course of the season. It should come as no surprise that the improvement of his play has coincided with Jordan Love’s ascension and the team’s too. Myers will be tasked with blocking, arguably, the best defensive lineman in football; Chris Jones. He can wreck a game against good offensive lines, which Green Bay typically has…
Chiefs DT Chris Jones.
In the aforementioned game, Jones was held to 2 tackles and 2 QB hits. That’s pretty good. Green Bay typically does a good job nullifying great defensive linemen…typically. This year they’ve neutralized Aiden Hutchinson (previous game on Thanksgiving) and Aaron Donald (Rams game), but struggled mightily against Hutchinson in Week 4’s matchup and had a real problem with Las Vegas Raiders’ DE Maxx Crosby.
Prediction
Considering I missed last week’s prediction, happily by the way, that seemed to workout…so let’s try it again.
Chiefs 31 Packers 28 (+7)
Season: 4-7 Overall: 91-59
*If Green Bay pulls off the upset, this could be a trajectory game (again), to something much bigger and brighter.*
On the first play from scrimmage, WR Christian Watson (#9) attacks the ball and hauls in a Love bomb for 53 yards.
Packers 29, Lions 22
The Packers decided to come out as aggressive as possible to set the tone, and it worked. Christian Watson was a difference-maker in the 1st quarter, allowing the Packers to build a 14-6 lead after Green Bay’s first 2 possessions. On Detroit’s 2nd possession, that’s where the game was decided, a costly turnover that led to 6 points. That ended up being the play of the game. Building Green Bay’s lead to 20-6 (yet another missed extra point), and keeping the momentum on the Packers’ side for the entirety of the game.
Turnovers~ as always stated, the Packers won that department 3-0, yet only scoring 6 points off the 3, those kept points off the board for Detroit and put them in a funk almost all game. The other item that shouldn’t go unnoticed, was Detroit’s 4th down conversion percentage was 20%. The Lions attempted 5 fourth down conversions (fake punt being one of them), and only converted on 1 – those act as turnovers as well due to the momentous impact they have when the defense makes the stop.
Defensive Issues…~ while the Packers were close to holding Detroit’s 6th ranked scoring offense (entering the game) to under 20 points, they still held them to less than their avg. of 27.2 points, which was huge – thanks to those turnovers. However, the defense still gave up 464 total yards, and 140 yards on the ground with 4.5 yards/carry. This allowed Detroit to win the time of possession battle, hence the turnovers helping in this department to win the game.
They were able to sack Jared Goff 3 times only for a total loss of 8 yards…it was a good enough effort to win, with the difference being the fumble return for a TD.
Watson Came to Play
Watson finished with 5 catches for 94 yards and a game-winning touchdown. He showed on the first drive on the game that he was attacking the ball and great things happen when he does this. He’s a matchup nightmare, and does draw the most double-teams in the NFL (as written about in the last blog), but if he’s able to begin coming up with more contested catches, this could really be something in the making. What many are asking, deservedly so, is for Love to lead Watson more on these deep passes as he had both of the Lions d-backs burnt on the play and a good throw is a walk in TD.
Special Issues
The Packers missed two kicks on Thanksgiving, resulting in leaving 4 points on the field, for the 2nd consecutive game. Somehow this did not come back to bite them, but that would’ve made the drive last week vs. the Chargers a lot less nerve-wracking…being up 27-20 is far different than 23-20. Also, this week, the Packers wouldn’t have gone for 2, so it technically was a 5-point difference. Green Bay should’ve been up 34-14 on the Lions’ final possession, making it a 3-score game which is such a crucial difference in the game of football. The one nice thing the Special Teams did was stuff the fake punt late in the 3rd quarter which allowed Green Bay to bust the game open from 23-14 to 29-14 (had the extra point been made prior, Green Bay could’ve kicked the extra point on this TD to make it a 3-score game and essentially ice it).
Lastly, Love…
With 5:17 left in the game, on 3rd & 1 from the GB 21, Jordan Love kept the ball on a read-option and scampered for 37 yards.
This was a key play, but he balled out all game. Love finished with arguably the best game of his young career: 22/32 (68.8%); 268 yards; 3 TD; 0 INT; 125.5 RAT. He played so well that maybe his worst ball was still completed for 53 yards…the underthrow to Watson on the opening play of the game. He needs to keep this going and will need to play well next week vs. a very good and opportunistic Kansas City defense.
(4-6) Green Bay takes on (8-2) Detroit in their annual Thanksgiving Day Game @ Ford Field.
What’s At Stake?
The Lions currently sit as the 2-seed in the NFC playoff race. This would guarantee them two home games in the playoffs (assuming they win in Wild Card Weekend). Detroit holds a 2.5 game lead on 2nd place Minnesota, and 2 of their last three games come against the Vikes in the regular season.
Green Bay is coming off a gutsy win against a desperate LA Chargers team, and has an opportunity to inject themselves into the divisional race with a win – kinda. Right now, Green Bay sits as the first team outside the NFC playoffs looking in. They’re 1.5 games back of Minnesota, and is essentially 2+ games back having already lost to the Vikings in Week 8 at Lambeau Field. If Green Bay pulls out a victory at Ford Field, they’ll be 1 game back to Minnesota with Minnesota also holding the tiebreaker.
Previous Meeting
I’m sure everyone recalls Detroit coming into Lambeau on a short week (the other Thursday game) and blasting the Packers 34-20 jumping out to a 27-3 halftime lead. The Lions were able to rack up 211 yards on the ground and David Montgomery completely took over the game early on. Goff didn’t do anything special, and did lead off the game with an interception, but Green Bay only scored a field goal on it and the Lions decided that was enough.
Injuries…Never an Excuse, but…
Thirteen of the players listed on the Packers’ injury report are Day 1 starters. The DNP (Did Not Practice) alone are all key starters: De’Vondre Campbell; Josiah Deguara; Aaron Jones; Luke Musgrave. Deguara seems to be working himself out of a job, however with the injury to Musgrave, the Tight Ends will be Tucker Kraft and Josiah Deguara…and they’ll be used frequently, hopefully. Running backs A.J. Dillon and newly re-acquired Patrick Taylor should get a decent work load in the game to alleviate pressure in the pass game…also, maybe there might be a coupe of shot plays to Watson and Reed to try to make up for lost yardage from Musgrave and Jones being OUT.
Keep It Tight?
The Packers have played six 1-score games this year, with all of those coming down to the last possession. One of the 4 games that wasn’t, was Week 4 vs. Detroit. Look for Green Bay to somehow keep the game close and get another opportunity to win it late — at least that’s the goal for each game this season; learning experiences.
Detroit Shock?
The Lions had a scare against the Chicago Bears, possibly waking them up. However, over their last 4 games, the Lions are giving up an average of 29.0 points/game. The most recent common opponent, the Los Angeles Chargers, hung 38 on the Lions. However, that game was in LA, and LA would’ve been close to 34 or more had they not had any drops. That being said, Green Bay is playing fairly well on defense since that Detroit thumping, giving up an average of 17.7 points/game.
Matchup
Detroit Lions TE Sam LaPorta (#87) scores a 2-point conversion against the Chicago Bears 11/19/2023.
GB off
(rank)
vs.
Det D
(rank)
Rush
102.1
21st
89.5
5th
Pass
217.5
19th
223.5
16th
Total
319.6
21st
313.0
9th
Pts
20.2
21st
22.9
22nd
GB D
Det off
Rush
134.7
28th
136.6
5th
Pass
193.2
7th
263.0
4th
Total
327.9
17th
399.6
2nd
Pts
20.2
10th
27.2
6th
T/O
GB
Det
Takeaways
9
T-29th
12
T-25th
Giveaways
12
T-10th
14
T-16th
Diff.
-3
21st
-2
T-17th
ToP
GB
Det
28:42
24th
32:08
4th
Detroit ranks considerably better in almost every category (especially overall) than Green Bay. However, maybe the Packers have found some confidence and played loosely in their last game against LA. I keep saying “In order for Green Bay to win, they’ll need to win the turnover and time of possession battles.” With Green Bay’s offensive line being in shambles and just not that good, coupled with injuries to Aaron Jones and Emanuel Wilson, time of possession may be a lost cause – focus on scoring touchdowns off takeaways.
Romeo Doubs (#87) snags the go-ahead TD vs. the LA Chargers in the Packers’ 23-20 victory at Lambeau Field on 11/19/2023.
Green Bay gutted out a solid victory against a desperate opponent. While they were aided by the sun “causing” a few drops by the Chargers, the Packers too, had to deal with the sun and had some drops of their own. As consistently stated, the turnover battle ended up being the difference in this game. Green Bay jumped on Ekeler’s fumble early in the 4th quarter. That took at least 3 points off the board for LA, and considering that was 2nd & Goal from the GB 2 yard-line, likely took off 7 points. This is the Chargers, and has been their MO for years. They have immense talent scattered across their roster, but they’re so mistake-prone that they’re a perennial .500 ball club. To quote a good friend of mine, “It sucks to suck.”
The second key of the game, and I always talk about, is time of possession. The Packers won the ToP battle 31:58 to 28:02. That helped their defense stay fresh enough to make two stands on LA’s final 2 possessions – even if Johnston dropped a bomb.
Lastly, it’s being overlooked, but Carrington Valentine (#37) might just be flat out good. Since the Packers traded away Rasul Douglas (or apparently what some fans considered Deion Sanders), Carrington Valentine has allowed 5 receptions on 18 targets, for 64 yards, resulting in a 41.9 passer rating. That’s quite good. Considering he’s a rookie 7th rounder, that’s incredible…and he may improve.
The major issue is the Packers allowed 150 yards on only 24 rush attempts (6.3 yards/carry), with 28 coming on a scramble by Justin Herbert and another 37 on a Preston Smith busted edge containment by Ekeler. Green Bay’s Defensive Coordinator, Joe Barry, is surviving with the Bend but Don’t Break defense which eventually will break against better teams – ala Detroit and Kansas City…the Packers’ next two opponents.
Jayden Reed (#11) hauls in the Jordan Love pass for the Packers touchdown in the 2nd quarter.
On both of Jordan Love’s touchdown tosses last week, progress should’ve captured the (even inexperienced) eye. Both we longer touch passes on post routes that are nearly impossible to defend, but require a very good throw. The offense looked like it was moving down the field with some rhythm and consistency that’s been missing for essentially the entire season.
Continued Struggles
Steelers 23, Packers 19: the Packers allowed 205 yards rushing on 36 attempts (5.7 yards/carry). That’s trouble for a multitude of reasons. 1. Pittsburgh was able to run the ball at will, and they were leading almost the entire game, taking the ball out of the Packers’ hands. The first two drives of the game, while the first one was bailed out on a defensive pass interference call (which was questionable), Pittsburgh still cut right through the Packers’ defense enroute to the end zone.
The “good” news is Green Bay’s defense held Pittsburgh to 4 of 13 on 3rd downs, which should be good enough to keep you in the game – which was the case. However, the 5 penalties and 2 turnovers ended up being the difference, as it will likely continue to be with an inexperienced team. The other piece of good news, is after the first two Steeler TD drives, the Packers gave up166 total yards on 35 plays over the last 38:08 of the game, surrendering 9 points in that time span.
The progression is beginning to filter through in whom Love targets. For instance, he’s damn near a Pro Bowl QB when targeting anyone but Christian Watson. With that being said, while I’d like to see Watson be far more assertive in attacking the football when thrown his way, he does have an effect on the game as he’s one of the most double-covered wideouts in the NFL based on the chart below:
He is average-ish in separation in single coverage routes, but draw the most-double teams…so there’s something to that. Is that progress? Maybe. However, if he begins attacking the ball and Love is able to lead him a bit more on those sideline throws (especially in the end zone), he could become a premier weapon in the NFL…time will tell.
Week 11: (4-5) Los Angeles Chargers @ (3-6) Green Bay Packers
Los Angeles Chargers QB (#10) Justin Herbert.
The Chargers have been notorious for having arguably one of the most talented teams in the NFL for years, especially since Herbert’s arrival in 2020. However, his career record is 29-29. They’re the epitome of mediocre. Very similar to the Packers in sense that they have immense talent, but they just don’t know how to tie wins together. The Packers last year were hampered by old vets and this year the inverse; complete inexperience. The Chargers are far more difficult to figure out. There are many articles highlighting Players To Watch, yet I won’t because you could list 13 players, which begs the question, “Who should we watch out for?”
How is this team so Average?
LAC Off.
(rank)
vs.
GB Def.
(rank)
Rush
100.8
22nd
133.0
27th
Pass
249.1
8th
187.6
7th
Total
349.9
11th
320.6
11th
Pts
26.6
7th
20.2
T-11th
LAC Def.
GB Off.
Rush
102.0
12th
102.1
21st
Pass
291.2
32nd
208.9
19th
Total
393.2
31st
311.0
21st
Pts
23.9
24th
19.9
21st
T/O
LAC
GB
Takeaways
15
T-9th
8
T-29th
Giveaways
7
1st
12
T-13th
Diff.
8
T-3rd
-4
T-24th
They aren’t great at running the ball, even though they have one of the better running backs in the NFL (#30 Austin Ekeler), however they can score (7th in scoring offense), so the matchup when Herbert is under center should be fairly even…maybe.
If there ever was a matchup where Love can go off, it’s this one. The Chargers have the worst pass defense and the penultimate total defense. Green Bay should be able to get yards through the air, but LA does have Safety, Derwin James Jr. (#3) and Cornerback, Asante Samuel Jr. (#26) in the defensive backfield and each (especially James) can cause issues in the passing game. Also, as bad as a defense as LA has, they’re T-3rd in turnover differential (+8). Green Bay has been awful in that department since Week 2. Again, as a Packer fan, we’d like to see the Packers finish the season with at least a 0 difference in turnovers, ideally in the positive.
The other item is LA doesn’t possess the ball all that long, much like Green Bay. That’s due to their defense being atrocious. LA ranks 24th with an avg time of possession at 28:48/game where the Packers are up to 26th at 28:20/game.
All in all, until Green Bay proves they can score touchdowns, consistently, it’d be irresponsible for me (or anyone) to pick them to win – that doesn’t mean I don’t think they can win or that I don’t want them to.
The 3-5 Packers travel to Acrisure Stadium to take on the 5-3 Steelers
Review~ Packers 20, Rams 3
Albeit against a 3rd string QB, the Packers’ defense did its job. Never allowing the Rams to get past the Green Bay 31 yard line. In doing so, the Packers won the time of possession battle 35:16 to 24:44 – a step in the right direction. Forcing 6 punts and 2 turnovers on downs, that allowed the Packers to keep up with the run game, gaining 184 yards over 38 rush attempts (4.8 yards/rush). This game could’ve been the blowout it should’ve been had the Packers not turned it over twice themselves…both unforced fumbles.
Progress? ~ there were some signs of progress from this young team in the victory over the inferior Rams. ILB Isaiah McDuffie (#58) totaled 7 tackles with 2 tackles for loss, and numerous plays like this.
Another promising player was RG Sean Rhyan (#75), who was able to move All-Pro DT Aaron Donald off his mark multiple times in the run game. He deserves more playing time if he’s able to show this type of effort and production.
Lastly, while he was facing Brett Rypien, Valentine still locked down two stud WRs (Kupp and Nacua) in his opportunity. He’s a rookie corner, and now there’s tape on him from jumping routes. So he’ll have double-moves put on him against Pittsburgh, and moving further. However, he deserves starting reps and with Jaire and Stokes coming off injury hopefully to play the remainder of the year in some form, the Packers could have a very formidable secondary for years to come.
#90 T.J. Watt will forever be in the minds of Packers fans as Ted Thompson taking Kevin King over the UW star.
Both Teams Like to Mud the Game Up
While Green Bay doesn’t intentionally like messing the game up, the outcome is quite similar. Pittsburgh has a knack for bringing you down to their level, playing solid defense, and making a big play in the 4th quarter in a tight game. That’s how they’ve amassed 5 wins over 8 games, and pulled out a couple of big wins vs solid opponents this season. Their two big wins have come against the uber-talented Cleveland Browns and (what looks like) the best team in the NFL, Baltimore. The man pictured above is arguably the MVP of the NFL this season as he makes such a difference on the defensive side of the ball that it directly impacts the outcomes of games.
GB O
(rank)
vs.
Pit D
(rank)
Rush
100.4
22nd
133.1
29th
Pass
199.6
22nd
244.1
25th
Total
300.0
24th
377.2
31st
Pts
20.0
20th
20.4
13th
GB D
Pit O
Rush
124.0
23rd
90.5
24th
Pass
196.1
9th
188.0
24th
Total
320.1
11th
278.5
28th
Pts
19.9
10th
16.6
29th
T/O
GB
Pit
Takeaways
8
T-28th
16
3rd
Giveaways
10
T-9th
8
T-5th
Diff.
-2
T-18th
8
T-3rd
Based on sheer numbers and ranking in those departments, the Packers should have the advantage while on defense, assuming they’re able to keep the Steelers’ ground attack in check. Pittsburgh is 29th in scoring offense and almost dead last (31st of 32) in defensive yards allowed. Look no further than turnover differential when trying to figure out how Pittsburgh is 5-3 with (what statistically says is) a bad team. They average 2 takeaways/game while only giving it away once. Green Bay was able to get away with turning it over twice last week, but they may not be so fortunate should they do it this week. Look for quick passes and the ground game from Matt LaFleur Sunday as TJ Watt (#90) and Alex Highsmith (#56) are maybe the best edge rushing combo in the NFL. Each can wreck a game and the Packers have struggled with O-line play, so quick passes, screens, and the ground game should be paramount.
Other Players to Watch:
#14 George Pickens – WR; big play potential with great hands
#30 Jaylen Warren – HB; avg. 4.7 yards/carry
#22 Najee Harris – HB; bruising back with great feet/balance
There are quite a few former Packers/Badges on the Pittsburgh roster, so some names will sound familiar:
#57 Montravious Adams – DT (3rd round pick in 2017 of Green Bay) He’s OUT however.
#95 Keeanu Benton – DT (Rookie from Wisconsin)
#92 Isaiahh Loudermilk – DT (Wisconsin)
#51 Nick Herbig – LB (Rookie from Wisconsin)
#90 TJ Watt – he’s ok
#34 Chandon Sullivan – spent 2019-2021 with Green Bay
#49 Tariq Carpenter – S (7th rd draft pick by Green Bay last year)
Pittsburgh finds themselves in the heat of a divisional battle for the AFC North, while Green Bay is clinging to some playoff hope, but mainly looking for progress while Pittsburgh is what it is, just a tough team with a balance of kids and veterans.
Look for that veteran experience to show today, even though I believe Green Bay will have a brighter future in years to come and currently has more talent, the inexperience of the Packers will likely cost them today (and beyond in terms of wins).
sportsjudgejury 