Rise and shine Packers fans! It’s gameday!!! Today, at 12 PM CST, our beloved Green Bay Packers will take the field, competing against the 3-2 New York Jets. After a disappointing loss last week against the New York Giants, this is an absolutely MUST win game for the Packers. Otherwise, this season will soon start to look bleak. Here are three things to watch in this matchup!
Pass rush pressure: it’s no surprise that Green Bay has one of the most dominant pass-rushes in the National Football League. Why won’t Green Bay constantly stop quarterback pass rush then? This week, Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry has to revive the pass rush. Our secondary is too talented to let receivers run all over us. After all, we have one of the best cornerbacks in the National Football League. It’s an absolute necessity to utilize our playmakers on defense; they are the ones that will win us games. And pressure on Jets quarterback Zach Wilson will be vital to the outcome. Against the pass rush, the Jets are seriously struggling — only 2.9 yards per attempt under pressure per PFF. If Joe Barry can re-energize this defense, the game is ours.
Deep passing game: the back-to-back MVP is clearly missing star wide receiver Davante Adams. Throughout the season, Aaron Rodgers has rarely targeted the deep ball, and when he does, the result is an interception or dropped pass by the inexperienced Packers wide receiver group. Against the Giants, Rodgers didn’t complete a pass over 20 yards despite some elite route-running and quality opportunities. Will the Jets challenge the Packers at the line of scrimmage? Will they press against the receivers, forcing Rodgers to abandon the deep ball? Until the passing game proves it can consistently create big plays, defenses are going to prepare against premiere backs Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon. This offense is long overdue for an explosive, deep passing game. It’s up to Aaron Rodgers and his young wide receiver core to create these opportunities.
Turnovers: despite the hype around this year’s defensive squad, Green Bay’s victories with the turnover battle are quite marginal. This squad definitely has the talent to make all sorts of defensive plays, but with questionable playcalling, the Packers defense have often come up short in the turnover battle. Especially with an inconsistent offense where fumbles and interceptions are becoming more frequent, this defense needs to step up with big-time sacks, fumbles, and interceptions. It’s even more shocking that Head Coach Matt LaFleur’s team hasn’t won the turnover battle once throughout this season. Currently, the Packers don’t have much of a winning edge, but turnovers would definitely help. With the talent up front and in the secondary, this defense needs to be producing more opportunities to turnover the ball.
With that being said Packers fans, let me give you my final Gametime prediction. Drumroll, please. With a slight, narrow victory from the Packers, I have Green Bay winning 24-21 against the New York Jets. Let’s all pray and hope Green Bay can get it done this week. GO PACK GO!!
You have to take this as a compliment: I thought I was getting the hang of football lingo and how to talk about plays/strategy, but it’s obvious I have more to learn! This said I wasn’t completely lost, more disoriented. Again, this is a compliment! This is a really well constructed sports commentary/prediction blog, one clearly meant for dedicated fans (specifically to the Packers) who will know exactly what you’re talking about. You tone is lively and inviting, you make it clear from the get go that you’re passionate, articulate, and have done your research + due diligence as a Packers fan. Your writing is engaging, even as a mediocre football fan I was following along and interested in what the Packers’ strategies should be going into this weekend. As a sports blog this defiantly hits all the marks, I like the personal touches you added to make clear you’re a fan who cares about his team and wants to connect with other fans.