The Packers will count on #12 to silence the “Twelves” in Seattle!
The Packers are hitting the road after their victory on Sunday as they prepare to face the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night.
The Packers are 4-4-1 and defeated the Miami Dolphins 31-12 on Sunday while the Seahawks are 4-5 after losing on the road to the Los Angeles Rams 36-31 late Sunday afternoon.
The Packers finally found a running game with Aaron Jones. Actually, they had one all along; they just decided to use it. Randall Cobb will be out on Thursday after missing the Miami game, so the young receivers will be counted on heavily once again. Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams are quite a duo, and even though Miami tried to force someone else to beat them, Adams still found the endzone twice. Seattle is ranked 12th (how fitting) in defense, so they aren’t as dominant as they once were, but they thrive on taking the ball away. They are +8 in turnover ratio for the season.
Seattle still has Russell Wilson, and he is having a great year statistically with 21 TD passes and only 5 interceptions. None of those TD passes have gone to Doug Baldwin, but Tyler Lockett has caught 7 of them. The Packers don’t have Marshawn Lynch to worry about, but Seattle does have three capable backs, led by Chris Carson. Mike Davis and Rashaad Penny figure to get some carries as well. Seattle leads the league in rushing yards per game with 152.2, and the Packers are not very good at stopping the run. I expect them to run the ball as often as possible to keep drives going and to keep Rodgers off the field. The Packers cannot allow that to happen on Thursday. They also need to get takeaways. They are even in the turnover ratio for the season.
We all know that crowd noise will be a factor on Thursday night. Everyone needs to be on the same page on offense throughout the game. We cannot afford false starts and forced timeouts. It will be hard enough to move the ball without having to go 5 extra yards because of a dumb penalty.
Seattle is an uncharacteristic 1-2 at home so far this season. The Packers have their own road problems as they are 0-4 away from Lambeau Field this year. Besides, they have lost their last 3 games at Seattle, including the infamous NFC Championship Game. Something has to give, and the Packers need to start winning on the road.
The last time the Packers won a game in Seattle was in 2008, Rodgers’ first season as a starter. The Seahawks featured some notable players in QB Charlie Frye and RB Julius Jones. Frye threw for only 83 yards but had 2 TD passes. The Packers won the game 27-17.
This game will no doubt have the feel of a playoff game. With the Packers at 4-4-1 and the Seahawks at 4-5, the loser will have an uphill climb in order to make the playoffs this year.
This isn’t an ideal situation for the Packers to be in, but they have defied the odds before and won games in tough environments. It felt good to beat Miami and get back into the win column, but a loss on Thursday will give the critics a lot of ammunition once again. Mike McCarthy is still on the hot seat, and it will take a lot more than a win over an average (at best) Miami team to cool it down.
It is time for them to do more than just “hold their own” on the road. Losses are losses. They need to get rid of that goose egg in the win column on the road, and winning at Seattle could be just the thing they need to get on a roll. Wherever we may be on Thursday, let’s get behind the team and cheer them to victory!
Go Pack Go!
@DieHardPackrFan #DHPF #GregGoshaw @gg901
