Gut check time as the Packers battle the Giants
The Green Bay Packers head to the East Coast to take on the New York Giants at Noon (Central Time) on Sunday.
Both teams are coming off road losses. We all know how the Packer game vs the San Francisco 49ers went while the Giants lost 19-14 to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.
For the first time since 2004, the Packers will not see Eli Manning in the starting lineup. He was benched earlier this season in favor of Daniel Jones. The Packers will get their first look at Saquon Barkley, an electrifying back who has battled some injury problems this year but is capable of scoring whenever he touches the ball. TE Evan Engram is their leading receiver, and I am highlighting him because of the struggles the Packers are having vs tight ends. They need to keep this guy in check. The Packers have a great chance to get a lot of sacks and force some turnovers on Sunday. The defense needs to show up ready to play. It’s time for them to get stops and give the ball back to the offense with good field position.
Aaron Rodgers had a game to forget last Sunday, finishing with only 66 net yards passing. It didn’t help that there seemed to be defenders in his face every time he dropped back to pass. He won’t be facing a strong defense this Sunday but he will still need to make plays. Let’s get the running backs involved again, especially Aaron Jones. It is unlikely that Bryan Bulaga will play on Sunday and that is a big loss for their offensive line. They need to keep Rodgers upright and open some holes for the running backs. This is a great opportunity for the Packers to come out and put up some huge numbers on offense, especially on the scoreboard.
After the Giants went 0-2 to start the season, they decided that the future was now as they replaced Eli Manning with Daniel Jones, who ended up winning his first two starts. Since then, the Giants lost seven in a row and are now 2-9 on the season.
After the disaster last Sunday night, the critics came out in droves against the Packers. The team has been called soft, fans are becoming extremely frustrated with defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, and there is talk about whether Aaron Rodgers is an elite quarterback anymore.
One way for the Packers to get the critics off their backs is to start getting stops on defense. I still think that Rodgers is elite. Look at the game at Kansas City for example. He had a “perfect” performance vs the Oakland Raiders as well. He did have some lousy performances in the two games in California, but if they spread the ball around on offense like they are capable of doing, they will be fine.
The Packers do have a very favorable schedule the rest of the way but it means nothing if they didn’t learn anything from their last two losses, both on the West Coast. They need to come into this game on Sunday with a purpose. They aren’t going to win just by showing up. They can’t afford to follow up their dreadful performance with a loss to the lowly Giants. They would be pouring gasoline on the fire.
Even with their underwhelming performances in all three losses, the Packers are still 8-3 and still lead the division by virtue of their win vs the Minnesota Vikings earlier in the season. They aren’t in a bad position at all. They just need to win on Sunday to settle things down a bit and get back on the winning track. There is no need to panic at all. I think the team is upset and ready to take their frustrations out on the Giants this Sunday. I think they will start out the month of December with a victory. Let’s get it done Green Bay!
Go Pack Go!
@DieHardPackrFan #DHPF #GregGoshaw @gg901
