Good evening, everyone. On Sunday afternoon/evening, the Green Bay Packers will take on the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. As of now, the Packers are in the driver’s seat for the number one seed in the NFC. All they need to do is to win the rest of their games to get the bye and home field advantage. I am here to give you my thoughts on what the Packers need to do to get one win closer to that goal (plus win the NFC North). Without further delay, let’s get started.
On offense, the Packers need to stay balanced. I know that the Ravens have a great run defense, but I am sure that the offensive linemen will be able to create the holes for AJ Dillon and Aaron Jones to run through. Even though the offensive line is still missing David Bakhtiari and Josh Myers (Elgton Jenkins is unfortunately out for the season), Adam Stenavich has been coaching his butt off. I am sure that the receivers, including Allen Lazard and Josiah Deguara, will be helping with run blocking as well. It will be up to the backs to follow the blocks and run for plenty of yards while breaking tackles, running over defenders, and not turning the ball over in the process. Running the ball well help the passing game by keeping Baltimore’s defense honest and giving Aaron Rodgers more time to find an open receiver. Considering that there might be at least a few blitzes by the Ravens defense, the running backs must help pass block by picking up those blitzes. That will be in addition to the offensive line blocking the Ravens defensive front, which might be without Calais Campbell. If Rodgers is kept upright, then he will be able to throw accurately to his receivers, who include Davante Adams, Allen Lazard, Josiah Deguara, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Amari Rodgers, Marcedes Lewis, plus the running backs. The receivers, in turn, need to run their routes and catch each pass from Rodgers that is not a throwaway out of bounds or to the ground. Sustaining long drives is the most important thing that the Packers need to do on Sunday. To help accomplish this goal, they need to convert third downs and avoid turning the ball over in any way possible (pick, fumble, botched snap). When they get to the “Gold Zone”, the Packers need to score touchdowns on each trip to give Baltimore more pressure to answer back. I am sure that Matt LaFleur and his staff will come up with a great game plan on Sunday. The coaching staff will also be able to make adjustments if needed. As long as mistakes are kept to a minimum, I think that Green Bay will put up at least 35 points against the Ravens.
On defense, it all starts with keeping the Ravens rushing attack in check. Whoever gets the carry for Baltimore on any given play, whether it be a running back or a scramble by quarterback Tyler Huntley (Lamar Jackson is out due to an ankle injury), the Packers defense must be ready to tackle him for minimum gain without allowing any chunk plays. Even though Kenny Clark might not play on Sunday due to COVID, I am sure that the Packers have plenty of guys that can get after the ball carrier, including De’Vondre Campbell, Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, Krys Barnes, TJ Slaton, Kingsley Keke, and Dean Lowry. If the Packers defense is able to stop the run well enough, then the pass rush can get after Tyler Huntley and frustrate him all game long. Like Lamar Jackson, Huntley can scramble for some yards. Therefore, it’s up to the defense to make sure that he is kept in the pocket and forced to beat them with his arm. I have no doubt that the pass rush will contribute to at least a couple of turnovers that would be in Green Bay’s favor. Huntley does have targets to throw to, including tight end Mark Andrews, but there is no doubt that the defensive backs will be able to cover the Ravens receivers well. I have complete confidence in Rasul Douglas, Eric Stokes, Adrian Amos, Chandon Sullivan, and Darnell Savage. I am sure that those guys will be ready to play, especially with Douglas having a pick six in two straight games. Hopefully he gets another pick six on Sunday. As always, the most important thing that the Packers defense needs to do is to keep Baltimore from sustaining long drives. Stopping them on third downs and forcing turnovers can help the Packers defense achieve this goal and give the offense more chances to score touchdowns. In the red zone, the defense needs to keep the Ravens from scoring touchdowns too many times. I have no doubt that Joe Barry and his staff will get the defense ready for anything that the Ravens come up with on Sunday.
All the Packers need to do on Special Teams is not to screw up. There were so many mistakes last week against the Bears, including allowing a 97-yard punt return touchdown, having a kickoff go out of bounds, Malik Taylor trying to catch a kickoff when he should have let it go out of bounds by itself, muffing both a punt and an onside kick, and allowing long kick returns. Any one or a combination of these mistakes can give the Ravens extra momentum, especially at home. Therefore, it is up to the Packers Special Teams unit to avoid those mistakes. For Corey Bojorquez, he needs to punt each ball long and out of bounds. Mason Crosby needs to make sure that each kickoff goes for a touchback (in addition to making all of his field goal and PAT attempts). Whoever returns the kicks and punts needs to either not catch the ball at all or protect the ball at all costs. On the other side, the coverage unit needs to tackle the returner before he goes for a long return that can give the Ravens free points (or great field position). On field goal attempts, Steven Wirtel needs to snap each ball accurately, Bojorquez needs to secure the hold, and the line needs to protect the kick from being blocked, which has happened a couple of times this season. The accurate snap also needs to happen on punts to make sure that Bojorquez catches the ball cleanly. Maurice Drayton’s seat is very hot after last week. I just hope that the Special Teams unit doesn’t get him fired this week.
Overall, I feel confident that the Packers will get the win on Sunday to win the NFC North. As long as they execute well in every facet of the game, I am sure that they can win by at least 10 points. Regardless of the outcome, I pray that there are no major injuries to any player on Sunday. I will be back with my postgame thoughts on either Monday or Tuesday. Have a good night, everyone. Go Pack Go!
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