Green Bay will take on the Arizona Cardinals in Week 7 at 3:25 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19.
Packers’ offense vs. Cardinals’ defense
Green Bay’s offense started slow before hitting its stride in the return from the bye week.
Their first possession was ruined by a poor decision from Jordan Love resulting in an interception.
They had to slog through most of the first half before a big play to Matthew Golden changed their fortunes.
A third down completion for 35 yards got the Packers out of an early-game funk, as they scored a touchdown with Josh Jacobs just two plays after the big completion to Golden.
Golden has been quiet in comparison to some of his peers from his rookie class, but he has continued to look the part in what has been limited opportunities.
With all due respect to the other receivers in Green Bay, there’s only one player with the potential to be a star, and that’s Golden.
The offense could look to run more through him as he continues to find his footing in his rookie year.
He’s not the only player on offense, however. Jacobs has had to be more creative in finding yardage early in the season, but he was solid against Cincinnati on Sunday after finding more room to roam late in the second half against the Dallas Cowboys.
Jacobs had a big second half, with a 14-yard burst to give his team a 17-7 lead. He was a key cog in the second touchdown drive of the second half before giving way to Tucker Kraft.
Kraft scored on a 19-yard catch-and-run that ended with him diving into the end zone for a touchdown to give the team a 24-10 lead.
Kraft’s reception was the longest touchdown of the season for Green Bay’s passing game.
The offensive line was finally healthy with its preferred top six players.
One situation to monitor is the right guard situation.
Jordan Morgan was the starter at that spot coming out of the bye week and resumed a rotation with Sean Rhyan.
Rhyan is in a contract year and has had some struggles this season.
Rasheed Walker played what might have been his best game of the season, silencing Trey Hendrickson in the first half.
Zach Tom looked like he was still working back from an injury but was back on the field, which is always a good sign for the team.
Ultimately, their starters both started and finished the game, which is the first time that has happened this season.
Perhaps it’s not coincidental that the offense got better as the game went on.
Arizona’s defense has had some good moments early in the season, but Sunday’s game against the Colts was not one of them.
Daniel Jones and the Colts’ offense rolled up 31 points and more than 350 yards.
They are, however, eighth in the NFL against opposing run games, before running into Jonathan Taylor, who beat them up for more than 120 yards individually in Sunday’s game.
The passing game? That’s a different story.
Arizona has one of the worst pass defenses in football. They ranked 28th going into Sunday’s game, and Jones had an efficient day against them, throwing for two touchdowns and 212 yards on 22 completions.
There will be some opportunities for the Packers to make some plays down the field against this Arizona defense.
Packers’ defense vs. Cardinals’ offense
A return from the bye week saw the Packers’ defense return to form against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Packers’ defense, which had just given up 40 points two weeks ago, was dominant against a Bengals offense that was breaking in a new quarterback.
Joe Flacco didn’t have much time to throw.
On the rare occasions he did, he was getting to his checkdown consistently, because nothing was open down the field.
The all-world receiver tandem of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins were held to just three catches for 28 yards in the first half as the Packers pitched a shutout.
The second half was a different story.
The Bengals held the ball for more than half of the third quarter and marched down the field against their defense.
A drive that totaled more than 10 minutes on the game clock ended in a short touchdown pass by Flacco to pull the score to 10-7.
Following a Packers touchdown drive, Flacco was able to get more points with Higgins and Chase making big plays down the field against Green Bay’s cornerbacks.
It’s a game where the Packers’ defense didn’t give up as many points as the last time they played but still left a lot to be desired.
The multimillion dollar question on offense for the Arizona Cardinals is who will be under center for them when they line up against Green Bay.
Kyler Murray is their preferred starting quarterback, but he missed Sunday’s game with a foot sprain that could cause him to miss more than one game.
He could also return in time for Sunday’s contest.
Jacoby Brissett played in his place on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. He threw for more than 300 yards and two touchdowns with just one interception.
He had them on the doorstep of the end zone for a potential game-winning touchdown, but his final pass fell incomplete.
Their top receiver, Marvin Harrison Jr., left Sunday’s game with a concussion, which could be a big loss for their offense as well.
In his place, wide receiver Zay Jones and Trey McBride handled the heavy lifting against the Colts, with 13 catches for 151 yards, and McBride scored a touchdown.
The run game has been a struggle for Arizona, and they didn’t get much better against the Colts, rushing for 88 yards on 24 carries.
Green Bay’s run defense should have a chance to bounce back here.
Special Teams
Green Bay’s special teams was in for some drama Sunday afternoon. Then again, when are they not?
In this case, however, the Packers had to roster an extra kicker due to a quad injury suffered in practice by Brandon McManus.
As it turned out, McManus was inactive in favor of Lucas Havrisik.
How long McManus will be out remains to be seen, but LaFleur did call his injury a major concern last week before he was inactive on Sunday.
Green Bay’s special teams needs all the help it can get.
Arizona’s special teams return duties are largely handled by receiver Greg Dortch.
Dortch has averaged 25.3 yards per return on kickoffs, and 12.3 yards per punt return.
Chad Ryland had been in on a workout in Green Bay a season ago before they found Brandon McManus, and he’ll handle kicking duties for the Cardinals.
He’s missed two field goals this season.
Green Bay’s return game needs to find some stability, and they have been staunch in their belief of the guys they have in house.
There still is not a return specialist on the team, and it’s unlikely the Packers are going to sign one with the potential returns of Christian Watson and Jacob Monk.
For the punt return situation, it appears Matthew Golden gave way to Romeo Doubs during Sunday’s game against the Bengals.
Perhaps that’ll be the case again on Sunday, but it just further encapsulates the reality that the Packers do not have a strong punt return option on the team.
