Packers Offense vs. Cardinals Defense
Jordan Love is back. The quarterback returned from his knee injury after a two-game absence.
His return has been up and down. He’s thrown six touchdown passes but also four interceptions since returning from his knee injury.
Sunday’s interception was the worst of the bunch. Love was backed up into his own end zone, held the ball, and tried to throw it away while losing his balance from pressure he faced.
The result was a floating ball into the field of play, which resulted in an easy interception for the Rams that they returned for a touchdown. It was as disastrous of a result that could happen.
It was also the first pick-six of Love’s career.
If there’s a complaint to be had about Love in his three starts this year, it’s that he has turned the ball over too much.
Matt LaFleur often says that taking care of the football is the quarterback’s top priority.
He’s also a big reason that the Packers lead the league in big plays. Love showed off his ability for those, connecting on deep balls to Jayden Reed and Tucker Kraft for chunk plays.
One set up a touchdown run by Josh Jacobs, his first as a Packer. The other, was a 66-yard touchdown that gave the Packers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish in the second half.
This week, Love should be able to put the knee injury behind him. It did not appear to affect him in Sunday’s game, including when he took off for a scramble that led to a first down.
The passing game was playing left handed against the Rams and could be getting some reinforcements back this week.
Christian Watson has an ankle sprain and was listed as doubtful before Sunday’s game. There’s at least some optimism he could be well enough in time for Sunday’s game against the Cardinals.
Romeo Doubs is a different story. Doubs skipped practice last week and according to a report from Packers on Sports Illustrated, it was due to frustrations with his role in the passing game.
Doubs was eventually suspended for Sunday’s game due to what general manager Brian Gutekunst called conduct detrimental to the team.
Doubs was set to meet with LaFleur on Monday, but it was unclear what the next steps would be from there.
Dontayvion Wicks’ struggles continued in Sunday’s win over the Rams.
He had two tough drops and appeared to misjudge a deep ball from Love that was slightly underthrown.
Had Wicks made the play, no late stand from the defense would have been needed. Instead, the Packers had to sweat it out.
The Packers lead the league in big plays but seem to struggle at the simple stuff. It’s like a basketball player who shoots 50% from 3-point land but can’t make anything in the paint.
Overall, they are relatively healthy on offense and need to find more consistency, starting Sunday against the Cardinals.
Josh Jacobs, after essentially splitting carries with Emanuel Wilson, took a leading role in Sunday’s win over the Rams. Both backs have been able to do some nice things, but Green Bay needs their top back to be one of their focal points.
Arizona’s defense is led by their head coach, Jonathan Gannon.
Gannon was the defensive coordinator for the 2022 Philadelphia Eagles, who nearly carried them to the franchise’s second championship.
The results have yet to find Gannon in Arizona. The team is ranked in the bottom third of the league in yards and points allowed through five weeks of the season.
They only have three takeaways on the season, so this should be a good opportunity for the Packers’ offense to start taking better care of the ball.
Packers Defense vs. Cardinals Offense
Green Bay’s defense continues to take the ball away.
They got two more against Los Angeles, and surprise, surprise, Xavier McKinney was at the center of both of those plays.
He recovered a fumble forced by Kingsley Enagbare that changed the game in Green Bay’s favor.
Not to be satisfied with one turnover, he followed it up with another interception, his fifth in five games.
McKinney is the first Packer to intercept a pass in each of his first five games.
Moreover, he is the first player in NFL history to intercept a pass in each of his first five games.
What McKinney is doing is unprecedented early in the season.
They don’t hand out any awards, but it’s safe to say he’s building a resume toward the defensive player of the year award.
One of the issues the Packers are having is that teams are able to move the ball with relative ease if they’re not forcing turnovers.
That happened again Sunday. The Rams’ makeshift offensive line and dynamic run game bludgeoned the Packers in the first half. They averaged more than 5 yards per carry. If not for Enagbare’s forced fumble, they could have leaned more into the run game, and who knows how the rest of the day would have gone.
The pass rush was solid but unspectacular on Sunday.
The Rams were playing with two backup offensive linemen. The Packers had three sacks but had to send pressure to get them. Any defensive coordinator will tell you they prefer to get pressure with their front four.
Instead, Edgerrin Cooper started the show with a sack of Stafford, as he continues to get more playing time.
Karl Brooks tallied one, and Colby Wooden, a healthy scratch the last two weeks, had a big play on the final drive of the game.
Jeff Hafley has emphasized taking the ball away and making big plays on defense, and they have certainly done that early in the season.
They could have some opportunities against Kyler Murray. As talented as he is, he will put the ball in harm’s way, whether in the air, or with the possibilities of a fumble.
For now, the Packers are going to be relying more on that than anything else as they try to find more consistency on defense.
Arizona’s offense is built around the dynamic ability of Murray.
He can hurt you with his arm or with his legs. He diced up the 49ers’ defense for more than 80 yards rushing. There may not be a better quarterback in the run game than Murray aside from two-time league MVP Lamar Jackson
Their run game includes James Conner, and he’s really the only running back that gets any significant time in the backfield.
Murray is a big part of their run game, so he’s the second half of a one-two punch, if you will.
This week could be a matchup of a big-time veteran against a up-and-coming rookie.
Marvin Harrison Jr., son of the former Indianapolis Colt, Marvin Harrison, is the leading receiver for the Cardinals.
He’s had some big moments in the year, but is only averaging 60 yards per game at the moment.
As he learns and gets better, he’ll be more of a focal point in the Cardinals passing game.
He should be facing off against Jaire Alexander this week. Alexander nearly played against the Rams, so there’s optimism he’ll make his return on Sunday.
Special Teams
The Packers have not benefited from the new kickoff rules as of yet. Keisean Nixon has one chance at a return this season, and it was one that was ill-advised.
He talked about it last week. He’s frustrated, but not much is going to change. Teams are more willing to just concede the 30 yard line for Green Bay’s offense than they are to give Nixon a chance to show off his return skills.
There’s little reason to think that will change anytime soon. Perhaps it’s something that could be different as the weather turns colder.
Green Bay’s kicking may have taken a turn. After Brayden Narveson was deemed “nervous Narveson” by the CBS broadcast, he drilled all four of his kicks on Sunday. None of his PATs looked shaky, nor did the 46-yard field goal that he made just before halftime to pull the Packers within three.
Narveson will continue to get a chance to prove general manager Brian Gutekunst and LaFleur correct for sticking with him as their kicker, and Sunday might have been a turning point for him.
Daniel Whelan has been excellent in the early part of the year as well but struggled in Sunday’s win over the Rams.
The Cardinals have Jeff Rodgers as their special teams coach, who has been with the team for seven years.
They finished 18th in Rick Gosselin’s special teams rankings from 2023. Kicker Matt Prater is perfect on the year kicking field goals and extra points. He’s kicked at Lambeau Field plenty in his career due to his time in Detroit.
DeeJay Dallas has returned a kick for a touchdown this year, so he can be dangerous.
Packers’ offense expected to fly high against Cardinals
