The Green Bay Packers will head out west this week to take on the Arizona Cardinals.
The Packers left the bye week at 2-1-1 before returning home to face the Cincinnati Bengals.
By the time that game kicked off, they had not won a game in over a month. They did start slow, with Jordan Love throwing an interception on the team’s first series of the game.
Ultimately, the Bengals were no match for the Packers. They were kickstarted by a big play from Matthew Golden, which led to a Josh Jacobs touchdown.
That touchdown gave the Packers a 10-0 lead.
With Joe Flacco being unfamiliar with Cincinnati’s offense, it was always a tough ask to have him ready to play in three days.
It was even tougher when Green Bay’s defense looked like it was on a mission, swarming in Cincinnati’s backfield from the very first snap.
The Bengals are a team that’s going nowhere fast, and trading for Flacco was a desperation move.
This week is a little different. The Cardinals have been up and-down this season but had a hard-fought game against the Indianapolis Colts on the road before they return home this week.
Here are our keys to the Packers getting their first road win of the season.
1. Protect the quarterback
Jonathan Gannon’s defense places a premium on getting after opposing quarterbacks with his front four.
They do have a pretty solid group with the ability to do that.
Calais Campbell continues to perform at a high level despite his advanced age. Dalvin Tomlinson is a good running mate in the middle as well.
They spent a lot of free agent money to get defensive end Josh Sweat to come to Arizona from the Philadelphia Eagles.
Sweat has two seasons of 10 or more sacks to his name in his career and is off to another good start this season.
When Green Bay’s offense has been able to protect its quarterback, Jordan Love has torn opposing defenses apart.
Arizona’s secondary has been good, but they are very young — including starting rookie Will Johnson.
There will be some opportunities down the field if they can keep Arizona’s pass rush off Love’s back.
2. Find the Ball
Green Bay’s defense prided itself last season on taking the ball away from opposing offenses.
They have not done that enough early in the season and have played pretty good defense in spite of that fact.
The Packers shut down two good offenses early in the season without taking the ball away.
That’s a trend that is going to need to change as the team starts facing some better offenses down the stretch of the season.
Whether it’s Jacoby Brissett or Kyler Murray at quarterback, the Packers need to reverse the trend of not taking the ball away.
3. Test the Youth
Arizona’s secondary has some talent in it. Max Melton is their starting corner on one side and has developed nicely as a second-year player. Johnson, the aforementioned rookie, is starting across from him.
Both players have had some nice moments this season, but there are holes in their defense to exploit.
Green Bay’s passing game has been off to a good start this season and could be getting a boost. Christian Watson went through a full week of practice last week and could be on track to make his debut next week.
Watson was a big-play machine a season ago, and that could be something the Packers are missing in their offense.
Whether it’s Watson or Golden, the Packers could be looking to test one of Arizona’s young cornerbacks down the field.
