The Green Bay Packers return from their bye week well-rested but not necessarily back to full health. Both starting cornerback Sam Shields and newly acquired tight end Jared Cook are both ruled out for Sunday’s matchup against the New York Giants. Injuries are a part of the game and both teams are suffering their own losses, leading to some holes in both defenses and some potential keys to victory for both teams. Here are the Green Bay Packers week five keys to victory.
Green Bay Packers Week Five Keys to Victory
The Packers Young Secondary Against the Giants Troublesome Trio
With cornerback Sam Shields missing yet another game, Damarious Randall, Quinten Rollins, and Ladarius Gunter will take on the challenge of covering the Giants electric trio of wide receivers. A task that only the Minnesota Vikings were able to achieve last week. Largely in part to Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes strategical mind games played on Odell Beckham, Jr.
The Packers are 30th in the league against number one receivers by Football Outsiders’ DVOA metric, and 29th against number two receivers. Not an ideal set of numbers entering this matchup against Beckham (22 receptions for 303 yards), Victor Cruz (16 receptions for 245 yards and a touchdown), and rookie Sterling Shepard (20 receptions for 263 yards and two touchdowns). The Packers secondary hopefully spent their bye week polishing up on their “fundamentals.”
Without Shields, the Packers have faced two receivers who have had field days against this secondary. Minnesota’s Stefon Diggs torched Green Bay with nine catches for 182 yards and a touchdown while Detroit’s Marvin Jones did his best Calvin Johnson impersonation by tallying 205 yards and two touchdowns on six catches.
Getting to Eli Manning Before He Gets to Receivers
The truth of the matter is this: The New York Giants wide receiver corps is better than Green Bay’s secondary, currently. If no pressure is applied to Eli Manning, then expect it to be a long night. Luckily, for Packer fans, a few familiar faces will don the not so quite Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field this Sunday.
Outside linebackers Clay Matthews and Datone Jones are both back and healthy along with defensive lineman Letroy Guion and Mike Pennel (suspension). This will help provide the pass rush needed to compliment Green Bay’s number one ranked rush defense.
Pressuring quarterback Eli Manning will force him to make quick decisions and allow for the secondary to force a turnover. New York is ranked 30th with a minus-eight turnover differential with only one takeaway in four games. If the Green Bay Packers can win the turnover game then the rest will fall into place.
Manning has been intercepted in three of New York’s four games (four picks overall) and also has fumbled four times.
Rodgers Against A Battered Secondary
Just as the Giants look to expose the Packers secondary that is suffering injuries, the Packers look to do the same to the Giants who have an even more riddled secondary. There’s a good chance cornerbacks Eli Apple and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie as well as safeties Nat Berhe and Darian Thompson all will be out.
The Giants allowed 313 yards in the air to Washington two weeks ago and this past Monday night Minnesota’s Sam Bradford completed 26 of 36 passes for 262 yards. This is another great opportunity for Aaron Rodgers and the Packer offense to get back into shape.
Conclusion
Under head coach Mike McCarthy, Green Bay is 6-1 in their last seven games following a bye week.
The bad news: The one loss was last season, a 29-10 defeat to the Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos. The good news: Green Bay hasn’t lost a home game in October since Oct. 17, 2010 (ten straight wins). This is the third consecutive year Green Bay is playing on Sunday night following the bye. Besides the loss at Denver, the Packers won at home 55-14 against the Chicago Bears in 2014 and beat Detroit 22-9 in Lambeau in 2013.
Prediction: Green Bay 30, New York 24
