Stop me if you’ve heard this before: The Green Bay Packers are hitting the road as near-touchdown favorites. Who knows, maybe the third time will be the charm.
The Packers are a confounding team to figure out. They’re the only team that’s held a double-digit lead in every game, yet they have also figured out a way to let two of them get away. They’ve yet to allow a point in the first quarter of any game, but have surrendered 12 per game in the fourth quarter, worst in the league.
Perhaps we’ll get some clarity on who this team is when they face the Arizona Cardinals, a squad riding a four-game losing streak, but a team that could just as easily be 6-0. Three of their losses have been of the walk-off variety, and they led the Indianapolis Colts multiple times in the fourth quarter on the road last week. Of course, their late meltdown against the hapless Tennessee Titans the week before is still on most people’s minds.
Kyler Murray missed last week and is listed as questionable after being limited in practice all week. I think I’d rather face a less-than-100% Murray, whose foot injury will likely prevent him from being his usual dual threat, than Jacoby Brissett, who passed for more than 300 yards last week (granted, against a very banged-up Colts secondary).
Either way, the Cardinals come into this one as the more desperate team, and the Packers will need to match their urgency, no matter who they face at quarterback. Injuries have decimated Arizona’s running back room, and their stable of backups should have little success against the Pack’s stout run defense.
The passing game flows through tight end Trey McBride, who gets targeted nine times a game. WR Marvin Harrison, Jr. cleared concussion protocol on Friday, so he’ll be back. He has started to figure things out after a dismal start to the season.
The Pack’s defense will be without Devonte Wyatt and Lukas Van Ness, but should have the edge against the one-dimensional Cards. Will this be the week they finally notch a turnover or two? It’s mind-boggling that this unit, which stresses takeaways from Day 1, has just two through six games. And can they sustain their play for 60 minutes? The second-half pratfalls have become a concerning trend.
The Cardinals spent a ton of dough in free agency on their defense, and so far it hasn’t paid dividends: They rank 24th in the league, and near the bottom against the pass. The Pack may decide to lean on Jordan Love a little more in this game. Josh Jacobs is questionable due to a new calf injury and an illness, although he was able to practice fully on Friday.
The offensive line should have its five preferred starters, which now includes Josh Morgan at right guard. He gets his first start there, not far from where he grew up and played his college ball in Tucson. However, Arizona boasts some talent up front with free-agent pickup Josh Sweat and the ageless Calais Campbell.
It will be at least another week before we see Christian Watson; he was ruled out for this week. I say, give him a couple more weeks and get him set for the home game against the Carolina Panthers. This week, we heard players complaining about the field conditions in Pittsburgh; I’d rather he not test his knee in that stadium.
It looks like it will be another missed week for Brandon McManus, who didn’t practice all week. That means Lucas Havrisik gets another chance to show the other 31 teams that he is a viable kicker. He looked like one last week.
The Packers have won 11 consecutive regular-season games against the NFC West, crazy as that is (we’ll leave the playoffs out of this discussion). That doesn’t mean much on Sunday, but it’s the type of opponent the Packers typically take care of. To do it, they’ll need to match the intensity of a team on a four-game skid. They’ll need their defense to show up for 60 minutes and their offense to protect the football against a team they are stronger than them across the board.
They can’t afford to slip up, with a tough road game against the angry and well-rested Steelers (with a familiar face at QB) up next in prime time. I say they take care of business in the desert.
Packers 27
Cardinals 17