National Football League

Green Bay Packers: Why they'll win and why they'll lose

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Will the Green Bay Packers put their crushing Week 2 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in the rear view mirror?

Aaron Rodgers aired out his frustrations earlier in the week calling out media members for being critical by offering, “You guys don’t know what plays we’re running, you don’t know where the execution is, you don’t know where the flaws in the execution lie.”

The good news for Rodgers and his legions of Packers’ supporters is that the Lions in no way present the same type of defense the Vikings featured last Sunday.

The Silver and Blue will be without the services of their top pass rusher Ziggy Ansah while also missing linebackers DeAndre Levy and Antwione Williams.

Green Bay Packers strong safety Morgan Burnett and outside linebacker Clay Matthews will both miss today’s game against the Detroit Lions. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The bad news, of course, is that Green Bay has also been plagued by its own set of injuries as defensive starters Clay Matthews, Sam Shields and Morgan Burnett will all be out of uniform for their team’s opening home game at storied Lambeau Field.

On paper, this divisional grudge match sets up as a battle of the walking wounded in which both passing games should be able to thrive.

The battered state of both defensive units won’t allow either side to keep the opposing offense out of the end zone, instead the objective will more likely be to dial up enough turnover-generating plays to force the enemy to fall behind and be predictable in their play calling.

Mike McCarthy and his Packers are under the gun in that they can’t afford to lose a second-consecutive division game particularly going into their Week 4 bye. Having an extra week to stew over another demoralizing loss is no way to enjoy your time off.

Do the boys from Titletown have what it takes to regroup and get their offense back in sync? The Lions were far from an easy out last year and have the firepower to truly dim the prospects of a team widely viewed as a Super-Bowl contender going into the regular season.

Turn the pages here to see a few ways the Packers can win or lose their latest showdown with the Lions.

Why the Packers will lose

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford. Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

No Sam Shields for a second week means the Packers will be severely weakened on the back end as evidenced by their inability to contain Stefon Diggs who torched them with nine receptions, 182 yards and a touchdown.

Damarious Randall, Quinten Rollins and Ladarius Gunter are very talented in their own right, but none project as a No. 1 corner that can take on the opposition’s best wideout at the present time.

The Lions passing attack may no longer benefit from the presence of Calvin Johnson, but the recently-acquired Marvin Jones has been doing just fine as the type of downfield threat that can make plays with his size, physicality and body control.

In fact, the former Bengal’s ability to track balls in the air can put several defensive backs in a bind by inducing pass-interference calls. Currently Jones ranks eighth in the league in receiving yardage with 203 on 21 grabs.

The Silver and Blue should also benefit from the absence of Burnett, an unsung two-way safety, by getting the ball in the hands of Theo Riddick who’s a master at churning out yards on screens and wheel routes.

But despite already being one of the top pass catchers at his position with nine receptions thus far, Riddick is proving to be much more than a one-trick pony this season by showing excellent vision as a runner.

Anquan Boldin is another component in the short passing game that is unmatched in fighting off defenders and coming down with contested balls.

Delivering those passes to Jones, Riddick and Boldin is Matthew Stafford, who has undoubtedly turned things around with Jim Bob Cooter’s ascension to the offensive coordinator position midway through the 2015 season.

The eighth-year signal caller is getting the ball out of his hands a lot quicker and his completion percentage has markedly improved as a result. Only four quarterbacks were statistically more accurate in 2015.

Though the Lions were handed a come-from-behind loss to the Titans last week, Stafford and company had no less than three touchdowns called back due to an assortment of penalties that they will look to cut down on.

Why the Packers will win

October 4, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Nick Perry (53) rushes during the second quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi

The Packers will be looking to get Jared Cook going versus a Lions defense that has been getting destroyed by opposing tight ends with the combination of Dwayne Allen and Jack Doyle registering seven receptions for 88 yards and three scores in Week 1 and Delanie Walker following suit with 83 yards on six receptions and a touchdown of his own.

Detroit’s decimated state at the linebacker position will leave the coaching staff no choice but to leave Tahir Whitehead on the field on running and passing downs.

The Temple product has proven to be a tremendous liability in pass coverage against backs and tight ends.

Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin will also have his hands full in defending Green Bay’s downfield threats as both his cornerbacks have been prone to giving up big plays.

Nevin Lawson, in particular, has been the one with the bull’s eye on his back due to his poor technique in man coverage and lack of recovery speed once his receiver gets a step on him.

On the other side of the ball, Green Bay’s front seven has the decided advantage over a Detroit offensive line that has exposed Stafford to quite a few open shots in the first two weeks.

The left guard/center duo of Laken Tomlinson and Travis Swanson are continually getting beaten in pass protection with the former lacking the balance and quickness to sustain blocks and the latter often finding himself on the ground due to his substandard strength.

Right tackle Riley Reiff, on the other hand, will have his own set of issues against outside linebacker Nick Perry who has come of age this year with his newfound explosiveness off the snap. To date the one-time USC Trojan has produced two-game totals of six tackles, two TFLs (tackles for loss), two quarterback hits and 1.5 sacks.

Reiff tends to catch blocks rather than going after his man off the snap.

That along with the fact that he has relatively short arms for a man his size (33 ¼ inches) makes it easy for opposing rushers to run around the former first-round pick or get underneath him.

In addition, Green Bay’s defense as a whole has been very unaccommodating to running backs. Dom Capers’ unit ranks first in defending the run by limiting opponents to a two-week average of 39 yards and a miniscule 1.6 yards per carry.

Prediction: Expect a high-scoring affair that will see both passing games throw it up and down the field. The Lions and Packers will be highly motivated by the fact that they’re both coming off crushing losses, but Green Bay should benefit from the home-field advantage and they will also have more ammo on the defensive side of the ball to force those one or two key turnovers that will likely be the difference in this game.

Packers 34 Lions 28