Green Bay Packers v. Broncos: 4 Positional Battles to Watch

When the Green Bay Packers and the Denver Broncos take the field on Sunday, these will be four positional battles to keep your eyes on that could determine the outcome of the game.

After two nailbiting wins in the first two weeks of the season, the Green Bay Packers find themselves 2-0 and heavy favorites in this week’s matchup at Lambeau Field against the Denver Broncos.

Green Bay has had to rely heavily on the defensive side of the ball in order to get these wins and although it hasn’t been pretty at times, we have seen the offense make strides from week one to week two and I would expect that we see another jump here in week three.

As is the case with any NFL game, there are key positional battles that can determine the outcome of the game and for the Green Bay Packers, this week is no different. These are four positional battles, in particular, to keep your eyes on once the game begins and if Green Bay can win at least three of them, they should also win the game.

Za’Darius Smith & Preston Smith v. Garett Bolles

As a whole, this Denver Broncos offensive line is really struggling this year and just as the Packers’ defensive front did last week against Minnesota, they should be able to feast again this week.

The offseason additions of Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith already look like home run signings as they have combined for 25 quarterback pressures in the first two weeks. For some context, all of last season Clay Matthews and Nick Perry combined for 43.

This week the Smiths should be able to take advantage of Garett Bolles, the Denver left tackle. Through two games he has allowed six pressures and has been called for five holding penalties already. This mismatch should allow the Smiths to put pressure on Joe Flacco which as we have seen in the past, leads to mistakes and turnovers.

Jaire Alexander v. Emmanuel Sanders

Alexander did a very good job last week of shutting down Stefon Diggs and he is going to have another test this week with Emmanuel Sanders. Sanders has gotten off to a fast start this season catching 16 of the 19 passes thrown his way for 184 yards and a touchdown.

With Denver’s poor pass protection, they do a lot of quick passes to get the ball out of Flacco’s hands and Sanders is oftentimes the target. While he is going to make receptions the key will be eliminating the home run play which he is very capable of. If Jaire can render Sanders ineffective, this Denver offense is going to have a difficult time moving the ball.

David Bakhtiari & Bryan Bulaga v. Von Miller & Bradley Chubb

The Green Bay Packers dynamic tackle duo has had some very difficult opponents to contend with over the first two weeks and it doesn’t get any easier here in week three. While Miller and Chubb only have five combined pressures on the season, some of that is due to a lack of opportunities from the quick passing offenses that they’ve gone up against and they certainly shouldn’t be taken lightly.

This Denver defense has not played to their potential through the first two weeks and over his career, we have seen what Aaron Rodgers can do with a clean pocket. So if Bakhtiari and Bulaga can slow down Miller and Chubb, Rodgers can sit back and pick apart this Broncos’ secondary.

Davante Adams v. Chris Harris

After two weeks, Davante Adams leads the team in receptions and has more receiving yards than the rest of the Green Bay Packers’ receiving core combined. Even though he draws plenty of attention from opposing defenses, Adams still finds a way to produce and this week he will have another formidable matchup with Chris Harris likely across from him for much of the game.

We have seen sporadic contributions from the rest of the receiving core and against Minnesota, the tight end unit just disappeared in the passing game. From what we’ve seen so far, in order for this Packers’ passing attack to be effective, they need Adams to win his matchups which should help create opportunities for those around him.

All stats are from Pro Football Focus