Green Bay Packers @ Los Angeles Chargers: Predicting the Winner
By Paul Bretl
A few of our writers at Dairyland Express make their predictions for today’s Green Bay Packers verse Los Angeles Chargers matchup.
It’s a tale of two seasons when describing the Green Bay Packers and the Los Angeles Chargers. Through eight weeks the Packers have exceeded expectations and might be one of the healthier teams in the league. Meanwhile, the Chargers have been ravaged by injuries and are clinging to their playoff lives as they sit at 3-5 on the season.
As we do every week, a few of our writers from Dairyland Express make their predictions for today’s matchup. So let’s take a look at how everyone has the Green Bay Packers faring and how the game will play out.
Kenny Jilek: Packers 28, Chargers 17
This is a Chargers offense that has struggled to run the ball this season. They have an extremely talented running back duo of Austin Ekeler and Melvin Gordon, but neither of them are even averaging four yards per carry. They are both extremely active in the passing game, especially Ekeler who has caught five touchdown passes. He has done this mostly by beating linebackers with his speed which is hopefully offset with how much nickel defense the Packers play to get an extra defensive back on the field to match his speed.
On the other side of the ball, I expect this Packer offense to keep rolling. The Chargers defense has already given up 982 rushing yards through only half of the season, so Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams should be seeing big holes all day long. It’s a good bet that Aaron Rodgers will remain in form and pick apart a Chargers secondary that is still without dynamic safety Derwin James. There should be no reason the Packers don’t put up big numbers on offense this week, just look out for Casey Hayward.
Paul Bretl: Packers 30, Chargers 23
I have the Green Bay Packers winning this game by a touchdown but the game won’t feel that close as I expect them to dominate for the most part. Offensively, the Chargers are giving up nearly 123 rushing yards per game, so I’m expecting a heavy dose of Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams between the tackles to take advantage of the injuries along the defensive front, while also avoiding Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram on the edges.
The Green Bay defense should be able to slow the Los Angeles running game which has been futile this season. They average just over 69 yards per game and have gone four straight weeks without rushing for over 40 yards as a team. This season we have seen how effective Mike Pettine is at calling plays when the opposing offense is one-dimensional, so we should see a fairly dominant performance from the defense.
The one major concern that I have is matching up with Chargers running back Austin Ekeler in the passing game. According to Pro Football Focus, he has been the best pass-catching running back in the NFL this season and if Green Bay relies on their linebackers to cover him, he could have a big day. As a result, Pettine will probably go with a lot of nickel and dime looks which will hopefully minimize Ekeler’s impact in the passing game.
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Jacob Westendorf: Packers 27, Chargers 20
The Packers are a better team than the Chargers and will be playing their 9th home game with the crowd very likely to be made up of mostly Cheeseheads. Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams should have a big day against the Chargers awful run defense. Green Bay should dominate.