Green Bay Packers at Bucs: 5 Big Questions Before Sunday’s Matchup
By Paul Bretl
Will the Green Bay Packers OL continue to dominate?
In terms of pass protection, the Green Bay Packers’ offensive line has been one of, if not the best unit in all of football. According to ESPN’s pass-block win rate metric, which measures how often an offensive lineman can sustain their block for at least 2.5 seconds, the Packers rank first at 73 percent. However, this week, they’ll be up against one of the league’s best pass-rushing units.
By that same ESPN metric, Tampa has a pass rush win rate of 58 percent, which is tops this season, and their 17 team sacks are the third-highest total in the NFL. A big reason behind Green Bay’s success this season has been their offensive line play, but they’ll be put to the test this Sunday. I’m particularly interested in seeing how Billy Turner holds up at right tackle; so far, his play has been a very pleasant surprise.
Can the pass rush get after Tom Brady?
Getting after the opposing quarterback is always going to be key, but for a Green Bay Packers’ pass rush that was one of the best in the NFL last season, we haven’t seen them have the same success in 2020.
After finishing top-5 in pressure rate last season, Green Bay is pressuring the quarterback only 17.6 percent of the time, which ranks 25th. This week they’ll be up against a solid Tampa offensive line that has allowed the sixth-fewest sacks in the NFL. The good news for the Packers is that Za’Darius Smith is coming off a monster performance against Atlanta, and we should see both Kenny Clark and Rashan Gary back on the field.
Next. Packers Week 6 Injury Report. dark
Like many aspects of this game, it won’t be easy, but if the Packers can return to old form and make Brady feel the heat, it will go a long way in helping this team move to 5-0. And who knows, maybe some pressure leads to another Brady pick-six.