Green Bay Packers: 5 BIG Questions Ahead of Matchup with Colts
By Paul Bretl
Can the Green Bay Packers offense find success without both Davante Adams and Allen Lazard potentially?
If there was a week to be down your top-2 receivers, this one isn’t it. The Colts have one of the best defenses in the NFL, ranking fourth by Football Outsiders’ DVOA metric. They’ve been particularly stingy against the pass, allowing only 198.7 passing yards per game, the second-fewest in football.
At this time, we don’t know whether or not the Green Bay Packers will have Davante Adams or Allen Lazard on Sunday, but there is certainly the possibility that they could be without both. Adams did not participate in practice on Thursday, and although Lazard was activated off IR, Matt LaFleur made it very clear this week that that doesn’t mean he’s ready to play.
If neither can go, the Packers will need Marquez Valdes-Scantling to continue making plays, a somewhat scary proposition, and they’ll also need to heavily involve Robert Tonyan, Jace Sternberger, Aaron Jones, and Jamaal Williams in the passing game. If either Adams or Lazard can play, this Packers’ offense can manage. However, if both are out, well, that’s not good.
Can Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams get going on the ground?
With or without Adams and Lazard, against a very good pass defense, finding success on the ground, or at the very minimum, having the Colts respect that you’re going to run the ball is going to be crucial. This will help open up channels in the passing game off of play-action and also prevent the Green Bay offense from being one-dimensional, which, as we saw in the Tampa Bay game, can lead to major issues.
However, against Indianapolis, that won’t be easy. With DeForest Buckner in the middles, the Colts are allowing only 91.8 rushing yards per game, which is the fourth-fewest in the NFL. Additionally, they are top-10 in run-stops, which, according to Pro Football Focus ($), are run plays that result in a “failure” for the offense.
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It won’t be easy, but the Green Bay Packers are going to need Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams to find some success on the ground, and that should help the passing game as well as help control the clock; something else that is going to be key in this game.