Green Bay Packers: 3 Matchups to Watch in Week 15
By Kenny Jilek
David Bakhtiari vs. Brian Burns
In the 2019 NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers selected Rashan Gary 12th, and Brian Burns was taken just four picks later. With that, they were tied to each other, and their careers will be compared to see if the Packers made the right pick with Gary. Burns came out of college as the more polished player, while Gary had more raw ability but didn’t have as much technical prowess.
This season, Burns and Gary are having similar years. Burns has six sacks while Gary has five. This week, Burns will face one of his toughest challenges of the year against David Bakhtiari. The entire Packers’ offensive line has been shutting down pass rushes all year, and Burns will have to pull out all the stops to get to Aaron Rodgers.
Bakhtiari is tied for third in ESPN’s Pass Rush Win Rate stat at an astounding 94 percent. There aren’t many better than Bakhtiari in the pass blocking game. His run blocking is almost as impressive, as he’s seventh in the league in Run Block Win Rate. He’s also cleaned up his play and only has made four penalties this season after committing a career-high 12 last year.
The Panthers’ pass defense is 23rd in the league in yards given up per game, and if Rodgers has time to sit back in the pocket, he’ll shred them. Burns getting pressure off the edge is one of their only shots at disrupting the Packers’ rhythm and slowing them down.