Green Bay Packers: 3 Matchups to Watch in Week 17

The Green Bay Packers face the Chicago Bears this week in a game with plenty of playoff implications, and they’ll have to win a few big matchups to clinch the number one seed.

Last week, the Green Bay Packers got a huge win over the Titans, and they definitely won all three of the matchups that I had outlined last week prior to the game. The first and probably most important was the run defense containing Derrick Henry. Henry is the leading rusher in the league with 1777 yards and is averaging 5.2 yards per carry, but the Packers held him to 98 yards and 4.3 per carry. His longest run was also only ten yards. Not letting Henry make explosive plays and take over the game was crucial, and they did just that on Sunday.

The next one was Davante Adams against Malcolm Butler. Adams having a big game and getting the Packers the lead through the air early was an important factor. He did that with another monster game, catching 11 passes for 142 yards and three touchdowns. He helped both get the lead and then close the game with some big plays down the stretch, and that was huge for Green Bay, getting another definite matchup win.

Finally, was the biggest heavyweight matchup of the week with two of the best interior lineman going at it. Kenny Clark and Ben Jones are the anchors of their respective lines, and everything works off of them. Clark was a huge part in stopping Henry as he was strong in the trenches all games and made a tackle for loss. He also was good as a pass rusher and made a quarterback hit.

Now, the Green Bay Packers will face the Bears, who are trying to make the playoffs with a win. The Packers will be trying to lock in the number one seed and a first-round bye, so those factors combined with the rivalry will make for a great game.