Green Bay Packers: 5 Key Questions Heading into the Playoffs
By Paul Bretl
Before the Green Bay Packers play in the NFC Divisional round, here are five key questions they’ll have to answer heading into the playoffs.
For every Green Bay Packers game this season, I have posted my five big questions about their upcoming matchup. However, this week as we all know, the Packers earned a well-deserved bye and have the opportunity to rest, do some self-scouting, and get a headstart on preparing for the NFC Divisional round.
But I thought I’d continue on with my five big questions, this time focusing on this Packers team heading into the playoffs. So with that in mind, here are my five questions about Green Bay before they begin what is hopefully a run to the Super Bowl.
What will we see from Kevin King?
I wrote about Kevin King in my playoff X-Factors article, and I’m going to highlight him again here because I do believe that he is an important player in taking this defense to the next level.
Over the last three games, the Green Bay Packers’ defense has played very well and appears to be peaking at the right time. The pass rush is getting to the quarterback with more regularity, the run defense has been solid, Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage make up the best safety duo in the NFL, and Jaire Alexander continues to lock down his side of the field.
But when it comes to King, I’m not sure that any of us know what to expect. He’s missed some time with an injury, and while we’ve seen stretches of good play, we’ve also seen stretches of some bad play as well. Overall, King is allowing a completion rate of 68.6 percent on 51 targets and 14 yards per catch with a passer rating of 105.8 when thrown at, according to Pro Football Focus ($).
With Alexander playing as well as he is, King is going to see a lot of targets. In fact, he’s been targeted 25 times over the last four games, including 12 against Chicago. If we see the King from 2019, it’s going to be very difficult moving the ball against this secondary. However, if he struggles, he’s likely going to be picked on.