Green Bay Packers: 5 Key Questions Prior to NFC Championship Game
By Paul Bretl
It’s the Green Bay Packers against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. This is the second year in a row that the Packers will be playing in the NFC Championship Game, but you have to admit, this time, it feels differently than 2019.
Although it was a rough start to the year for the defense, they’ve been peaking at the right time, stringing together some fairly dominant performances. And, of course, the offense is playing at an extremely high-level under Matt LaFleur and the presumptive MVP Aaron Rodgers.
As I’ve done for each game this season, I have my five key questions facing the Green Bay Packers and their upcoming matchup with Tom Brady and the Bucs. So while we all wait for Sunday, there’s no need to wait anymore here; let’s dive right in.
Can the Green Bay Packers handle the blitz?
This is something that the Green Bay Packers and their offensive line did not do during the first matchup. Buccaneers’ Defensive Coordinator Todd Bowles blitzed on 21 of Aaron Rodgers 41 dropbacks, with Rodgers completing only 35.3 percent of throws at a measly 3.7 yards per attempt with two interceptions, according to Pro Football Focus ($).
Now, it’s normal for a quarterback’s numbers to dip when they are blitzed, but this performance — like much of the game — was an anomaly as Rodgers was one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL this season when blitzed. So that alone hopefully means that Tampa won’t have the same success this time around. And it’s worth noting that the Bucs also haven’t been nearly as effective when blitzing over the second half of the season.
The Green Bay Packers offensive line is playing at a very high-level and has for much of the season. This Tampa game was easily their worst performance of the year, and in fact, Ben Fennell of The Athletic pointed out recently that the Packers haven’t given up a sack off a blitz since this game.
They, like the rest of the offense, will be better equipped to handle these blitzes — which we will see a lot of — and different coverage looks that Bowles throws at Rodgers. However, LaFleur can provide them some added help by sticking with the run, dialing up quick passes, along with pre-snap motion and RPOs.