5 Big Questions Facing Green Bay Packers v. Ravens
By Paul Bretl
How big of a role will special teams play in determining the outcome of this game for the Green Bay Packers?
The Green Bay Packers will enter Sunday’s game with the worst special teams unit in football, according to PFF and Football Outsiders; of course, we don’t need rankings to tell us that. The Packers are coming off a game against Chicago where they had more special teams miscues than some teams will have in an entire season.
"“We’ve got to continue to work,” coach Matt LaFleur said following the Bears game via SI. “We’ve got to look at the tape, we’ve got to get things corrected. I’ll be the first to tell you that, yeah, is there some things that we have to clean up as coaches? No doubt about it. But we’ve got to execute better, as well.”"
Fortunately, they were up against a far less talented Bears team, and Green Bay was able to overcome those mistakes. But in the future, they may not be as fortunate.
While special teams play is a liability for Green Bay, it is a weapon for the Ravens, who have the top special teams unit in the NFL, according to Football Outsiders. They have the best kicker in the game in Justin Tucker, one of the better playmakers returning kicks and punts in Devin Duvernay, and both coverage units rank in the top-5 in terms of average return yards allowed.
Even if Jackson does play, the Packers are favorites in this game, but due to the lopsided nature of this special teams matchup, the third phase could be why this game is much closer than it should be, or even worse, why Green Bay could end up losing the game.