5 Big Questions Facing Green Bay Packers Ahead of Matchup with Browns

Can the Green Bay Packers offense continue to play at a high level?

While still playing well, for much of the season the Green Bay Packers’ offense was not clicking like they were in 2020 when they led the NFL in points per game and DVOA.

But as Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated noted in a recent article of his, Aaron Rodgers and this Green Bay Packers offense have been surging as of late. In Green Bay’s last four games, Rodgers ranks first in passer rating; he’s thrown the most touchdowns, he has the most passing yards and he ranks first in yards per attempt. Rodgers is also third in completion percentage during that span.

So with Rodgers playing well, of course, that means the entire offense is as well. The Packers are the only team to score 30+ points in each of their last four games, and they also rank first in total points and total yards.

Their opponent this week is a Cleveland Browns defense that may rank 14th in points per game allowed, but this is a group with talent at all three levels and can present problems. Led by Myles Garrett, the Browns defensive front ranks fourth in ESPN’s pass-rush win rate metric, and they’re allowing only 4.1 yards per carry, which ranks eighth.

At linebacker is the uber-athletic Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and a secondary led by Denzel Ward — although Greg Newsome was recently placed on the reserve/COVID list — that ranks eighth in passing yards per game allowed. Cleveland also ranks 10th in turnover differential and sixth in total defense.

You get the point. Despite the ups and downs and a 7-7 record, this defense has the potential to cause some issues for the Green Bay Packers offense–even if they are playing at a very high level right now.