GREEN BAY — While there’s certainly a strong argument to be made that the 2023 Green Bay Packers won’t face true must-play situations in a season where they’re clearly not a Super Bowl contender, Rasul Douglas doesn’t want to hear it. it. .
“We’ve got to win,” the Packers’ veteran cornerback said of the team’s postseason matchup with the Denver Broncos at Empower Field in Mile High. “How does anybody want to say anything else, bruh, we’ve got to win. It’s really easy for us. We just have to win.”
2-3 and after losing three of their last four games after a strong opening performance against the Chicago Bears on the 10th. come September, the Packers don’t want to fall two games below .500 in a very mediocre NFC. Nine of the 14 teams are somewhere between 4-2 and 2-4.
But as Packers head coach Matt LaFleur noted when asked about the importance of beating a one-win team like the Broncos (1-5), “We’re a two-win team. We know we have to play better. There is more focus on the things we need to do to bring a better product to market.
With the NFL’s youngest roster, it’s also worth reliving the feeling of victory. A win would definitely help them mentally.
“It doesn’t matter where it is, home (or) away,” receiver Jordan Love said. “You just have to find a way to win.”
Here are three aspects of the game to keep an eye on:
1. Mr. Limited
A few years ago, Russell Wilson created a feathered alter ego he called “Mr. Unlimited.” So far with the Broncos, the former Seattle Seahawks and University of Wisconsin star has found himself frustratingly limited.
That was certainly the case in the Broncos’ last loss, a 19-8 loss on Oct. 12, where Wilson threw for just 95 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs.
“Coulda, shoulda, woulda is not good enough,” Wilson said. “If we continue through the season, it will be a journey. Many good things are yet to come. We really believe in it. We simply cannot hurt ourselves. () The games we lost, we hurt ourselves in one way or another.
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The Packers have a lot of history with Wilson, from the 2012 “Fail Mary” loss to the 2014 NFC Championship Game loss. And even though those games were before LaFleur took over as head coach, he still believes Wilson, who turns 35 next month, is dangerous. “He’s always been a guy you have to protect at the whistle,” said LaFleur, whose Packers teams beat Wilson’s Seahawks units in the 2021 regular season and the 2019 postseason. “Just his ability to break free and use his feet and playing off the clock, we looked at them as a team. That’s always been one of the things you have to contend with when you play a guy of his caliber. He’s very good. good when the play isn’t in that rhythm.”
The Broncos paid a king’s ransom to get Wilson from the Seahawks, and the reason Sean Payton was hired as head coach after a disastrous season under former Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett last year was to revive Wilson. He enters the game completing 65.9% of his passes for 1,305 yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions (99.0 grade). Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | Omni Studio
“Look, we’re going to get him back,” Payton said. “I thought there were some elements of the plan (against the Chiefs) that I didn’t like. We can fix that.”
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2. In defense
The Broncos’ ugly defensive statistics cannot be ignored. They enter the game ranked last in the NFL in yards per game (440.3), last in yards allowed (172.3), 30th in yards per game (268.0) and last in points per game (33.3). But also ignore the fact that so much of the statistical damage was done by the Miami Dolphins, who put up 70 points and 726 yards in a 70-20 win on September 24th.
Sure enough, that game happened. That’s part of the Broncos’ defensive approach. But there is also an aberration that has completely decimated their numbers. In the remaining five games, the Broncos are averaging 26.0 points (which would be 27th) and 383.2 yards (which would be 30th) — still not great, but not ridiculously bad. The Packers’ inconsistent defense is relatively 17th in total defense (337.8 yards per game) and 20th in scoring defense (22.6 points per game).
“I think you’re looking out of your mind. It was a really bad game,” LaFleur said. “I don’t know if you’ve watched football in the league, but Miami does that to everybody. It’s a really good attack with a ton of speed. If you’re not on top of your game, they might look at you as a fool. They just have too much speed there.
“It was one game. If you look at Week 1 vs. The Raiders (Denver) held them under 300
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