#466 Packers Unscripted: One-of-a-kind contest

Taking care of business? That's been my mentality this entire week, I think for this team and where this all shuffles out for them, they have done so many different things well situationally that certainly you need those things to line up again if this ends up being a close ball game, is I still anticipate it will be. I do too.

But the thing about green Bay that separated them from being, you know, at this point of the season, you know, sitting where they are, and then the Chargers being in the position they are with five losses already, is that Packers have executed so much better with the situational things, whether it's the four minute offense to close out games, whether it's their fifteen, you know, first scripted place to start games, third down Situationally, they've been excellent this year.

It's been an area that's plagued them in the past. The biggest key I think for Green Bay is going to be if you can have enough stitch enough of those things together. And then, by the way, if you get Davante Adams back, the element that that offers to this, you know, and to this offense and a challenge to the Chargers defense, I think really could be a thing

that tips the scales. Yeah, I think the Packers, for all the talk about how it's going to be a pro Packers crowd and you know, won't really be like a true road game and all that kind of stuff, I think the Packers have to be ready for another one of those punches in the mouth they got from Kansas City last week. Because this is a Chargers team. They were two and five, they were on they were

on the brink. If Eddie Pineiro's kick goes through at Soldier Field last week, the Chargers season almost for all intents and purposes, is over at two and six at a halfway point. They got a reprieve. They know it, and this is a this is a good team that

made a really strong second half run last year. I expect them to give the Packers absolutely everything they can handle because they're still in this thing, and they know if they get to four and five with seven games to go, as up and down as a lot of teams are in the a f C right now, aside from the New England Patriots, I think the Chargers are gonna feel like they're right in and and uh in

a lot of ways. The Packers have to do what they did last week against Kansas City, which is when that momentum starts to turn the other way, because I think there's going to be a stretch in this game when it will. The Packers need to limit the damage.

And I thought last week stopping that Kansas City drive right at the end of the first half and making them kick a field goal so it was only seventeen fourteen at halftime instead of twenty one to fourteen after the Packers were up fourteen nothing earlier, I thought that was starting to turn things back in the other direction. And the Packers are going to need a couple of moments like that, I think in this game on Sunday

to withstand or at least limit a surge from the Chargers. Yeah, the Charges are the most dangerous type of three and five team that you're going to face because they can basically play to anybody's level. And you've seen that. You know, they can obviously play down to the competition, but they can play up to it as well. And you know, Philip Rivers has been through so many of these things

over the years. The thing that does stand out to me, though, Mike, if you look at it, the games in which Rivers has turned over the football have been mostly the games where the Chargers have not prevailed. That game against Detroit seventy three passer rating, they lose thirteen to ten. The loss to Denver, which was a demoralizing one thirteen a fifty eight point six passer rating. To intercept is in that ball game Pittsburgh the following week two more interception eight.

When he's been on, they've had a chance. When he's been off, it's it's hurt them. But with Philip Rivers playing the way he does in the structure of this offense is that he can still go off at any time. I mentioned Insider in box. I look at him and Keenan Allen is one of the top quarterback receiver combos

in this league right now. And for that reason is why I think, yeah, if there's going to be some series, if there's going to be some drives that they end up you know, putting together, you know, lengthy eight nine plays, they move the ball, you have to be able to stay stout in the red zone. And the Packers have been terrific in that way this season. So there there's

gonna be those adverse moments. And even if it is a pro Packers crowd inside you know, the stadium, thirty thousand seats or whatever, most of it on top of the field, you still have to be ready to rally. You still have to be ready to cut it out.

And I think one thing that the seven and one start has taught the Packers and Ron Williams was discussing in the locker room this week, is when you find ways to win like this and you keep you know, getting those ws in your your win column, that's what's going to propel you into the second half of a season because you've been there before many times. And then so yeah, I I agree with you entirely, because as

we talked about at the beginning, of the week. There's a narrative with this Chargers team in twenty nineteen and one with this Packers team in twenty nineteen, and a lot of it comes down to executing being the better team in the fourth quarter, and the Chargers for the most part have not been and that is why they are three and five, and they very easily could be two and six. As I said, if that, you know, they gave up the drive that set up the field goal.

They weren't getting it done when they needed to in the fourth quarter, but they caught a break. The Packers for the most part have been the better team in the fourth quarter this year and that's why they're seven and one. So as far as with green Bay, that being who you are, you want to continue to be that team. But it's funny to me, is somebody in inbox this week brought up He's like, well, Philip Rivers has never won against the Packers, which technically is true.

He's owing three against Green Bay, but he's put up a lot of yards against green Bay. Yeah, I mean, I think about that game. I think in two thousand fifteen that they played here at lambeau Field. I want to say he threw for was it four or eight yards or something insane? It was it was over four hundred. I know that he was throwing the ball all over the place. And the game out in San Diego in two thousand eleven, the Packers have built a big lead

and the Chargers were coming back. It turned out to kind of be a shootout, going back and forth, and um the Chargers lost the game but still put up thirty four points and Rivers had some big numbers that day as well. Yeah. I mean, he's averaging three yards per game against Green Bay through the air in those three games. So you can't just look at the wins and losses and be like, Okay, well this is just gonna be an easy cake walk. He's going to present challenges.

But the point I want to get to at the end of all this is that the takeaways can be the difference maker, that can be the common denominator when when you're looking for a path to victory against l A and and there's just they've given the ball away too much and then they just haven't been able to take it away the way they have in the past few seasons. So if the Packers can win that area, which I want to say, in what six of their eight games so far they have that that is going

to be a big path here for the Packers to proceed. Yeah. Well, a couple of stats and info nuggets here for you, wes Um. I actually looked this up just before we came into the studio. Philip Rivers will be the first a f C quarterback to face Aaron Rodgers three times with the same team. Yeah, it's never happened before, partly because of Rogers injuries where he's missed games with Roethlisberger

because you know, because of injuries. He did face Flacco for a third time this past year, but that was once with Denver as opposed to the first two with Baltimore. So that's just kind of interesting because because of the once every four years thing that here Rogers and Rivers are facing off with the same teams for the third time. The other thing is, do you know how far how far back you have to go to find a Packers game that was played in front of a crowd of

roughly thirty thousand people? I must you're pretty close. There was one in the I remember there was one in the eighties or nineties. There were actually a couple of games that year. One was that the Pontiac Silver Dome in Detroit, where the announced attendants was like twenty nine thousand people. It's a good year for the Lions. But anyway, just kind of an interesting. Yeah, there were there were I'm trying to remember now. I I apologize for not

writing it down. I think it was against Atlanta. Was the other one that where the the announced crowd was like thousand something That just like a post like player lockout kind of lull that really, I don't know, Yeah, it was, it was odd. The numbers there were odd.

I wanted to ask you, though, with regard to crowd size, what do you make of what we're expecting to see in terms of this invasion of the Packers fans, Because I mean, I think it's going to be a really really unique atmosphere to have potentially a pro Packers crowd that's not at lambeau Field. I find that really intriguing and I'm really anxious to see what that's going to

be like. But as far as the impact on the game, one of the points I made in Insider in Boxes that the Chargers know what this is like because earlier this year they played a primetime game in that stadium against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and that traveling contingent of Pittsburgh fans. They took over the place and they made it a

home game for Pittsburgh. So from the whole atmosphere and and dealing with that type of crowd situation in your own stadium, so to speak, the Charges have dealt with this before, So from that standpoint, it's not there's not going to be some sort of a shelf shock or a shock to the system. And in that respect, yeah, So if I had my druthers here, I'd rather be

in London this week. I wish that that would have been where the game is going to be playing, so all this snow falling outside we wouldn't have to deal with until we get back. No, But okay, so that's first and foremost. I still think, I mean, and they should have played this game in London. I actually even I said this on the yesterday show for the Charger's sake, I think would have benefited them to have it in London.

I was pegging this game to be the one in London, going back to like ten, like per Packers at Chargers in nineteen that's got to be the game that's going to London. We're going to l A, going to l A instead. But uh, that little mini Lambeau that's gonna be over there is going to be something to be

a part of. Because here's the thing. Thirty thousand seats for football I think twenty seven thousand for soccer being in Winnipeg this year, even though it didn't fill up, that was a thirty three thousand seat stadium, So it gives you sort of a little bit of a field. I don't know where the press boxes. We could be behind the outhouse for all I know. But as far as the feeling of the stadium, I've envisioning it in my mind much like Winnipeg, and if that plays out,

it's gonna be a really cool environment. To answer your original question, I think it gonna be really fun to be a part of because it's so intimate and in this day and age, and you look at college football hundred thousand seeds stadiums, the NFL seven eight seed stadiums, Jerry World or whatever it was for that game, you very rarely get an opportunity to play in this kind of environment. So I think, let me put it this

way too. The people that are forking over that cash, whether it was straightaway at the ticket office or on the secondary market, You've got to be a pretty big fan to be able to wanting to pay that kind of you know, premium. So I think it's going to

be an awesome environment to be a part of. Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it too, I think, I mean, yeah, this will be the only the only time the Packers in their hundred one year history and moving forward will play a game in this particular stadium because the next time the Packers are going to play the Chargers on the road, obviously it'll be well after the new stadium in l A has built, the one that the Rams and the Chargers are going to share eventually, So this

is eventually, supposedly allegedly. But yeah, I think it's going to be I think it's going to be fun. I do want to take a look at what else is going on in Week nine in the NFL though. Before we signed off for the week, we saw hack of a ballgame last night on Thursday Night Football. Look like

the forty Niners were in command. They had a two score lead with about five minutes to go, all of a sudden boom and eighty eight yard touchdown pass, and the Cardinals had a couple of really really big chances to get the ball back down the stretch. A third and eleven they gave it up, a third and nine they gave it up, And the forty Niners were able to kill those last five minutes without giving the ball back to the Cardinals with just a three point deficits.

So this is what's remarkable about what the Cardinals did. And everybody wants to talk about Cliff Kingsbury in their offense. Defensively, they were pretty much the first team to solve the San Francisco run game puzzle. Now, certainly it's a little bit easier without use check in there, but it's still dynamic. Just asked my fantasy football team that had to play Tevin Coleman last week when he off for all those touchdowns. In this game, Tevin Coleman three carries, twelve carries for

twenty three yards. Matthew Brita also struggling to get going. But this is where the forty Niners really can be dangerous. I asked that question I think last week about Okay, can the forty Niners win when they can't run. Now, they weren't playing from behind per se in this game, but when they needed Jimmy Garoppolo to be the quarterback, to be the leader, to be there, the centerpiece of

that offense, he came through. And as we were walking in here, I believe it was Matthew Arvin, our valued producer, who mentioned eighteen and two now for Garoppolo as a starting quarterback. I think that just saw that. You saw the standard in there. I thought the Cardinals played a tremendous football game. I think the San Francisco forty Niners

are a tremendous team. And when that team stays together and doesn't turn over the football, even if you don't have the best aspect of your offense, you're still going to find a way to victory. Yeah. Well, the San Francisco forty Niners are eight. No, they remain the only

undefeated team in the NFC to this point. Looking at the NFC North, interestingly, as we had talked about last week, the Minnesota Vikings now head to Arrowhead Stadium and to play the Kansas City Chiefs one week after the Packers did. I think this is going to be a really interesting matchup. I will admit I haven't been paying attention to any of the talk of whether Mahomes is going to come back this week or if they're still sticking with Matt Moore.

Have you heard anything what the Chiefs are doing. What is funny about this is that it's your last week. Packer fans are all like, and I've seen an inbox a little bit. I've seen it definitely on Twitter. Packer fans are like, how could you ever consider playing Patrick Mahomes on nine days after this injury? And then all week this week it's been why isn't a full participant, Come on, get out there and play. Shoot, I'm out there. Uh, he's still limited and at the time in which we're

taping this, we still don't have an update. The reports have been that they're looking more at the Titans game as far as when he's going to be back. But but it's which is kind of what the original projection was, you know. Anyway, So yeah, I'm sure there's a lot of Packer fans. I want to see Patrick Mahomes, But as my brother in law made me wear last week,

I mean, Matt Moore. If there's any silver lining to what Kansas City did against Green Bay's defenses that Matt Moore looked fine, looked like he can handle this thing. We'll see what the Minnesota Vikings are able to come up with. But the big challenge I think for Minnesota in this game is they have a lot of experience.

How does that match up with Kansas City speed because there's a lot of it in this whole week is very interesting because you were just talking about why this game matters so much for green for you know, almost at San Diego the Chargers on Sunday. I've been struggling with that all week by because if you win in Minnesota beats Kansas City, if if Oakland you know, comes through, or you know, if Goldland gets beat by Detroit, however this puzzle shuffles out, the Charges could be right back

in this race. So for Kansas City, there's an urgency there because it's like you want to be able to main tame this lead over. I think what a lot of people expected going into the season to be relative, you know, a bottom feeder in Oakland with all the stuff they had going on there in a team in Kansas City that you kind of had their numbers. So this is a very important week for the NFC North and for that a f C West in which teams could prevail and in what the byproduct and meaning of

those games could be. Yeah, well you mentioned Oakland is taking on the Detroit Lions. The Chicago Bears talk about heading into a gut check type of game. Here they go to Philadelphia. The Eagles coming off of a big win on the road at Buffalo, a Buffalo team that had only lost one game until last week. The Eagles get themselves back to five hundred at the midway point at four and four, they're playing at home, and again I'm sure the Eagles are looking at that win over

Buffalo as this is our takeoff moment. This is where we start to go. And the Bears are up against it. Here there are three and four. They see where the Vikings are, they see where the Packers are, and the Bears are trying to get to that even four and for that level spot halfway through their season to see where it goes. This is what I love about. Uh, the f C East right now. Um Philadelphia, who just everything's been going wrong for them. Uh, they go up

against Buffalo and basically take it to the Bills. For the most part. It kind of reminded me like when you get like those middling sort of SEC teams and they have to take on like I don't know, one of the Top and the Sun Belt or something like that, and they just they just take it to them. They get their victory. I think Philadelphia reminded everybody, even though they've been very up and down, and they got it.

If they're gonna make a playoff run here, they have to be able to find some kind of winning streak. They can't be, you know, matching win for loss. Yeah, you're not going to make the playoffs in the NFC at nine and seven. I just don't see that happening the way things are going right now. Yeah. So, I mean this is a huge game for them. I mean, with where Chicago season is headed, the issues that they're having um, and I think the way that Philadelphia defends

the run. Even though David Montgomery had that big game last week, I look at this as a matchup that Philadelphia should win, and they really definitely need to win if they're going to actually keep themselves in the conversation, you're not only just for playoff spots or being in the lead of the division or any of those kind of things, just to show that, okay, we're still a championship type contender here we weren't, you know, sort of that that spark, that that flash in the pan that

we can actually be a team that rises above. And for Chicago, I mean, this is the ultimate gut check because that, by by all accounts, was there. That's the most demoralizing loss of their season so far. Now you've got to go into you know, Lincoln Financial and try

to you know, turn the course of your season. Yeah. Well, it's a rematch of the NFC wild Card game from a year ago in the other stadium, and it's just interesting that obviously with the miss by Cody Parkey at the end of that game, and now the Bears are going into this playoff rematch with their new kicker having just missed a field goal on the last play of the game the week before. So a lot to try to sort out there. Anything else on the Week nine

slate you think is worth mentioning right now? I mean, there's just a total barn burner going on in Miami between the Jets and the Dolphins in the Adam Gaze Bowl. Uh No, there's some great matchups here. Uh, there's this storyline now that's developing with the Jaguars where you know Nick Foles could potention to be back here soon. Yeah, Gardner Minshew has been not only a really good quarterback, but as I was looking at one of the things that ESPN brought up, I mean, he's been one of

the top rookies so far this season. You can make an argument he's had a better rookie season at this point than Kyler Murray. So they're gonna have to make a decision there, and they have a tough opponent coming in in the Houston Texans. But realistically, Mike, we've talked weekend and week out, We've written about it numerous times, the New England Patriots have not been tested. Well, now they get tested. They go into Baltimore, they take on

that defense. First off, Tom Brady, who has been you know, ky Eve in this game manager sort of role. Now, can he get this offense moving and can that New England Patriots defense that has been so stout step up to the challenge of Lamar Jackson. We're probably not going

to be able to watch this game. Unfortunately. I wish I could because I think it's going to be a really interesting contrast in football styles and seeing if the way that the Baltimore Ravens play right now, run heavy, athletic, solid special teams, a sneaky good defense, if that can

match up with the very best in the FC right now. Yeah, and a lot of people looking at that game Patriots against the Ravens as a potential preview of a of a January rematch between between those two teams down the roads.

You can make a case, Mike, if you go back to last December, that there's no hotter team in football than the Baltimore Ravens, even though you know San Francisco has been on the run they've been on this season if you count that, I mean the Ravens had a run the table esque kind of run at the end of last season. They did, would the only interruption being

that loss in overtime to Kansas City. If you partner that together with this way that they got off to this season, I mean you got to tip your captain John Harbob, because they they things weren't looking good there for a minute, but they got sort of this influx of momentum and swagger from that move to to Lamar

Jackson and here we are. I think they're one of those teams that when you're talking about just a regular seven day, one week preparation, they're a preparation challenge because Lamar Jackson and the way that offense runs is just so different. It's so it's so non traditional for from

what en NFL football is and and it is. It's it's going to be a great matchup because the Patriots statistically and what we've seen on the field, regardless of who their opponents have been, they've been uh an incredibly

stout defense, very very difficult for anybody's score. And I would make an argument to Mike that the Baltimore Ravens, more than maybe any other team in the NFL right now, are as dangerous if they end up thing a buy if you give John Harbaugh that extra week to work with to prepare and then teams having to focus on a wild card opponent and then taking the Ravens, which is how different they are and how different they play.

I think one of the things that worked against them was working into that hole at the beginning of last season, having to make a run to get a wild card spot that ultimately is I think why their their car ran out of gas. But man, if they can be in position, I'm sure you're gonna have just might as well. Sharpie in you know, the Patriots for one of those two buys in the a f C. But the Ravens and then the where Kansas City's at right now, Ravens can make a real run at at being that number

two seeds. Yeah, it's going to be interesting to watch. With that, we'll call out a wrap on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the team and especially Sunday afternoons game from Los Angeles. Will have it all for you on Packers dot com. Subscribe to us, like us on iTunes and other podcast services. On Twitter, He's at west Hot I'm at Mike Spofford at Packers for the team account. Thanks for tuning in, everybody, See you next time. The