Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always by my partner in Crime West and Hodkoitz. We're coming to you hear from our studios at lambeau Field West. Were just a couple of days away from hopping on another airplane to head to the Mile High City for Sunday afternoon, a three twenty five pm Central Time kickoff between the Packers and the Broncos. So let's take a look at this Denver Broncos squad. One in five is
the record. Kind of hard to really make out where this team is going. They lost their first two games of the season by a total of three points, a couple of very close losses. Then you have the seventy points heard around the world by the Miami Dolphins and the game that everybody was talking about for so long, but most recently against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. The Broncos stayed right in the game, lost a tough one on a Thursday night. Nineteen to eight
was the final score. Certainly, Mahomes and company did not light up that Broncos defense. So where do you think things stand here for Denver heading into this matchup on Sunday, a.
Game opponent, and I think that was one of the big things that Matt Lafleur drilled home. I'm sure with the team, but definitely with the media just talking about how you know, you have to look at what the Broncos have in terms of their arsenal of playmakers, and they're there on both sides of the ball. It hasn't equated to wins yet, and certainly that loss to the Dolphins is one that is going to be hard to escape, both statistically and narratively the rest of the season. Whoever
the Broncos play, that's going to be a topic. Certainly. I think the Packers were tackling that the right way. But I'll tell you what, Mike, you know, looking specific at that defense, because the Broncos had some real difficulty against Kansas City in terms of Denver's offense, but defensively, that was a really game performance. And I think when you look at their defense, and we'll talk, we'll break down everything here in a second, but they were not
intimidated by the threat of Patrick Mahomes. I don't think Patrick certan junior was intimidated at the perimeter weapons there. They looked at that like that was a team they should be competing with, and largely kept their football team in the game because of that performance. So Broncos, you know, they're not coming off a full by week like Green Bay,
but they are coming off an extended mini by. Yeah, and I'm expecting, especially when you look at the injury report, the Packers are going to get Denver's best effort on Sunday.
Yeah. These are the numbers as it relates to that Broncos defense. They've allowed over one thousand rushing yards through six games, eight rushing touchdowns, five point six yards per carry, which is just a frightening number if you're a Denver Broncos fan. Against the pass, seven twenty six point four percent completions by opposing quarterbacks and an opposing passer rating of one seventeen point eight. Those are some dreadful numbers.
And here's the thing is, I've been trying to figure out because you know, they had a hard time stopping the Bears, they had a hard time stopping the Washington Commanders. They've given up not just the seventy points, but they've had they've had other games prior to the game against Kansas City, They've had some other games where they've really struggled against offenses that haven't exactly been lighting things up. And this is what I've been kind of trying to
figure out. Okay, so was last week the Thursday night game? You know, it's a short week, it's a divisional opponent, like familiarity and all that. Those games can get kind of weird Thursday night divisional games, right, So how much do you really how much do you really put into that? But at the end of the day, I kind of throw it all out the window because of something that Matt Lafleur said on Wednesday after practice, which is that
this game is not about the Denver Broncos. This game is about the Green Bay Packers in them getting their own house in order. This is with where the Packers have been offensively, only scoring one field goal in the first half total I'm sorry, two field goals in the
first half total of the last three games. It does not matter one with the opponent on the other side here after the Packers are coming off of this bye week, it's about It's about this offense figuring itself out and getting things going earlier in games like we talked about, and yes, the Broncos have some ugly numbers and all that, but quite frankly, just that just doesn't matter because the Packers have to get it figured out.
The whole of Denver's defense I think has been the weak link there. I know that's a weird way to go about saying it, but I think it's the collective. I think they have just had too many holes in different areas that have allowed teams to have success. But Nick Benito is right up there in sacks in the NFL right now. He's really come on for them season. Justin Simmons is an All Pro Kareem Jackson has been doing this forever. Patrick stan Junior has been doing this
at a high level now for three seasons. Also in All Pro, they have people who are more than willing to take the football away and pressure your quarterback. For the green Bay Packers. In addition to everything you said about how it is about what Green Bay is doing and about being efficient and about approving in the areas that they've struggled with in the first half of the season,
first quarter of the season. But for me, it goes back to the little things that they started to do well against Vegas, running the football, committing themselves to the run. Whether or not Aaron Jones is out there on Sunday, the Packers are optimistic, hopeful that potentially he could be back. He was practicing this week again in a limited capacity. But as you said, Mike, five point six yards per carry, the boilerplate, the blueprint, the proto type is there for
teams beating the Denver Broncos this season. It's being able to run the football. What did Kansas City largely struggle with in that game against the Broncos. They didn't really establish the run very well, and that created opportunities for the secondary to take the ball away from Patrick Mahomes. Even though he threw for three hundred yards, there were some interceptions there that kept the game closer than probably a lot of people thought it should have been. So yeah,
I agree. I think it comes out with Green Bay being able to finally set the tone, being able to establish the run early, regardless of who's available in the background, and then ultimately protecting the football because if the Denver Broncos take the football away, you know, you've seen it so many times. What Russell Wilson. A very opportunistic bunch on that side of the ball are willing to do
and they didn't give up last week. I mean they stayed with it right up until the very end, and ultimately we're finally able to find the touchdown, just not enough points to win. Yeah.
Well, speaking of Russell Wilson, he of course is the leader at quarterback. The Packers have seen him many a time as the quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks. Now it's for a different West Coast team. A couple of interesting statistics with regard to Wilson. For one, he's been sacked nineteen times in six games, which is a pretty high number.
But on the flip side of it, in six games, he has one hundred and fifty rushing yards, And as I mentioned in our three Things video that we shot after practice on Wednesday, you look at Russell Wilson having one hundred and fifty rushing yards through six games is sort of is a hearkening back to the past almost. I mean that one hundred and fifty yards is more than half of his total from all of last season, and it's more than the total of rushing yards that
he had two years ago. So Russell Wilson in terms of in terms of his mobility and getting out of the pocket and trying to provide that dual threat is looking a little bit more like the Russell Wilson of a few years ago, of a handful of years ago, rather than maybe the one whose first season in Denver didn't go so well.
And I don't even think so much about that number in terms of the rushing yards. I think about the number he talked about back in August, which was fifteen fifteen pounds that he lost this offseason. I think you see it in his play style. I mean, I don't think it was him getting out of shape or anything.
I think it was more about what he was trying to build himself into last year and realizing that, Okay, I probably need to get back to more of the fundamentals of the position, what I do well in order to thrive. And you mentioned the sack numbers. I think that probably goes along with that too. He's trying to extend plays more, He's trying to get outside of the pocket. The problem for Wilson has been the inadvert the inadvice throws in some of these interceptions, and I think it's
it's been. When you are struggling the way that the Broncos are struggling right now, there is no margin for error. If you have an interception, it tends to bleed. If you give up seven hundred and seventy yards or whatever it was against the Miami Dolphins, it tends to bleed when you're giving up the explosive plays. Denver's trying to hang its hat on something right now, and I think the basic idea of what Sean Payton's trying to do with this offense is that the problem is they just
haven't been consistent enough with the run. I mean, Wilson is like forty yards off of being their leading rusher right now. And then you know, Jerry Judy's been quiet so far this season. I think Courtland Sutton's had some pretty solid performances. But they're trying to bridge the gap between being a team that is in a rebuild mode but yet still having a franchise quarterback that they invested heavily into less than two years ago. But Green Bay
seen it. They've seen Russell Wilson at his best, and they've also seen Russell Wilson at his worst. And I think for the Green Bay Packers, a team that desperately needs to get a victory here on the road in what is going to be a very passionate road environment from our experiences at Mile High. They have to find a way to contain Wilson. They have to find a way to turn the ball over.
Yeah, well, I want to get a little bit more into the keys to victory, but I'll take care of some sponsor business here. First West at Cousins Oh wait, sorry, I forgot serious XM NFL Radius one first delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the minute NFL news that true football fanatics need twenty four to seven, three sixty five.
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Can I say one last thing, yeah, before I get going, one thing to keep in mind. Russell Wilson right now fourth in the NFL and touchdown passes ninety nine passer rating, Like people want to kind of make a joke about the Broncos being at one and five right now. But they have been doing some things well. And that's one thing.
Ye yeah, And I was I was gonna say as too. As much as we've talked about, you know, Packers need to start games better. You need to reduce that margin for air. You'd like to obviously be playing with a lead as opposed to playing from behind the way the Packers have been on a regular basis lately. You're not
going to. All you have to do is look at that game a few weeks ago at Soldier Field, as down as the Broncos may be at one in five, and they didn't have a victory at all when they were in Chicago and they were down two touchdowns in the second half, and they came roaring back in the fourth quarter and took it to the Bears and stole
one there from Chicago. So Packers are going to have to be prepared for a sixty minute fight here, regardless of regardless of the record, regardless of how the first fifty two and a half minutes of this game go. So that being said, anything else with regard to the keys to victory for the Packers that stands out to you.
Winning the ground game is going to be the biggest thing here because as I talked about, you know, you look at what Green Bay has done, and again, I know there wasn't a big explosive run against the Las Vegas Raiders, but even John Runny and listen to some of these guys talk about in the locker room, the basic idea was there in terms of what they look to achieve. And you know, again it is more than
just one player. But I think about you know, Rob Demovski wrote a lot of stories about, hey, we haven't seen Christian Watson and we haven't seen Romeo Dobbs together too much. We still have really not seen Christian Watson and Aaron Jones together too much. Too. A guy that can stretch a team horizontally and vertically right, and in those are the aspects that I think can really be
successful for a game like this for Green Bay. Because one of the stories I wrote this week and was one of the big topics in the locker room on Wednesday, was you know, green Bay, it's funny the big narrative with Matt Lafleur and with Jordan Love, everybody's talking about third downs. They have to get better on third downs green Bay right now, is middle of the road. I think they're like twelve right now on third down offense.
But the problem is the amount of third and long conversions they've had to make in order to achieve that, and there's been turnovers that have fallen into that as well. But when Green Bay can get themselves in third and short, they're winning. They're sustaining drives, and that's where I really think this game is going to be won and lost.
How do you contain Williams and McLaughlin and Wilson in the run game that Denver presents, and how do you find a way to control the game on your side of things, whether it is Jones, Dylan, whoever carrying the football. That's really my biggest area for this one.
Yeah, what sticks out to me, And I'll say it here on the show, I'm gonna say it probably when we shoot final thoughts tomorrow. I'll say it at the Pepperelli in Denver. And it goes back to Lafleur's comment about this game being about the Packers and not so much about the opponent, about the Broncos, and it comes down to the Packers offensively. I think playing clean football, they've reduced the penalties. The penalties were a big issue when they fell behind seventeen to nothing to the New
Orleans Saints through three quarters. Over the last couple of games, the penalties have cleaned up a little bit, at least offensively. It'd be nice to see the penalties cleaned up on special teams as well. But clean football is also about avoiding the negative plays, you know, the sacks that have put them in some tough down and distant situations. We saw what happened a sack preseeds an interception in Vegas
because you're in second and seven. The running plays that are called not every running play is going to work magnificently, but if a running play is called into a bad look, say can you get out of that with just a zero or a one yard gain as opposed to a three or four yard loss. Because second and nine doesn't take you out of the running game, second and thirteen or second and fourteen often does, and the defense is
then dictating what you're going to do. So it's avoiding those it's avoiding those negative plays making the best out of some bad situations. As you said, then to get into the third down situations where the percentage of conversion goes up because because you know, when you're at third
and three or less, the whole playbook is open. When you're at third and seven or more, the defense pretty much knows what you're going to do, unless you're in you know, sort of that four down territory area where they might have to play you a little more honestly, but but yeah, it's down in distance. Is what is something that Matt LeFleur focused on a lot on Wednesday that that has really been more than anything in the
biggest downfall. And there are a lot of factors. Sometimes it's been the penalties, other times it's been negative runs, or it's been sacks. The Packers just have to clean up their game. They have to play clean football against a defense that for the most part, has struggled this year. And if they do that, I think they'll be in a position to win the ballgame.
Two things. One that you can't allow the Broncos to pin their ears back because that's where Benito has been very successful and that's where justin Simmons is how many interceptions over the last five years, you know, just being an opportunistic on the back end and sure being that
ballhawk over the top if you are. And I think that's one of the reasons why Kansas City got into a little bit of a problem there is that Mahomes was making some great throws in that game, but he was asking a receiving cord that I don't think would be confused with being the best in the National Football League right now, to make some big catches on third and long. So that's going to be a big piece
of this thing. But the other aspect of it, because there's so much coaching that I've been doing so far, but the Packers do need to feel confident. They need to feel like, hey, we are a team that has given it. You know, we gave it right too the Chicago Bears in their stadium. We came back in some inadverse situations against the Saints to win there, and the Saints are now up to three and three. We've had moments where we've looked like a really good football team.
Denver hasn't had as many of those moments. Denver is one in five. They are going to be, you know, dealing with, you know, some guys that are talented but are kind of banged up. The week after this, you have the Minnesota Vikings. The Packers need to be confident about where they're at right now, because three of the next four are at home. They have to travel again here. But you want to feel like you're a team that can go out there and expect to win a football game.
And I think having that mentality is also going to be very important, understanding that, yeah, we have lost back to back games, but we still can be a team that can be messed with and feared in the National Football League.
I think when you look at when you look at what's gone on with the Packers the last few weeks, I think one of the things that that's been so frustrating is you see how this team looks in the fourth quarter against New Orleans. You see how this team looks in the third quarter against Detroit when everything had gone against them the entire first half. It's twenty seven to three, and all of a sudden, you get to the fourth quarter and it's twenty seven to seventeen. You've
given yourself a shot. The first half against Vegas on Monday night football was pretty ugly, but then the third quarter was some pretty darn good football. And you get into when you talk about what we've been talking about with offense. You see AJ Dillon carry five consecutive times from the twenty nine yard line all the way in and power the ball in there for a touchdown. And then what do they do on their first offensive play
of the next series, play action rollout. It's a coverage bus because the Raiders are all worried about just getting the ball rammed down their throat by AJ Dillon and Christian Watson's wide opening gets a seventy seven yard game. That third quarter in Vegas was what you want to see from the Packers. But one or every game doesn't do it. It's gonna give you a chance to win. And they've had a chance to win all these last three games. Fortunately they were able to win one of them.
But playing only one quarter like that every week is not gonna cut it. It's only gonna give you that chance. And then, and then can you squeeze through that thin margin for air to pull it out. You start playing two or two and a half quarters of that level of dominant football, which is not easy to do in this league. But if you start doing that, you start opening up that margin for air and giving yourselves more opportunities to win. And the Packers have seen it. They've done.
They've had a good stretch of football in every game. They just have to expand that now.
And I don't know if we'll end up coming back to this next Tuesday. If we do, feel free to remind me of this. But what happens in this game? Do the Packers start fast in the first quarter or the third? If they can start fast in the first quarter, I really like their chances in this game because Denver, for whatever reasons, has a really hard time getting out of the locker room after halftime this season. Yeah, they have, So that's going to be a big area here for
Green Bay. Again. I don't want to keep hammering it, but when you think about some of those drives and the times they've been really successful, and Matt Lafleur as their head coach, it's been going out there, driving the ball downfield and putting up points right off the bat. That has to be a big staple for them in this one.
Yeah. Absolutely, Well, Before we go, I want to take a look at some other games around the NFL that Packers fans may be interested in with regard to Week seven. The first one is the NFC North leader the Detroit Lions an interesting challenge here. They go on the road with their five to one record to face the Baltimore Ravens. And of course, what makes this interesting is because the
Lions defense is playing really, really, really well. But anytime you go up against Lamar Jackson and a Baltimore Ravens offense, that's a different kind of ballgame. It's a different kind of defense you have to play. Will the Lions be up to that challenge. I think that's a very intriguing matchup with Baltimore playing at home.
I love the way that Baltimore has built out this team this season too, because obviously they lost Dobbins there that that was a big hit right off the bat, but they seem to have found weapons that compliment Jackson on the perimeter, and that has been a big issue for them the last few years. Yeah, you have Mark Andrews, but I mean Zay Flowers has had some really strong performances for them so far this season, and he's a guy that has been there when he has yet been needed.
And I think it's gonna be really interesting to see how Detroit handles a quarterback like Lamar who's going to not only threaten them downfield, but what he can do with his legs, and sometimes it will result in a scramble for yards. Sometimes it results in a scramble for a downfield opportunity. The integrity of the defense is going to be challenged in this one, and certainly for Detroit. It's another one of those litmus tests, one of those
measuring sticks to see. Okay, we've beaten some teams so far this season, and we've beaten some good teams so far this season. But when you take on one of the more consistent veteran Leyden squads in the National Football League and uncommon opponent at that, yeah, can you rise to that occasion and meet that challenge?
Yeah? I think that's a I think that's a really intriguing one. Another one Packers fans might want to keep an eye on, just because they are two opponents that the Packers will be playing within the next month. The
Pittsburgh Steelers are at the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams, I think playing better football than a lot of people thought they would coming off of a rough season in twenty twenty two, and the Steelers with a scary defense quite frankly that you wonder if they can ever find some sort of consistency and reliability, you know, production wise. On offense, the Pittsburgh Steelers could become a much more
serious threat with that defense they have. Those are two teams the Packers are going to see here in the very near future.
Yeah, I get the thing I love most right now watching this is the Rams. Doesn't matter what year it is, the storyline is always the same. They have no running game. No, there's no running thread. Darryl Henderson just got signed again for I think the third time with the Rams. But they're just so darn opportunistic and they have a really good quarterback there is that is good at managing those situations.
And defensively, maybe they're not the same lockdown unit they were a few years ago, but they've been able to keep them in games and win games when it is needed. I love what Pittsburgh does. I know it's maddening for some of their fans, but this is a transitionary phase for them still much like what the Packers are going through. They're switching to a young quarterback, they have young weapons around him. But I think George Pickens is a good I think he's gonna be a really good receiver in
this league. And defensively, yeah, it's probably one of the better defense in the league and they have arguably the best defensive player on their team, and that will be interesting to see how that Pittsburgh defense handles a Rams offense that has kind of been all over the place this year in terms of catches, big plays, drop passes, and seeing what exactly unfolds.
Yeah. Well, the biggest game I think that all NFL fans will have their eyes on is Miami and that high flying to a tago Aloa offense against the Philadelphia Eagles, who now unexpectedly are five and one. I think everybody was thinking that the Eagles would still be undefeated coming into this home matchup with Miami. But really interesting cross
conference game here. You have a team that a lot of people are pegging in the AFC that is going to make a serious run this year, and then the Eagles of course being the defending NFC champs and a solid five and one record.
Yeah, Miami has taken and Mike McDaniel, they have taken the Kyle Shanahan offense, I think sort of enhanced it even further, and with such unique weapons that they have right now, I give so much credit to the Dolphins for how they've They've maximized that even though they've had some injuries, they still much like Shanahan, whether it's Rhem Moster becoming re established now in this offense, or just the threat that Tyreek Hill presents, they build game plans
to win. But ultimately, I think this game comes down to Jalen Hurts versus Big Fangio. And see, you know, it's been a rough year so far for these Fangio defenses. You know, you've seen some of the stats out there that those football syndicates and yeah, you know, analytic departments have been putting out and Jalen Hurts is coming off the three interception games. So that contrast is gonna be really interesting to watch because I really feel like Jalen
Hurts is not gonna have another down performance. But then seeing if this ends up ultimately turning into a shootout should be a lot of fun to loll.
Yeah, I think it will be a lot of fun. One last one to mention quickly, the Packers' next opponent will be coming to Lambeufield as the Minnesota Vikings. Everybody can get a look at them on Monday night, they will be at home against the San Francisco forty nine ers. The Niners waiting to see if they're going to get Deebo Samuel Christian McCaffrey back from those injuries from a
week ago, and Minnesota quite frankly west. They've got to try to figure out what to do offensively without Justin Jefferson because the debut of the Justin Jefferson less offense in Chicago was not a good one. They only scored one touchdown. They probably don't beat the Bears if not for a defensive score by Jordan Hicks, which got him the NFC Defensive Player of the Week. The Vikings only put up nineteen points without Justin Jefferson and seven of those are by their defense.
Vikings have a lot of bodies, but just not a lot of production right now. Now. TJ. Hockinson is probably gonna have to be the face of that offense moving forward. They've talked about kJ Osborne taking on more of a role in Alexander Madison. Obviously they added Cam Akers as well, but it comes down to Hawkinson and if he can be a guy that can become a difference making tight end on him down nine and down out. Basis Kirk
Cousins is a good football player. Man. I was watching that game against the Bears, and there were some moments there where receivers weren't exactly picking him up. And you know he makes mistakes, but I mean he does he'll keep you in a football game. But this is a mountain of a challenge of that San Francisco defense and debo if he can. He's day to day right now with his shoulder. I don't know where things stand with McCaffrey.
But for San Francisco, they're trying to show that they can just bounce back from this and keep on rolling. But Minnesota, these are the type of games they're ultimately going to have to win. Seeing these division returning division winners from last year. If they're going to be able to salvage this season.
Yeah, I think if you're the Packers, and I know it's one game at a time, and I know that as well as anybody, but you look at the Packers are coming off of their bye week, They've had a chance to reset and regroup. You're going on the road to play a team that has been struggling, and then you're going to come back home to play a team that will be on a short week playing on the Monday night, and then that is banged up without Justin Jefferson,
without Marcus Davenport on their defense. An opportunity here for the Packers to get things turned around in the other direction over the next ten days or so, and they have to take advantage of it.
It's as favorable as it's going to get, yes, because Pittsburgh is going to be a knockdown, drag out war. I think the two LA teams are both going to be opponents next month. The Packers have to be able to take your business here against Denver and then you look at what comes after it. But Denver's reeling and the Packers somewhat reeling too. But this is a great opportunity, as you said, to kind of get back on track.
Yeah, I think so. With that, we'll call it a wrap on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the team and everything from Sunday's game in Denver. We'll have it for you on Packers dot Com. For Wes, I'm Mike. Thank you for tuning in everybody. We will see you next time.