Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. I am like Spofford, joined as always by my trusted colleague Weston Hankoitz. We're coming to you here from our studios at Lambeufield to preview this Sunday's matchup West. It will be the Packers and the Jaguars from Jacksonville. It's a noon Central Time kickoff. And looking at this Jacksonville team, it's been I guess you'd just say a strange season in a lot of ways for them.
They start out the year zero to four, but three of those losses in that four game losing streak where by five points or less. They lost by three to Miami, by five to Cleveland, by four to Houston. So they are zero and four out of the things are not going well. But since then now they've gone two and one with victories over the Colts and the Patriots, a loss to the Chicago Bears in between. They've played their last two games in London, so they were in London
for an extended period of time. Now they're coming back home to Jacksonville to face the Packers, and they feel like they've got some things going in the right direction, but they still have a ways to go, obviously to get to where they want to be. And I'm sure that Jacksonville is looking at this game against the Packers as a potential turning point to their season if they can chalk up a win.
Yeah, it's a get back game in a lot of ways. And end Listen, Mike, I'm gonna sit here with you. I'm gonna be real. I mean, there are some offensive threats that I think the Packers have to be very cognizant of in this matchup. Defensively, Jacksonville's kind of been a train wreck for most of the season. They are two and five for a reason. The New England Patriots potentially could be the worst team in the National Football League. What they did to them last week, especially being in
that second week in London, I anticipated that. I expected it. The Trevor Lawrence has looked a lot better in these last three four weeks. I think Tank Bigsby potentially gives them an every down running back that they could potentially ride in. Brian Thompson, Brian Thomas, excuse me, very dynamic. Evan Ingram is back offensively A lot a lot there for the Jaguars, depending on what happens defensively, It's hard to find a lot of statistics that really jump off
the page. Positive in their fashion, in their manner, trebon Walker's off to a good start. They do have some playmakers there, but as a collective, they've really struggled. So you're absolutely right. They were close in some of these losses. They also just got completely blown out of the water by Buffalo.
They really stand by the Bears in London quite frankly.
That's what I was going to say. I mean the Bears, they took it to them. Yeah, they really struggled to get things going against Chicago. So the Green mit Packers is they have to take this team extremely serious. You
have to not look past them. But as much as it's good to point out, and I think that's a good message for the Florida mention this team, they could easily be five and two when they're two and five, the Jaguars are two and five, and while they are coming off a win that if you flip that game with the Bears, it would feel a lot differently too. I Mean, there was a lot of conversations after that lost to Chicago about exactly which direction that team may go.
Yeah.
Absolutely, they responded appropriately. But at the same time, Packers have won three games against the AFC South. I mean, this is not the time to let one go. Yeah.
Absolutely, you're looking to sweep that AFC division here. If you're Green Bay looking at some of the numbers, Trevor Lawrence, the former number one overall pick out of Clemson. He has a ninety two point three passer rating this year, which is not bad. But I think everybody has seen Trevor Lawrence play better at other times in his career than he's playing this year. The one real positive for him is that he's only thrown three interceptions this shit year.
He has been protecting the football maybe better than he has at other points.
I think he was fourth or fifteen interceptions last season. Yeah, So I mean for what he's been able to do protecting it has been very critical.
Yeah. You mentioned Tank Bigsby, the running back, and I just have to say, I think this is the first time in Packers' history that they are playing an opponent with someone whose first name is Tank two weeks in a row.
Yeah, it has to be throw that out there. I'd have to ask cliff about the nineteen twenties. Maybe I could see a tank callaway or something.
Like Minneapolis Marines or something had a couple of tanks on their team. But Bigsby six point two yards per carry, that's nothing to sneeze at with the workload that he's been giving been given. Excuse me. And then Brian Thomas Junior, the rookie wide receiver. I'm really stumbling over my words today. Out of LSU, he's averaging seventeen point one yards per catch.
He is the big play guy. You mentioned. They get Evan Ingram back from injury, and that's a tight end who likes to stretch the field and provides another weapon certainly on offense there. But those are the numbers that stick out to me, just the yards per carry for Bigsby, the yards per catch for Thomas. Defensively, Treron Walker another number one overall pick that the Jaguars have. He's got six sacks this season. He really is the star and
the heart and soul of that defense. But a couple of a couple of defensive statistics that will tell you how much they are struggling. One is that opponents are converting forty five percent of the time on third down. I'm not sure exactly where that ranks because I didn't have time to look that up before we turn the cameras on, but forty five percent allowing third down conversions is terrible. Twenty sixth, twenty sixth, it's not good. The other is that the defense has only taken the ball
away three times all season in seven games. They have one interception, they have two fumble recovery. This is not a defense that has done much to help the offense at all, and I mentioned this on our three Things video yesterday. Now, the Jaguars offensively don't give it away a bunch. As I mentioned, Lawrence just has the three interception. I believe they only have four loss fumbles. So seven giveaways in seven games. That's pretty darn good. But they
only have three takeaways in seven games. If you're the Packers, you're coming off of this, You're coming off of a three giveaway game of your own. Where there needs to
be that added emphasis again on protecting the ball. It really becomes paramount in this game because you can't you can't turn the ball over to the Jaguars and sort of let them break profile, right, because if this defense for Jacksonville suddenly breaks profile, their team will look a lot different and they put themselves in a much better position to knock you all.
Very strange statistics defensively, because the other thing is, yeah, they've really struggled on third downs, but they're six against the run so far this season, and in yards per game and even in yards per play is seventh at four point one point five. Passing defense thirty first total yards twenty seventh. They are the worst team in the
NFL in goal to go. They're the only team that has yet to prevent a team from scoring a touchdown once they enter the red zone, opponents converting at one hundred percent clip in goal to go in red zone. They're also thirty second seventy eight point two six. So making sure I get those statistics right, it's been a grind. Yeah, Now tough to dress it up a little bit for the Jaguars offensively, I think they're doing some really good things. I think the switch to Bigsby Travis Etn really had
struggled earlier this season. I know this because Travis Etn was my RB two on my fantasy league and now it's Tank Bigsby. Hashtag analysis. But Bigsby he has that big run and he has that six point two yards per clip. But last week he showed he could just be a bellcow for them and carry the ball twenty six times for one hundred and nineteen yards with nothing longer than fourteen per carry, along with the two touchdowns. Again using the caveat that New England has really struggled
in basically every phase this year. It was the Patriots, but you still have to have something to hang your hat on. When you talk about I think Trevor Lawrence and the difference that he's made the last few weeks, it's I think it's the fact that he hasn't had to be Superman as often. I think he only threw the ball maybe twenty or twenty one times in that game against New England. The other thing is to Michael,
the receivers have to pick him up. You've seen there's been low light after lowlight of receivers dropping passes in the end zone that he has put on the money and guys are just not making plays for him. And it's guys that have made plays. Christian Kirk had a lot of success with him last season. I mean, you look at Gabe Davis, a guy that I've always been very high on a down seialed threat. It isn't just
the Brian Thomas show. I mean, they have guys they can turn to, but it just hasn't been working out for them this season. So they definitely got that win and they're gonna be feeling better about themselves. But I think the green Bay Packers, this is a game where if you turn, if you take the ball away, if you can get back on that train here and you can convert that into points, I think that sets up Green Bay for a victory. Yeah.
A couple of other A couple of other things to point out. One is that last week Jacksonville had a punt return the link to the field ninety six yards for a touchdown. That was kind of the play really that broke New England's back as the Jaguars were coming back from an early ten to nothing deficit. I think they scored like twenty five straight points before New England scored again. And within that run of twenty five straight points was a ninety six yard punt return for a touchdown.
So that's something Rich Bassachi and crew. They need to be on their p's and q's with that kind of a threat. Also, statistically, I noticed in the first quarter the Jaguars have been outscored forty one to twenty and in the fourth quarter they've been outscored sixty nine to thirty three. So first order, last quarter, the opponents have more than double their point total through the first seven games. This is not a team that starts games well. This
is not a team that finishes games well. And it's one of the games where I look at it again, I talked about sort of don't let them break profile on defense and start taking the ball away. You want the Jaguars to just be the Jaguars right, to keep
them where they are. And that's where really this game And we'll get into maybe some more specific keys to victory in a moment, but this is where this is the kind of game that this is a lot more about the Green Bay Packers and what the Packers do and how they're going to execute on their end, much more so than it's about anything that the Jaguars are.
One hundred percent. I mean, you've heard Tucker Kraft talk numerous times this year about the Packers versus the Packers and not hurting themselves and I think that's something that's really held true. Last week was actually indication where Green Bay did hurt itself a lot of ways, but it didn't come back to cost them in the win column.
And one of the big reasons for that is complimentary football wise, they did Picky's chie each other up in one issue in one phase, didn't cause another phase to lapse. And I think that's going to be very critical in a game like this against Jacksonville because again the Jaguars are home and they are going to have a little bit more positive vibes behind them after that went against New England, but it's been a grind for them throughout
the course of this year. I'm very interested to see what the Parker Washington thing, what becomes of that, because I think it was Devin Devernay was actually the one that was the punt returner for them. Now he's on injured reserve. Washington has only had I think three punt returns. He's only been back there five times, and then he ends up cranking that big return. So things like that changed the complexion of a ballgame. And as you said, that sort of through the door shut on the Patriots.
But overall, the number one point You've been driving home all week, the fact that they have not taken the ball away much defensively. If you are able to protect the football and find a way to get some opportunities on the other end of things, I think it works out in the Packers favor.
Yeah, And that's the biggest key to victory that jumps out to me in this one for the Packers, primarily because Green Bay is coming off of a three giveaway game that almost cost you a game. That line of scrimmage wise, you felt you were in control of the game against the Texans for quite a bit, but because of the giveaways, you almost cough that one up at home. This game is about protecting the football you have to make.
You have to do what you do on offense, protect the ball and make a Jaguars defense that hasn't stopped teams on third down as you mentioned, that hasn't stopped teams in the red zone, or hasn't stopped teams in goal to go. You have to put yourself in those situations as an offense for the Packers, and if you protect the football, you ought to be able to put up enough points to win the game.
It's a weird situation though, because Josh heinz Allen is there as well. He's a former first round pick for them. He had seventeen and a half sacks last year. He only has two this year, but he actually has more quarterback hits than Walker does. So I mean they have guys that get after the quarterback. Aaron Armstead Eric Armstead excuse me, is also there. I mean, they have names that you would expect to be able to pressure and generate positive opportunities. It just has not worked out for
them to this point, whatever that combination may be. Before we started the show, I was praising Tyson Campbell is a guy I thought has come in the league and been a very capable guy for them on the perimeter since drafting him in the second round back in twenty twenty one. So Green Bay has to figure out what it needs to do in this matchup to be able to find that victory. But the fact of the matter
is these games are never easy. And one of the things I was sort of reminiscing about this week is I believe this is the fourth time I'm covering a Jaguars game and the Packers have never blown them out. That I can recall, even I wrote this an insider inbox in twenty twelve, when the Jaguars are off to a terrible start, and I believe trying to remember if that was Blaine Gabbard still, if they had already made
the switch to Chad Henny. In twenty twelve, the Packers were like sixteen and a half point favorites at lambeau Field. Green Bay was off to like a five and three start. Obviously they had the issue with the fail Mary, but the Jaguars had one win to that point, and they
gave him a run for their money. Yeah, the twenty sixteen game I think was a little bit more decisive, but then even the twenty twenty game, or excuse me, the twenty twenty game was more decisive the twenty sixteen game when you and I went down to Jacksonville and it was ninety five degrees out for the opener. Yeah, a game that was a knockdown, drag out battle that I think came right down to the final whistle pretty much. And then the Jaguars ended up getting on a pretty
rough start the rest of the way. So you expect a tough matchup, but the Green Bit Packers have won three in a row here, and as we've talked about numerous times now, to be in a position to potentially sweep the AFC South. When you get those those non conference victories in your back pocket, those are sometimes the currency that can kind of propel you with not only the playoffs, but if you get there the postseason seedings as well.
Yeah, what are you anticipating in terms of the crowd for this one. We've seen Packers fan take over Nashville, Yeah, takeover LA. This this could be another, you know, another home game on the road for Green Bay because traditionally, anytime the Packers are playing in Florida, whether it's Tampa or Miami or Jacksonville, whatever, the fans generally show it.
And if you looked at the price of tickets at all, I mean it's pretty cheap, Okay, I mean, so if you're a Packer fan in that part of the country, you can compare to what people have paid in LA and some of these other venues.
Yeah, the ticket prices in LA were kind of crazy.
Yeah, it's pretty economical even Nashville. Like kind of think as you you had seen, I expect a Packers type crowd to be perfectly honest with you. I mean, Jaguars do have a fan base, and they were very coming off of last year. I think there was a lot of positive optimism. I mean, they gave Trevor Lawrence that extension for a reason. I mean they they felt like they were on the next step.
Well, it's it's it's interesting what's happened because two years ago, two years ago, Doug Peterson comes in and things seem to really be getting on the right track with Trevor Lawrence, they make the playoffs, they have that monster comeback in the playoff game against the Chargers, right to win a playoff game. Last year, they you know, midway through the year, they look like they're on their way to winning the
AFC South and getting back to the playoffs. And I forget if it was whatever they lost, you know, six of their last seven or whatever is they they just it was five five of their last six. They just completely fell apart in the last month and a half of the season, let a playoff berth get away. And
then they come out this year and start zero to four. So, you know, carrying over from the one season to the next that they had, they lost nine out of ten games to a team that for a year and a half, more than a year and a half, looked like a playoff team and was a playoff caliber team suddenly loses nine out of ten and here they are, you know, reaching close to the midway point of twenty twenty four and trying to figure out where they're going. It's just been it's been bizarre.
Yeah. And then their one win was a twenty six nothing shutout of the Panthers. I mean, and I think that was after the Packers had played the Panthers, yeah, in Carolina. So yeah, there's a lot going on there. But again, and I know you'll probably after the we get through everything, probably ask me more about the keys of victory and this thing. But stopping Bigs by stopping ETN and then limiting the explosive plays. I mean, you do those three things, I think the takeaways and the
turnover opportunities will come. And also this is another game too where Packers have had to be so cerebral with how they've rushed these quarterbacks, these scrambling type quarterbacks. And not that you know, Lawrence is a statue back there. I mean, he has a thirty three yard run this year too, but this is one where I think more traditionally the Packers could get after him, and you know, devonte Y could potentially be back in the cards for
them this weekend. That helps the defensive front. You have a number of different guys that could potentially be involved in that equation. But at the end of the day, you got to take care of business and this is going to be one of the big challenges here for Green Bay before you get back to Lambellfield and have that last one against the Lions before the bye week.
Or the bye week. Yeah, a little bit of sponsor sponsor business here. West Sirius XMNFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the minute NFL news that true football fanatics need twenty four to seven, three sixty five And at Cousin Subs we have something for everyone like our Wisconsin Cheese cards, mac and Cheese, golden fries, and creamy shakes, all paired with your favorite sub or sub and a bowl Cousin Subs fifty plus years of better
looking around at week eight. Kind of an important one tonight Thursday Night that Packers fans will have their eye on Minnesota on the short week. Hopping on the plane to go out to the West Coast to take on the Rams. The Rams reportedly getting Cooper Cup back as a big time weapon for Matthew Stafford and the Vikings coming off of their first loss of the year, that down to the wire defeat to the Detroit Lions last week at home for them. Kind of an interesting one here.
And you've got much as you know, as we've talked about before with the Rams and Sean McVay, now you have the Sean McVay Kevin O'Connell head coaching matchup right in this one as well.
This is the other thing that's funny that there's a possibility here that Cup is back. But then Jordan Whitington, who is the guy that was sort of the main go to guy in the game against Green Bay, he's now out. FUCA is still questionable. I mean like they haven't gotten any healthier. It really seems like since the Packers saw him a few weeks ago. Now that being said, Blake Cashman is out for the Vikings, so I mean
that's a huge loss for them. I feel like he's been one of the best, you know, free agent signings we've seen in the league. And how he's coming there and sort of made an impact, made a huge impact in that game against Green Bay.
Yep.
But seems like Aaron Jones has moved past the hamstring injury, so you still have him available. Yeah. Another one of these that I think as long as the NFC North keeps winning these matchups, in these games, you're going to continually be trying to see exactly what other teams are able to do against them. From the Rams perspective, though, you can can't lose much more ground. No, it's going
to be kind of a forgiving division. It looks like this year for them, with all the issues at San Francisco's weathered and the fact that I don't think the Seahawks are a world beater, but you're still two and five and in trying to claim some more of those victories here to build up some momentum. You have to do it because the injuries aren't going away, and if you lose enough of these games, your playoff hopes will be out the window. Yeah.
Absolutely, a few other games on Sunday that stick out to me. I'll just rattle them off and let you comment as you please. Chicago at Washington. Now there are questions as to whether Jaden Daniels, who has a rib injury, the quarterback for Washington, is he going to be able to play?
Is he not?
Obviously there's been a lot of anticipation for the two rookie quarterbacks, Jade and Daniels against Caleb Williams, and certainly nobody had on their bingo card at the beginning of the season that Chicago and Washington would be flexed into the three twenty five national television slot. But there they are. Buffalo at Seattle strikes me as a very interesting cross
conference game AFC versus NFC. Seattle snapped that three game losing streak last week, they got back on the winning track on the road in Atlanta with a pretty convincing victory there, and Buffalo still, you know, looking like a very formidable team, but now having to make the long road trip out there and then the Sunday night game, which hopefully will be home coming back on the plane. I don't know, maybe we'll miss the first half, but a chance to maybe watch it from our couches after
we get back from Jacksonville. Dallas at San Francisco, do I have to you don't want to watch Dallas in San Francisco.
You know, be okay, if out of San Francisco has some players on the field, sure.
It brings back I guess even just seeing those two helmets on the field it bring it brings back the college memories for me, those early nineties, you know, Dallas at San Francisco playoff games, those those of stuck with me.
My snark aside. It's a huge game for both of these teams. Hellas got absolutely clobbered before their bye week. They come back. Now, you saw the statistics how good Dak Prescott has been after the bye week, seeing if he can keep that going. But my goodness, man, it seems like every single week the forty nine ers lose somebody else. You know, Kittle's still hurt, Ayyuk is injured, Like.
Yeah, they lost Ayuk for the season. Now over after all of that, Yeah.
Yeah, So I mean this is this is gut check time for them, sitting at three and four. I think the other one too, Atlanta and Tampa Bay, somebody in the NFC South trying to that's a quite.
Is a big That is a big game in the NFC South with both of those team teams coming off of home losses. Yes, that, you know, games that they were certainly hoping to win, playing at home in some big matchups, but they both took a defeat. And and somebody needs to take control of that NFC South.
And with uh Chicago and Washington again, if if Daniels can play in this thing, I think the reports were he's weak to weak, but if he he can go. Although we saw what that meant with Dan Davian Wicks. He was week to week two and he was out there on Sunday catching thirty yard touchdown passes, right, but Daniels, I mean this guy, dude. He has been just such an enigmatic force in the NFL this season, and Chicago's defense is legit. If that would matchup is there, it'd
be really interesting to watch that. As much as people will make it about Williams and Daniels, seeing how Daniels handles that Chicago defense, I think is really interesting to me if it would work out that way. But certainly Washington man, nobody saw this coming, like with Dallas coming off the season that they did, Philadelphia still being a team that has some pop behind them after the Super Bowl two years ago, and here are the Washington Commanders just flying into this thing.
The one thing I'll say about Washington, not quarterback related, we have seen we have seen over the years, whether it's whether it's as a coordinator or as a head coach, wherever dan Quinn goes, he makes an immediate impact on a de defense. A defense under dan Quinn starts to play significantly better right away. Now, there are times, I
mean in Dallas he wasn't able to sustain it. Certainly in Seattle they sustained it for a long time, and I don't really you know, in Atlanta they didn't quite really sustain it there either because they became much more dependent on Matt Ryan and Julio Johnson and all that. But dan Quinn's track record is when he goes somewhere
that he makes an immediate impact on the defense. And I think the combination of that with Jayden Daniels being this, you know, eye opening rookie quarterback, it's completely changed the outlook in Washington.
And I just love the construct of their entire offense too. I mean, now, again it changes if Marcus Mariota is the quarterback. But you know, Austin Eckler being the guy that's complimenting Robinson now and the fact that you have I think Terry McLaurin the Pandora's box has really been opened with him now in terms of this isn't just you know, kind of a smallish receiver that makes possession plays.
Now he's a big play guy if he has a quarterback that can get him the ball, and just a lot of different avenues that they have to generate offense. In addition to the fact that, yeah, their defense has made a complete turnaround here this season. Yeah, as long as they're not playing this Sin sadibangles.
Yeah, that was that was the one. That was the one game there that you were kind of scratching your head with what was going on. Defensive defense was optional for both teams. Yeah, both both teams in that game. That one, That one got a little out of hand. But yeah, I think an interesting slate of games in uh in Week eight in the NFL and looking ahead six months down the road. Be among the thousands of professional football fans cheering on their teams NFL picks by
joining us April twenty fourth through April twenty sixth. In twenty twenty five for the NFL Draft, visit green Bay dot com slash Draft twenty five for more information.
Have you decided if you're going to sleep here or not those three days? I don't know.
Yeah, I mean I might good. Aybe Yeah, wellybe e latable Naras Studio here, we'll just we'll set up like we have showers, Lambeau. Yeah we do. We got a lot. Yeah, we got a locker room that we could do.
You have a locker in there?
I don't know.
Okay, well if you need to use mine, but yeah, you know, I'm sure I could. I got shampoo, I'm sure.
I could get one. Yeah, what a.
Way to in the show?
Yeah, we always and we get to this and then we start talking about this thing that's gonna happen in six months, and yeah, it's it's gonna be historic. It's gonna be one of a kind. But we're trying to figure out just how to do our jobs amidst all the chaos.
Week eight already, buddy, Can you believe that?
I know, I know when you when you look at it as far as preseason and regular season twenty games, it were halfway there. Oh, hey, ten ten games of ten games out of twenty year in the books.
Hopefully it feels like it.
Because you know, we're hoping to maybe have some playoffs, you know at the end of the.
One hundred percent mentally, man, I am just like I'm the coyote in the desert, like dragging myself to this bye week. Like it was like I think whatever I had left was it like the bow Melton story, then the stuff I did last last week, And now I'm just like just slightly clawing my way to that. Yeah that buy.
Yeah, I mean, and we've actually benefited from a lot of like noon games. Yeah, did you imagine this, this this stretch that we've got coming up with like four night games in a row or whatever, It's going to be like I might even have to have some coffee right here to get through packers unscripted.
Way, wouldn't that be somethinker We could do a well we couldn't do this because I don't think I can drink alcoholic work, but it would be like you you have a coffee and I have an ipa, and then it's like freaky Fridays that we just switch it up and see which one of us gets through at first. Yeah, there there you go, there we go.
All right, Well, we may we may just have to try that. Desperate times could call for desperate measures.
Hey, I want to close on this because we'll never have another chance to talk about this either. Remember how I was kind of ripping on the double Monday night football game. Yeah, last week, did you see what the ratings were for that ESPN Plus game for Arizona.
I mean there was like hardly anybody who watched it. I mean hardly anybody could watch.
My dad, so I have like ESPN Plus, I can do all that stuff. But he asked my dad. I'm like, hey, you watching He's like, no, I don't watch that stuff on the internet. I'm like, oh yeah, fair play. It's easy enough when it's right on the television. He doesn't need to go on the internet to watch any other football. Oh well, all right, what a great ending to the show.
Fantastic 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 Jacksonville. We will be there and we will have it all for you on Packers dot Com for Wesiam Mike. Thank you for tuning in everybody, and we will see you next time.