A Quick Look Back
Well, Packers fans, the Pack did what they needed to do last week against Carolina, although not in the best way possible. They lit it up offensively in the first half behind a strong running game and then seemed to go almost totally away from that in the second half, allowing the Panthers to claw their way back to make it a far too close of a game down the stretch. A win is a win, but why a team would leave behind what's been working for an entire half to go to a different scheme ... ? Your guess is as good as ours ... or the head coach's for that matter. Mike LaFleur wasn't a fan of what the team did in the second half of that game and, hopefully, learned a valuable lesson without it costing the team a win. We'll see what happens going forward.
QB Aaron Rodgers will need a productive game tonight vs. the Titans
to help the Packers secure a win and hang on to the #1 seed for
the playoffs. (Photo by Dan Powers USA Today Sports)
The Preview
Most previews of tonight's game at Lambeau Field — the regular season home finale — seemingly begin and end with accolades and warnings about Titans' running back Derrick Henry. Radio Voice of the Packers, Wayne Larrivee, said in preview interview that Henry has 100 yards before he gets off the bus. So there's that.
Described as a "bulldozer" type back, Henry is well on his way to 2,000 yards rushing this season, coming in with nearly 1,700 yards rushing and 15 TDs. He tends to prefer to run between the tackles and look for cutback lanes, but he can also present problems when he gets around the edge. Against a weak run defense (any teams come to mind, Packer fans???), he can take over a game and be the best defense the Titans have by keeping QB Aaron Rodgers and his weapons off the field. That's not a good scenario. Tennessee QB Ryan Tannehill is also having a good year overall. Combined, they contribute to the league's number-one ranked offense (before this weekend's games).
Of course, the Pack comes in with the NFL's third-overall offense. So we have strength against strength in tonight's game. Defensively, the Pack's numbers have actually been improving over the last few weeks to put them roughly in the middle of the rankings, give or take. The Titans defense, on the other hand, is toward the bottom of the rankings. Again, Wayne Larrivee described the Packers and Titans as basically mirror images of one another: both good in the same areas and challenged in the same areas.
The Packers will need to establish their ground game again tonight. When they stick with it, good things happen; when they go away from it, as they did in the second half last weekend, they don't always perform at a peak level. They need to feed Aaron Jones. Jamaal Williams likely won't play tonight so rookie RB A.J. Dillon should get some reps and can be a powerful addition at the goal line.
The ground game will be especially important this evening as snow is expected (it's falling at the time of this writing), with temps in the upper 20s and wind chills in the teens. Will be a tough environment for punters and kickers tonight. Conditions overall would seem to favor the better running team. But they should also favor Rodgers over Tannehill if receivers can make their catches.
The Prediction
The oddsmakers have set the Packers as 3 to 3-1/2 point favorites, depending upon your source. The over-under is indicated as 56 points. We agree with those saying this will likely be a shoot-out and could even come down to which team has the ball last. We hope not. We hate those types of games ... at least when the Pack is involved.
The Packers can clinch the number 1 playoff seed in the NFC tonight be defeating the Titans. The team has had an uncanny ability to follow up a poor performance (i.e., last week) with a good one, and to turn it up on defense when needed to hang on to a victory. Both of those traits will be called upon tonight to beat the best team the Packers will play until a potential Super Bowl berth.
We're calling it Packers 34 - Titans 31.
