Fellow Green Bay Packers fans, today's the day our rested number 1 seed Pack take on the number 6 seed LA Rams at Lambeau Field in the first of this weekend's divisional match-ups.
And a good one it should be. We have the league's number one offense — the Packers — vs. the league's number one defense — the Rams. Something's gotta give.
The Preview
The Packers have home field advantage, including the added benefit of about 6,000 fans in the stands today, a first of this size for the season. That should help give a little extra juice to the game, something some of the players say they have missed, understandably. The Packers have, of course, the upcoming three-time MVP QB Aaron Rodgers, world-class receiver Davante Adams, a three-headed running game with Aaron Jones, Jamaal Williams and A.J. Dillon. There's a downfield threat in the form of Marquez Valdes-Scantling, admittedly a 50-50 proposition, but even one of those plays today could be a difference maker. And the Rams defense has to pay attention to MVS whether or not he catches the ball, which opens things up for other receivers regardless of the coverage on Adams. We also have a top offensive line, albeit without its All-Pro LT David Bakhtiari.
But first, the Packers have to get past the Rams. Their defense, led by DT Aaron Donald and CB Jalen Ramsey, can shut down most offenses. (Of course, we don't have a typical offense in the Packers.) Donald is coming off an injury but will play. Something to keep an eye on during the game. Ramsey is going to be counted on to shutdown Adams; he gave up only 2 TDs all season covering the opposition’s best receiver.
The key for the Rams offense in a few of their latest wins was winning time of possession by converting third downs. The Packers defense, in a few of its most recent games, had a hard time getting third and even fourth down stops. The Rams will want to help their already fine defense by keeping Aaron Rodgers on the sidelines as much as they can. The Packers defense will need to step up its game and not allow that time of possession battle to swing heavily in favor of the Rams by getting those big stops on third and fourth down. If they can stop the run and force LA to go to the air that would seem to work in the Packers favor today.
That's because Jared Goff will get the start for the Rams, a few weeks removed from thumb surgery. He had to come in relief last week after his backup went down in the first quarter and performed well. He led the team to a 30-20 win over the Seahawks, although it was not one of Seattle's better games, to be sure. Don't expect Goff to go deep often because of the thumb issue. But those underneath throws can keep the chains moving. The Packers defense will need to get to him to make him uncomfortable. In pre-game warm ups today it is reported he's wearing gloves on both hands. While the temps are reasonable for this time of year in Green Bay, they are certainly colder than what the LA guys are used to. That might become a factor with a bad thumb still healing.
