So, first things first: for the first time in the Matt LaFleur coaching era, the Green Bay Packers not only lost back-to-back games but back-to-back-to-back games, dropping 3 in a row beginning with their second half collapse in London vs. the underdog Giants, losing at home to the Jets, and most recently the debacle in Washington against a back-up quarterback. This team is badly out of sync, with no receivers to loosen up an opposing defense and inexplicable offensive coaching decisions taking the ball out of the hands of the best offensive weapon the Packers currently have, i.e., RB Aaron Jones.
The result: the Packers are sitting at 3-4 at the near mid-way point of the season. And for comic relief, the NFL schedule has the Pack playing arguably the best team in the league this evening on the road. What are the odds of the Packers winning this game? Not great. In fact, pundits have the Bills as anywhere from 10-1/2 to 11-1/2 point favorites at the time of this posting. Recall, by the way, that the Packers were favored in all three games in the current losing streak. Apparently the pundit good will has finally run out; no more benefit of the doubt ... now just doubt. In fact, Aaron Rodgers has never before in his career as a starter been a double-digit underdog. Yet, here we are. It's f-ugly out there, Packer fans. No other way to put it.
The Preview
As we said way back in our season prediction, "In looking at the other teams (in this stretch of games), the Bills are the team to worry about, as they showed in their season opener by man-handling the Super Bowl champion LA Rams in LA." We also noted, "Some pundits are projecting a possible Packers-Bills Super Bowl match-up." The first part of that season prediction is certainly being manifested ... the second part? Not so much. Oh, the Bills still have a great possibility of being in that game, but the Packers? It would take a monumental turnaround ... a miracle of Biblical proportions ... to even get this team competitive once again the way they are playing.Having said that, here's what the Packers will face tonight: the league's best offense, defense and special teams and a quarterback with the makings of an MVP season. The Packers, first of all, would have to show us something that they haven't yet this season: a complete game in all phases. They haven't done that in a single aspect of the game yet and we expect them to do it in all phases tonight? Not. Going. To. Happen.
On offense, the Packers will be without WR Allen Lazard and Christian Watson — he of ongoing bad hamstring — is questionable. LT David Bakhtiari...who knows? Rodgers seems to be off, putting it mildly. LaFleur, for an unknown reason, takes the ball out of Aaron Jones' hands once he seemingly gets close to more than a handful of touches. And with a 245-pound RB in A.J. Dillon, on 4th-and-1s, the call is to toss a short pass behind the line of scrimmage rather than give it to Quadzilla to make something happen. 'Tis a puzzlement indeed.
On defense, the Packers show up for the first half, usually, but don't in the second. With the money that has been spent on that side of the ball for years and years, the expectation is that this should be a Top Five defense...which it was in the preseason prognostications. So much for that. And while special teams has arguably improved over the last few seasons' performances, the continuing miscues and turnovers by returner Amari Rodgers, in particular, has cost the team games.
There are no simple fixes here. And looking to get turned around by shuffling off to Buffalo tonight isn't what the doctor ordered.
The Prediction
Based upon what we've seen since the London game, the injuries, the lack of offensive weapons, the lack of output, the lack of motivation, the mental mistakes, the penalties, the miscues, the coaching lapses...you name it, this all adds up to very low expectations for this game by the Packers. We hope we are wrong.
We're calling it Packers 17 - Bills 38.
Go Pack Go
