The Green Bay Packers head south to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars for a classic trap game. The Packers are 5-2 on the season while the Jaguars are 2-5. Green Bay defeated the Houston Texans 24-22 last week. Meanwhile, the Jaguars scored a 32-16 win over the New England Patriots. Here are the keys to victory for the Packers in their Week 8 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Packers lead the all-time series between these two teams 5-2-0 in the regular season. The two teams first met in 1995. The Packers and Jaguars have never met in the postseason.
Here are the keys to victory for Sunday’s game in Jacksonville:
Packers Keys to Victory vs Jaguars, Number One: Contain the Jaguars Running Game
The Jaguars have two great running backs who can move the football well on the ground. Jacksonville ranks 12th in the league with an average of 124.3 yards rushing per game. That number would be higher if the team wasn’t playing from behind so often. They are fourth in the league with a 5.1-yard average per rush.
Tank Bigsby has been the hot back recently. He’s gone over 100 yards in two of the team’s last three contests and is averaging a healthy 6.2-yards per attempt.
The other back is Travis Etienne, Jr., who missed last week’s game against New England due to a hamstring injury. He was a limited participant in practice midweek and his availability for Sunday’s game is still unclear.
Either way, the Packers run defense needs to be better than they were last week against Houston. The run defense has been inconsistent this year. They either seem to get beaten badly or to hold up really well, but they are rarely just OK. Kenny Clark, T.J. Slaton, Javon Bullard, Edgerrin Cooper and company need to hold up well against the Jacksonville offensive line against the run.
Number Two: Get Pressure On Trevor Lawrence
The Jaguars are pretty good at pass protection. Their quarterbacks have only been sacked 17 times through seven games, a low number for a team that has to throw often after they fall behind.
Starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence has a great arm. While he is not a dangerous weapon as a runner, he is more than capable of escaping pressure in the pocket.
Jacksonville’s starting left tackle Cam Robinson missed Wednesday’s practice due to a concussion. He was a limited participant on Thursday. Can Preston Smith and Rashan Gary take advantage of Robinson’s status or his replacement if he isn’t able to play?
Getting some pressure on Lawrence to get him off his game is important for the Packers because the Jags quarterback is a dangerous weapon. His receivers have dropped a lot of passes this season which has hurt Lawrence’s numbers.
Look for Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley to throw some exotic blitz packages at Lawrence and the Jacksonville offensive line so they have to guess who is dropping back and who is coming after the quarterback.
Packers Keys to Victory vs Jaguars, Number Three: Slow Down Brian Thomas, Jr
Rookie first-round pick Brian Thomas leads the Jaguars with 30 catches for 513 yards and four touchdowns. He’s averaging a healthy 17.1-yards per catch and has the speed to get deep.
Look for the Packers to put Jaire Alexander on Thomas as often as possible. Alexander just helped shut down Stefon Diggs a week ago against the Texans.
Another big weapon the Jags have is tight end Evan Engram. Lawrence looks for him often on short routes, especially in the middle of the field. He had 10 catches for 102 yards two weeks ago against the Bears after missing the previous four games due to a suspension.
Number Four: Stay Balanced On Offense
Keeping Josh Jacobs and Emanuel Wilson involved in the offense is always important for the Packers. When they run the ball effectively and keep balanced on offense, they usually win.
Jacksonville’s run defense ranks 6th in the league and is allowing just 102.6-yards per game.
Look for Matt LaFleur to call just enough running plays to keep the defense honest and to slow down the pass rush a bit.
The Packers runs by Jayden Reed and Bo Melton on end arounds and jet sweeps were not effective last week. It will be interesting to see if LaFleur continues to call them or adjusts to the defenses catching on to this play and makes a change.
Packers Keys to Victory vs Jaguars, Number Five: Keep Travon Walker Contained
The Jaguars pass rush is in the middle of the pack with 16 sacks through seven games. Their best pass rusher is Travon Walker who has six sacks. Josh Hines-Allen is next with 2.5 sacks.
It will be up to Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom to keep Walker off Jordan Love and give the Packers quarterback time to throw the football.
It’s possible the Pack may have a tight end or running back help the tackles on whichever side of the field Walker lines up.
Number Six: Exploit the Jaguars Secondary
If Love has time to throw the football, he should be able to take advantage of the vulnerable Jaguars secondary. Jacksonville ranks 31st in the league against the pass and is allowing 273.9 yards per game through the air. Opposing quarterbacks have completed more than 70 percent of their passes against the Jacksonville defense.
Reed, Romeo Doubs, and Christian Watson should be able to break off some big gains against this group. The Jaguars have only one interception all season.
If he has time to throw, Love should be in for a big game.
Prediction:
The Packers cannot afford a letdown. They have a tough stretch ahead and are coming off an emotional win over Houston a week ago that had an intense, playoff atmosphere. They also struggle in road games in Florida.
On paper, the Packers are the better team in nearly every department. They have to play to their capabilities, and not make careless errors and they should win the game.
Packers 33, Jaguars 20
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