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The Green Bay Packers have been one of the more inconsistent teams in the NFL so far this season, but they have finally steadied the ship and are clear contenders in a stacked NFC. Green Bay comes into Week 15 on a four-game winning streak and are coming off of back-to-back wins over playoff contenders in the Lions and the Bears.
Now, the Packers are facing arguably their toughest test of the season. Matt LaFleur will lead his squad into the Mile High City for a Week 15 tilt with the Denver Broncos in one of the marquee games on the Sunday slate. The Broncos have been through their ups and downs on the offensive side this year, but they still have one of the best defenses in football.
The Packers should have the upper hand when the Broncos have the ball, as their pass rush can neutralize the quality Denver offensive line and Jeff Hafley has a lot of pitches to throw at Sean Payton and Bo Nix in the back seven. However, this game could be decided when Green Bay has the ball, as two heavyweight units will be going at it.
While LaFleur and company still want to lean on the running game to get into positive down-and-distances, the passing game has still been the strength of this Packers attack during their recent winning streak. That will be even more crucial heading into this game with star running back Josh Jacobs’ status in doubt. Jacobs has missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday as he deals with a knee injury.
Thankfully for Green Bay, Jordan Love and this high-flying attack should have the advantage in this matchup.
The Broncos’ defense is built on getting pressure on the quarterback. Vance Joseph’s unit blitzes at the seventh-highest rate in the league (31.8%) and has the fourth-highest pressure rate in football (39.5%). When Denver isn’t bringing pressure, star edge rusher Nik Bonitto is dominating tackles on a weekly basis. Bonitto is ranked fifth in the NFL in total pressures (61) and tied for third in sacks (12.5) as he makes his case to be an All-Pro.
On the other side, the Packers are very good at avoiding those negative plays in the passing game. They rank in the middle of the pack in pressure rate allowed, but some of that comes from the fact that they throw the ball downfield a ton. Love has a 2.89-second time to throw, a top-10 mark in the NFL.
Love also ranks eighth in air yards per attempt (8.7), seventh in play action rate (29.2%) and fourth in deep pass percentage (13.7%), defined as passes traveling 20 or more air yards, according to Next Gen Stats. It’s clear that the scheme and Love’s willingness to push the ball down the field is creating that increased pressure number.
On top of that, Love is one of the best in the league at not...
