Game Overview ::
By hilow >>
- Those sensitive to robust injury reports should avert their eyes from the Packers’ practice report this week.
- Packers WRs Christian Watson (hamstring) and Jayden Reed (toe/chest) have yet to practice this week (as of Thursday), placing each of their game-day statuses in doubt.
- Packers RBs Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon both managed two limited sessions to start the week, in addition to WR Dontayvion Wicks.
- While the Panthers have a cleaner bill of health on the offensive side of the ball, three outside linebackers have yet to practice this week, including standout Brian Burns (illness), Yetur Gross-Matos (illness), and Marquis Haynes (back/illness).
- The Panthers face the highest overall rush rate against this season, while the Packers face the fourth highest.
- The Packers need to win out while also getting help to make the postseason, while the Panthers are playing to screw over the Bears’ draft pick.
How green bay Will Try To Win ::
The Packers rank near the middle of the pack (get it? Sorry, that was unwarranted) in PROE but average just 61.1 offensive plays per game, which leaves them at a below-average 24.4 rush attempts per game (27th) and average 34.8 pass attempts per game (15th). The overall identity of this team is to string together methodical drives on offense while taking sporadic shots downfield (primarily to Christian Watson, who appears unlikely to play in Week 16), with an ultra-prevent defense designed to force opponents to march the field. That has led to just 125 offensive plays per game in games involving the Packers this season. The Packers are also dealing with two major injuries on offense in wide receivers Christian Watson and Jayden Reed, each of whom has yet to practice this week. Both appear likely to miss Week 16 against the Panthers.
Both Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon started the practice week with consecutive limited sessions, leaving both likely to play but with concerns over their respective workloads. Aaron Jones returned to action in Week 15 after three consecutive missed games, handling 17 running back opportunities on just 48 percent of the team’s offensive snaps. The Packers have a proven knack for keeping their backs below 20 opportunities, which has thrust former practice squad back Patrick Taylor into an elevated role over the previous month of play (Jones missed the first three games in that span while Dillon missed Week 15). The matchup against the Panthers is only middling on paper, with the team ceding 4.0 yards per carry (11th) behind the sixth lowest yards allowed before contact (1.10), with the glaring weakness coming in the red zone (the Panthers have allowed a touchdown on 71.11 percent of opposing red zone trips this season, second worst in the league, and have allowed a robust 22 touchdowns to opposing backs, worst in the league).
Assuming both Christian Watson and Jayden Reed miss Week 16, the Packers are likely to have a primary pass-catching corps of wide receivers Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks, and Malik Heath, with tight end Tucker Kraft in a near every-down role and Aaron Jones capable of seeing five to six looks through the air. None of those players carry immense upside against the heavy zone rates of the Carolina defense, with only Jayden Reed ranking out as above average against zone this season (solid if he plays, but appears unlikely at this time). Romeo Doubs leads the way of the remaining players, holding a sub-elite 20.4 percent target share and putrid 13.6 percent TPRR against zone this season. It’s just a smattering of mediocrity against zone from the Packers this season, which does not bode well in this matchup, considering the Panthers have utilized the third-highest rate of zone coverage in 2023.
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