Ten Most Important Packers for Pivotal Game Against Lions Features Backup

The Green Bay Packers have won three games in a row after knocking off the Dallas Cowboys a week ago. They’re 4-2. That’s the good news.

The bad news is they could be in last place in the NFC North with a loss on Sunday against the Detroit Lions.

Most pundits expected the NFC North to be a dogfight this year, and that is certainly emerging. The Vikings are 5-0 and look primed to be 6-0 with a date on Sunday against the lowly Colts. The Bears have shaken off all the regression theories that followed them and are 5-2 after beating New England on Thursday.

That means the loser of Sunday’s game will sit in the basement of the NFC North.

How can they stay hot rather than falling into the cellar? Here are the top 10 players to lead them to a pivotal victory.

No. 10: RT Anthony Belton

Anthony Belton has held up well in his audition to be the team’s starting right tackle for the rest of this season and perhaps beyond following Zach Bako-Bewele’s season-ending knee injury.

This week, Belton will square off against perhaps the top rusher he will face this season.

The Lions are not a good defense once the ball goes in the air. They are ranked dead last in passing yards allowed per game.

Before the ball goes in the air? That’s different. Led by Aidan Hutchinson, who has four sacks on the season, the Lions lead the league even while playing one fewer game than most teams. Hutchinson’s snaps are split almost evenly between the left side and the right side, so Belton should see plenty of him.

If Jordan Love has time to throw, there are plenty of holes in Detroit’s secondary to exploit. A quarterback has never completed a pass on his back. Keeping Hutchinson out of Love’s lap will be a good way to ensure Love is able to find his targets down the field.

No. 9: RG Kevin Zeitler (or Travis Glover)

This portion of the story could just as easily go to Matt LaFleur, Luke Butkus and Adam Stenavich.

It was probably too much to expect Kevin Zeitler to be ready to play against Tampa Bay or Chicago with a full workload. Zeitler had not done football activities since January and was not on a roster for offseason practices and training camp.

When Zeitler showed up in Green Bay, the Packers were desperate but did not feel good putting him on the field with a limited amount of practice time.

A ramp-up period that resembled training camp for Zeitler made some sense.

That time is up. Zeitler has been in Green Bay for almost a month. He said he’s ready to play.

“Hey, it’s just part of it,” Zeitler said this week. “It’s a big shoutout to Glove doing a great job out there as well as the group who’s been out there and kind of getting into a groove.

“Right now, the only thing that matters is winning and right now they’re getting the job done. It’s a blessing. It obviously gives me time to keep learning the offense, keep getting back in the swing of things and I’ll be ready when I’m called upon, whenever that is.”

If he’s ready, then it’s time to call upon him. Travis Glover has performed admirably, but he’s not the player Kevin Zeitler is. If the goal is to put the best five players on the field, Zeitler is one of them.

With Alim McNeil coming to town, it’s time to make the call.

No. 8: LB Ty’Ron Hopper

“Next man up” is a popular saying in any locker room, but now it’s truly time for the next man up at linebacker.

Zaire Franklin is going to miss Sunday’s game with a shin injury sustained at practice.

Who is next? Ty’Ron Hopper. The former third-round pick has largely been a bench warmer during his time in Green Bay. Now, there will be nowhere to hide for Hopper as he’s pressed into action.

Hopper has had some nice moments when called upon. He had an interception in last year’s wild-card loss to Chicago and another Chicago a couple weeks ago. He’s made the most of his opportunities.

“He’s maximized them. He’s taken advantage of them,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “He’s done a great job, and I think we saw, his progression has been pretty cool to watch, just how he’s developed over the years, especially I think we kind of got a good sense early on in training camp that he’s on his way, so this will be a great opportunity for him to get even more reps.”

His assignment this week? He’ll be tasked with stopping all-world running back Jahmyr Gibbs and tight end Sam LaPorta. There’s no time for Hopper to find his bearings. He needs to be ready immediately.

No. 7: WR Matthew Golden

Is a shootout in order in Detroit? That feels like the type of game this is going to play out to be. If that is the case, every play and every point is going to be precious.

Last week, Matthew Golden could have had the best game of his career. He caught one touchdown pass and went over 100 yards receiving. He could have had three touchdowns and flirted with 200 yards if he simply held onto the ball. Golden’s two drops are almost shocking, though not something the Packers are worried about at the moment.

“That’s just one of those things, the one thing is you’ve just got to trust yourself,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “Things like this happen. There’s been other guys – (Dontayvion) Wicks a couple years ago sticks out where he had the case of some drops – but the one thing is you’ve got to work hard, keep working on the JUGS, keep catching ball and just trust your hands and trust yourself, and he’ll keep making those spectacular plays.”

No. 6: WR Christian Watson

Of course, if Golden is on this list, Christian Watson needs to be, as well. A lot of the same points for Golden apply to Watson. He dropped a touchdown last week but, like Golden, has been excellent in the early going this season.

Watson has a lot of good memories at Ford Field. He caught a bomb to open the game against Detroit on Thanksgiving in 2023. He finished that day with 94 receiving yards on five catches, including one touchdown. Last year on Thanksgiving, Watson had four catches for 80 yards and a 51-yard touchdown. He plays well on turf, and he plays even faster than he already is.

No. 5: S Evan Williams

In a week in which points should be expected with these two offenses, someone on defense is going to have to make a big play to turn the tide in their team’s favor. The Lions will likely rely on Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeil to hit Jordan Love to make their plays.

The Packers have a host of candidates who could be their big playmaker, but that man since Edgerrin Cooper left the lineup on defense has been Evan Williams.

Last week, Williams was part of a brilliant sequencing by Jonathan Gannon to fool Dak Prescott into thinking he was blitzing. Instead, Williams dropped into coverage and stepped in front of Prescott’s intended receiver for an interception to snuff out a potential scoring drive for the Cowboys.

This week, the challenge is stiffer. The Lions have more talent on offense, including a quarterback who has not thrown an interception this season. The chess match against Jared Goff will come down to Green Bay’s ability to disguise coverage.

“I think it’s fun. I definitely think it’s challenging, but it’s fun, man, when you’re able to beat people with disguise,” safety Xavier McKinney said. “It’s not as easy as you would think. It’s hard to really stress yourself out but then also know you got to be in a certain place in a certain spot.

“I really credit the coaches for this, helping us out with the disguise game. Obviously, we work it out there on the field. We talk to each other all the time like, ‘How you want to do this? What we want to show here?’ But I think as far as them presenting it to us from the jump when they first got here, it was something that we had to constantly work on. To see where it’s gotten up until now and to see where it could possibly get to at the end of this thing, I think it’s going to keep getting better each and every week.”

If it gets better this week, perhaps Williams will be the recipient of Goff’s first interception of the season.

No. 4: RB Josh Jacobs

Green Bay’s run game stinks. Last week was the low mark for an embarrassing six-week stretch. Facing a defense that came into the week ranked last in the league against the run, the Packers’ leading rusher was only able to muster 28 yards on 11 carries.

The output has been embarrassing no matter who has been in the backfield. This week, the Packers get their top runner back with Josh Jacobs returning to the lineup after missing the first six games of the season after being placed on the commissioner’s exempt list.

The Packers have stood by him, and now they need him.

“I think it relies on everybody, whether it's scheme or blocking or running,” Stenavich said. “I think everyone has to do a better job, starting with me. That’s the biggest thing. That’s a big focus for us as we’re going further into the season. Now, Josh I think will definitely help for sure. He’s an excellent player and he’ll provide some good spark for our offense, so I’m excited about that. But yeah, we just all need to do a better job.”

Stenavich is right. The blocking has not been good enough. The backs have not been good enough. As a result, the run game is ranked last in the NFL by a significant margin.

Jacobs, however, brings a different running style that should give them a boost.

“I mean, yeah, like, he has a different kind of juice to him, different vision,” center Sean Rhyan said. “You can’t really ask for much more for him to come back and he’s coming back, so we’re excited. Still going to block our plays as well as we can and go from there.”

While the offense will likely need a big day from their passing game, perhaps Jacobs can help their red-zone offense. He’s had a nose for the end zone during his time in Green Bay with 28 rushing touchdowns in two years.

Packers running backs had two rushing touchdowns in his absence.

No. 3: TE Tucker Kraft

Tucker Kraft has not gotten going this season. He is coming off an ACL injury and recovery, which perhaps is still lingering. He continues to make some small mistakes that seem baffling considering the type of player he’s been during the early portion of his career.

Through six games, Kraft has 25 catches for 249 yards with just one touchdown. While 157 of his yards have come after the ball is in his hands, he has not been as violent of a runner in forcing missed tackles as he has been in the past.

Last week felt like a good week for the Packers to get their tight end involved with the Cowboys’ linebackers struggling in coverage as much as they have this year. The Lions’ linebackers have struggled in that department, as well.

Kraft has the potential to make plays down the field for his offense, but also as a safety valve in the event that the Lions’ front starts to get home against Love.

No. 2: QB Jordan Love

If a shootout is in the cards, then Jordan Love is coming in with both guns blazing. Love has been excellent the last two weeks save for one boneheaded interception against Dallas.

The box score from last Sunday’s game against Dallas will not show how well the Packers’ quarterback played. He threw four touchdown passes and ran for another. The problem was only one of his touchdown passes were caught, thanks to some uncharacteristic plays from Matthew Golden and Christian Watson.

Had they caught those passes, Love would have been up for the NFL Offensive Player of the Week Award. He would have had back-to-back games with well over 300 passing yards and multiple touchdown passes.

He did all that last week while being pressured on more than 40 percent of his dropbacks.

To sum it up, Love was under a ton of pressure, received little help from those around him and played well, anyway.

Perhaps he was on the injury report this week with a back injury because it was sore from doing all the heavy lifting.

This week, he’ll need help from those in front of and around him. He’ll also need to do his part. Love has been excellent in three starts at Ford Field. He’s 2-1 in Detroit and threw at least three touchdown passes in two of those three starts.

Love throwing the ball all over the field to his top receivers has been Green Bay’s offensive identity this season. Will Matt LaFleur lean into his ground game now that his top running back is back? Not if Jordan Love has any say in that.

“We’ve done some good things in the passing game and it definitely helped us when our run game hasn’t been up to the standard that it has in the past,” Love said.

“So, yeah, I think nothing will change. I think we’ll continue to lean on that. We’ll give Josh as many touches as he needs. Try to get him rolling. Obviously, first game back for him, he’s missed a lot of time, so it’s one of those things we’ll see. And I think, obviously, Josh, he’s also a big factor in the pass game, as well. Catching checkdowns, catching screens, things like that. So, he’ll have a huge impact on us, but I think still got to keep the game plan, the mindset of what we’ve been doing, just stay with it.”

No. 1: LB Isaiah McDuffie

Jonathan Gannon’s response was telling when he was asked about what makes Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs so special.

His eyes got really wide before saying, “Woah.”

“He’s faster than everybody. He has elite vision, I would say,” Gannon said. “He can make any cut that you want, he’s got really good contact balance, he’s stronger – for not like a huge back, I think he breaks a lot of tackles. And in the pass game, he’s a run-and-pass threat. He’s a really good player. Big-time challenge. We always say point of attack. There’s certain plays at the point of attack where the ball is. All 11 are at the point of attack when you defend this guy.”

One of the biggest reasons Green Bay was successful last year against Detroit was their ability to keep Gibbs under control.

He had nine carries for 19 yards at Lambeau Field, with 19 touches for 50 yards when you include the passing game. He was better at Ford Field, but not by much. He ran the ball 20 times for 68 yards and caught three passes for 18 yards.

The difference? Green Bay’s speed at linebacker last year was much better than it will be on Sunday. The speed and length of Quay Walker and Edgerrin Cooper in the middle of the field helped slow down Gibbs.

Cooper is out for the season. Quay Walker is in Las Vegas. Zaire Franklin is hurt. That means Isaiah McDuffie is likely going to be Green Bay’s green dot in the middle of the defense. He’ll also be tasked with helping slow down Detroit’s run game, which Gibbs is the primary focus.

“I don’t think it’s going to be anything too long term, but, yeah, just unfortunate deal,” coach Matt LaFleur said of Franklin’s injury. “That happens when you play football, especially the way our guys have been practicing. But I think we’ve got a lot of confidence in McDuffie and Hopper and Nick Niemann if need be to go in there and do a great job for us.”

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