The Green Bay Packers are back at Lambeau Field and looking to continue their winning ways as the calendar turns to November.
This week, they welcome the Carolina Panthers, who are 4-4 on the season after they were handed a 40-9 drubbing at the hands of the Buffalo Bills.
The Packers will have an extra day of rest after this game with a Monday night showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles to follow.
More on that, and the rest of our keys to the Packers coming away with a victory.
1. Avoid the trap game
The Packers’ schedule is a little daunting after this weekend’s game. They’ll face the New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings, and Detroit Lions in a span of 11 days.
Two division games, and a road game against a Giants’ team that is better than their record may suggest at this point in the season.
Prior to all of that, they have a showdown next Monday at home against the Philadelphia Eagles in a game that could have major NFC playoff tiebreaker implications.
Last year, the Packers lost a bunch of those games but won the games they were supposed to.
This weekend’s game against Carolina is a game that would qualify under the category of a game they should win.
They cannot catch themselves looking past Carolina, or this Panthers team is spry enough to bite them.
2. Slow down Rico
Carolina’s offense is not overly talented at this stage of their rebuild, and they’re still figuring out their quarterback situation.
One thing they can do is run the football. Rico Dowdle has been one of the biggest surprises of the young season, averaging more than five yards per carry. Green Bay’s run defense entered play on Sunday as the best in football.
For all the talk about how the Packers would struggle to stop the run, that has not happened yet this season.
Entering play on Sunday, they had yet to allow an individual rusher to eclipse 100 yards in a game.
The best way for Carolina to be able to keep this game close is to pound the rock and shorten the game against a more talented Packers team.
Slowing him down and getting the Panthers into predictable passing situations is a potentially big advantage for Green Bay’s dynamic pass rush against Andy Dalton or Bryce Young.
3.) Get the guys involved
Green Bay almost has all of their guys back with Christian Watson returning from the PUP list to make his debut against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Jayden Reed will be back at some point late in the season.
The question now for the Packers is how are they going to get all those guys on the field and keep them involved in the game.
The Packers have had a heavy rotation with their skill positions, and they have been diverse with their formations throughout the season.
With Watson back, the Packers may have to start limiting some of their formations, and personnel in the name of keeping their best players on the field.
One key in this game is keeping who they’ve determined to be their best players on the field.
