Another week, another win, another injury. That is the story of the Green Bay Packers’ season so far. At 5-0 they have a 2-1/2 game lead in the division over the Vikings but just can’t seem to shake the injury bug that has been plaguing them since the preseason.
This time it was guard T.J. Lang (knee), defensive lineman B.J. Raji (groin) and linebacker Nick Perry (shoulder) going down. All could miss time and you have to be especially worried about Perry, who may have reinjured the shoulder he had surgery on in the offseason. The Packers have one more game before the bye week and may have a hard time dressing 45 next week against San Diego.
Yesterday’s game played out pretty much as I suspected it would. Lacking a deep threat on offense and down to the bottom of the lineup at receiver, the Packers’ offense is a shell of it’s former self. Gone for now are the high-scoring, no-huddle offense we have been used to seeing. Now the Packers are a grind-it-out offense relying on their defense to carry the load. Never thought I would see that while Aaron Rodgers is still quarterbacking the team.
It’s a credit to head coach Mike McCarthy and his staff for finding ways to win without his top players. This has been defensive coordinator Dom Capers’ best defense since 2010. They are relentless with their pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Shutting down Nick Foles and St. Louis isn’t all that hard to do, but the Packers did it with a vengeance. Foles looked more like his spitting image Napoleon Dynamite out there than the QB who lit up the league two years ago in Philadelphia.
Yes Todd Gurley had a big day but it was a relatively harmless 159 yards. You won’t win a lot of games in this league when your running back gains more yards than your quarterback throws for. Foles had a quarterback rating of 23.8 in completing only 11 passes all day. He was sacked three times and hit plenty more. Guessing he is one sore dude today.
Next week won’t be that easy. Not with Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers coming to Lambeau. Rivers is as prolific as ever and will test the Packers new defense. But the Chargers have been struggling defensively and could be just what the Packers’ struggling offense needs. The Packers have faced a good defense every week since the opener against Chicago, they can use a little break.
We will see how the injury situation plays out this week. The Packers might have to make a roster move or two. It’s tough when injuries are season ending but it’s also tough on the roster when they are not. There may be some triage going on today and tomorrow at 1265 Lombardi Ave.
Being 6-0 at the bye would be an amazing accomplishment with everything that has happened so far. Just need the one more win and then hopefully get a little healthier with the week off. The schedule is about to get hard.