The Green Bay Packers will be hosting the Arizona Cardinals at home on Sunday. With both teams riding high off of big road wins, this game really turns into one of those meaningful matchups with the midpoint of the season closing in.
The Packers finally got a win with quarterback Jordan Love but are sitting at 3-2 in a competitive NFC race. The Arizona Cardinals are fresh from that huge comeback win over the 49ers in Week 5, outscoring the 49ers 13-0 in the second half to beat San Franscisco for the first time since November 2021.
Packers running back Josh Jacobs faces a Cardinals team that has allowed the fifth most rushing yards this season. This has been a weakness carried over from last season, when the Cardinals allowed the most rushing yards in the NFL.
This game really sets up big for Jacobs because Arizona is so weak to the run. Teams that have faced the Cardinals this season just haven’t had any issue running the football. The running backs that ran the ball well against the Cardinals are the Bills running back James Cook with 19 carries for 71 yards, Lions running backs David Montgomery with 23 carries for 105 yards and one touchdown and Jahmyr Gibbs with 16 carries for 83 yards, and Commanders running back Brian Robinson with 21 carries for 101 yards and one touchdown.
Packers vs Cardinals historic NFL rivalry
In fact, the rivalry between the Packers and Cardinals is only behind the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals as the second oldest in NFL history. The beginning of their rivalry was on Nov. 20, 1921, one week before Green Bay played against the Chicago Bears.
The Packers are 46-26 when facing Arizona. The last time those two teams faced off against each other was on Oct. 28, 2021, when Green Bay defeated Arizona 24-21. Their rivalry usually goes under the radar despite having a lot of good battles, including that 2009 Wild Card playoff game when Arizona defeated the Packers 51-45 in overtime. Keys to Packers victory against Arizona
The Packers need to attack the interior of the Cardinals offensive line. Pressure has to be put on Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray. Green Bay needs a spy to contain Murray from running and force him to throw.
This is going to be a shootout, so the Packers must capitalize on turnovers. Green Bay needs to eliminate the penalties. Prediction for Green Bay vs Arizona
The Packers are very strong on defense, ranking top of the league in both takeaway creation and sacks. The Cardinals have been improved on offense, but this matchup still looks extremely solid for a win by the Packers 30-27.
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