A slow start shouldn’t faze the Packers
The Green Bay Packers head into their Week 9 contest against the Detroit Lions losers of four straight. During the losing streak, the Packers have played poorly on both sides of the ball. Injuries haven’t helped the Packers. However, coaching and bad play has been more to blame than anything else for the team’s slow start.
All hope is not lost for the team who came into the season with Super Bowl aspirations. The Packers arguably played their toughest regular-season opponent last week–the Buffalo Bills. The Packers should notch their first win in a month Sunday against the Lions. If the Packers can get some confidence against the reeling Lions, good things should start to snowball.
One NFL writer thinks the Packers’ playoff hopes are not far-fetched, even with a 3-5 record. Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report wrote about bold predictions for the second half of the NFL season. Ballentine wrote that the Packers have good reasons to get back in the playoff chase:
Offensively, the Packers have suffered from an offensive line that has been dinged up. David Bakhtiari is still working his way back from the knee injury that ended his 2021 season. Elgton Jenkins has been out with a knee/foot ailment.
When the line is healthy, it is capable of leaning on the run game to wear down defenses with Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon.
Despite their struggles, the Packers are ninth in ESPN’s FPI rankings. They also face the 29th-ranked schedule by their metrics for the rest of the season.
Don’t count out the Packers quite yet.
The Packers need to get some wins soon
The 29th-ranked schedule certainly helps the Packers’ chances. Coupled with the FPI rankings, there’s every reason to expect the Packers to make a chase in a weak NFC. One caveat, the Packers’ offensive line injuries might not go away anytime soon.
David Bakhtiari’s game-day status is expected to be fluid each week. Elgton Jenkins has been struggling with injuries all season as well. Jenkins has not looked like the same player he was a season ago before the knee injury, and the Packers have considered moving him back to guard.
If Bakhtiari and Jenkins can get healthy and play dominantly, the Packers’ chances of having a playoff offense will significantly improve. If they cannot, the Packers could see more losses like the one they suffered against the Washington Commanders in Week 7.