With the Cowboys’ loss and the Packers win last Sunday, the Packers can use their starters as much or as little as they want in Week 18. This is an ideal week for the Packers to get answers at these three positions.
Left Tackle (LT)
The highly anticipated return of David Bakhtiari could happen in the final week of the season vs Detroit.
David Bakhtiari hasn’t played a down in the NFL for over a year, and the surprising great play from Yosh Nijman during the season could make things difficult for Matt Lafleur.
There is no question that when both 100% healthy between Nijman and Bakhtiari, you play Bakhtiari at LT. However what do you do when your all-pro LT hasn’t played in a long time and your backup is playing out of his mind?
You play David Bakhtiari as much as you can in a scrimmage game in an attempt to get him up to par. Best case scenario is David Bakhtiari comes in and shows no signs of rust, and you play Yosh Nijman elsewhere on the offensive line (he has significant experience at right tackle).
Quarterback (QB)
I think it is pretty safe to say that Jordan Love will play at least at full half vs Detroit. His performance vs Kansas City left many questioning whether or not he could be “that guy” in this league (even though he outplayed Patrick Mahomes).
Detroit’s pass defense is currently allowing a 101.4 QB rating per game (29th) and 8.0 Yards Per Attempt (YPA) (30th). If Jordan Love is going to show that he can be the guy after Rodgers, Sunday is the day to do it.
Cornerback (CBs)
Rasul Douglas and Eric Stokes will likely have limited playing time just like the rest of the starters. This leaves the door open for the “fan favorite” Kevin King to get some real snaps before the post season.
However that is just the start, Jaire Alexander has a chance to play in this game. While Jaire currently still sits on the COVID-19 list, and it may be a long shot for him to play, the possibility is there. Having an opportunity to see your CB3 (King) and your potential CB1 (Jaire) get some meaningful snaps before the post season would be huge.
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