Packers at Falcons: Three Reasons Why Packers Will Win

The Green Bay Packers will play at the Atlanta Falcons at noon Sunday. Here are three reasons why the Packers will earn a second consecutive road win.

Author:
Bill Huber
Updated:
Sep 16, 2023 9:05 PM EDT
Original:
Sep 16, 2023

In this story:

Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Only three games in Week 2 feature teams that both won in Week 1. One of them is Sunday’s game between the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons.

For the winner, history suggests there’s a big prize. According to the NFL, since 1990, 63.8 percent of teams that have started 2-0 reached the playoffs compared to 41.8 percent for teams that start 1-1.

Can the Packers open the season with back-to-back road wins? Or will they be too short-handed? Here are three reasons for optimism.

1. Jaire Alexander

The Falcons feature one of the best rushing attacks in the NFL. In fact, they might have the best rushing attack in the NFL.

So, why are we talking about cornerback Jaire Alexader? Because if the Packers want to devote extra resources to stopping running backs Tyler Allgeier and Bijan Robinson, they’ll need their cornerbacks to win.

The Falcons have a potential star receiver in Drake London, last year’s first-round pick. At 6-foot-4, he caught 72 passes for 866 yards as a rookie despite playing in a run-heavy attack. London didn’t catch any passes against Carolina and was targeted only once.

Packers CB Jaire Alexander vs. the Falcons in 2018
Photo by Wm. Glasheen/USA Today Sports Images

Presumably, the Falcons will want to get him involved. If Alexander can take him away, like he did last week when he pitched a shutout against Bears star D.J. Moore, safeties Rudy Ford and Darnell Savage will be able to focus a bit more on stopping the run. If the Packers can handle the run, they should have the edge against second-year quarterback Desmond Ridder on passing downs.

“Jaire, he’s so competitive and scrappy that he hasn’t had problems with bigger guys in the past,” defensive passing game coordinator Greg Williams said on Thursday. “And then, obviously, Rasul (Douglas) is one of our bigger corners. He matches up well with the big receivers. [London has] really smooth hands, really soft hands as far as catching the ball. So, it presents a challenge in itself, not just because of his size, but his ability to go up and high point it and catch it. It’ll be a good challenge for us.”

2. Run Game, Even Without Aaron Jones

The Packers could have a real problem if Aaron Jones can’t play because of the hamstring issue that kept him out of practice all week. Or, maybe not.

While Atlanta gave up only 10 points last week, it did give up 154 rushing yards and 4.81 yards per carry against the Carolina Panthers. Those figures rank 27th in the NFL.

The Falcons feature a veteran defensive front with David Onyemata and Grady Jarrett as the tackles and Calais Campbell and Bud Dupree as the ends. Campbell is 37, Onyemata, Jarrett and Dupree are 30.

“They’ve got a lot of players, a lot of guys who’ve played a lot of ball over there,” said running back AJ Dillon, who would be the focal point of the running attack if Jones is out or on a highly restrictive snap count.

“When you’re going up against a team that plays aggressive, plays downhill, you’ve got to make sure you’re on top of your assignments. It’s about executing our jobs, honing in on the details and playing a physical style of ball.”

Green Bay’s running game ran warm and cold last week against Chicago. The warmth came with Jones. The cold came with Dillon, who rushed 13 times for 19 yards and didn’t have a prayer a few times. If Jones is inactive, Dillon will be the main back, with Emanuel Wilson perhaps the next man up after a strong preseason.

“We saw what he was about in preseason,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said of Wilson, who led the NFL in preseason rushing yards.

Based on last week’s performance, and with linebacker Troy Andersen (10 tackles) out with a concussion, there will be an opportunity for Dillon to crank it up.

3. Veteran Offensive Line

New Falcons defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen brings an attacking style. He figures to send more than the “couple” blitzes that Jordan Love faced last week at Chicago.

Love was devoured by the Chiefs’ blitzing scheme in 2021, but the first-year starting quarterback is in a much better spot. For a player with just two starts under his belt, he’s seasoned and poised.

What will help Love is having a veteran offensive line in front of him. The men closest to Love are Pro Bowl left guard Elgton Jenkins (54 career starts), right guard Jon Runyan (34 starts) and center Josh Myers (24 starts). They should be in position to help Love diagnose whatever Nielsen wants to throw at Green Bay’s offense.

Thanks to his linemen, Love played mostly from a clean pocket against Chicago. Tackles David Bakhtiari and Zach Tom didn’t give up a single pressure. So, between the smarts and the skill of the linemen, Love should have time to attack a strong secondary.

“I think this game is all about consistency and you’ve got to build upon a solid performance,” coach Matt LaFleur said of Love’s big debut. “I think the more reps he gets, the more confident and more comfortable he will get. We’re going to have a more difficult challenge in front of us, just in some of the things that Atlanta does. They’re a very aggressive defense. I think they’re very good up front and can generate a lot of pressure and they’re going to challenge you on the perimeter.”