Packers vs. Jets: Three Reasons to Worry

The way the Green Bay Packers have opened this season, there is reason to fear every opponent. The New York Jets will be a dangerous opponent on Sunday.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – A lot of factors are pointed in the Green Bay Packers’ favor headed into Sunday’s game against the New York Jets.

The Packers haven’t lost back-to-back games in the same regular season under coach Matt LaFleur. They’ve won 15 in a row at Lambeau Field, the third-longest streak in franchise history. And, perhaps, they’ve got their issues sorted out on defense.

Added together, they’re 8.5-point favorites at SI Sportsbook, the second-largest spread on the Week 6 slate. Still, there are plenty of reasons to fear the Jets, who’ve won two in a row. Here are three reasons to worry.

Living on the Edge

Last week, the Jets posted an impressive blowout victory over the Miami Dolphins. Highlighting it was an assault on the quarterback by the team’s starting ends. Carl Lawson had a strip-sack among his NFL-high seven quarterback hits. John Franklin-Myers added five quarterback hits. That’s 12 in one game – part of a 16-hit onslaught accomplished by the team for only the second time in 52 years.

Lawson is quite a story. He joined the Jets last offseason on a three-year deal worth $45 million. During the joint practices at Green Bay, however, he suffered a torn Achilles and missed the entire season.

Sunday’s demolition of the Dolphins signaled he’s really back.

“I’m just very thankful just to be back out there,” Lawson said. “It’s been a really, really tough road. My body’s still coming back to me. I’m not 100 percent there, but when I do finally get there but when I finally do get there it can even be better, so I’ve just got to keep working.”

The Jets' Carl Lawson ranks second in the NFL in quarterback hits. (Photo by USA Today Sports Images)

Lawson rushes almost exclusively from the right side. That means a matchup against Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari. Bakhtiari is quite a story, too, and he has an “appreciation” for Lawson’s comeback. Lawson, for his part, says he has a “warrior’s respect” for Bakhtiari.

“He’s so explosive,” Lawson told reporters this week. “He gets to the set point, he's a craftsman. … He has a ridiculous grip strength.”

The edge battles of Bakhtiari vs. Lawson and right tackle Elgton Jenkins vs. Franklin-Myers will be huge this week. Of 31 quarterbacks who have been pressured on at least 30 dropbacks, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers ranks just 26th in passer rating, according to Pro Football Focus. And he’ll be facing a Jets defense that is fourth with seven interceptions.

Limited Gary

There has been a lot of focus on Green Bay’s secondary this week, and for good reason. If they couldn’t stop Daniel Jones and the Giants’ second-string receivers in London, how on earth will they be able to stop Jets quarterback Zach Wilson and his exciting receiver group of rookie Garrett Wilson, second-year player Elijah Moore and deep-ball artist Corey Davis – let alone Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen in a couple weeks?

Green Bay’s defense has recorded just one interception and seven passes defensed. The cornerbacks, who consider themselves the best group in the league, didn’t break up a single pass the last two games. It’s staggeringly bad ball production. The Jets, by contrast, have seven interceptions and 23 passes defensed.

The Packers’ corners are excited about some changes instituted in concert with defensive coordinator Joe Barry. A more aggressive game plan, however, will require a strong pass rush.

“The best coverage is a great pass rush,” Barry said. “If the quarterback can’t throw the ball, it doesn’t matter what you’re playing behind him. It all works together.”

The team’s best pass rusher, Rashan Gary, suffered a toe injury at Thursday’s practice. Presumably, he’s going to play. But will he be at full strength on Play 1? How about full strength on a critical third-down play in the fourth quarter?

The Jets have strong offensive tackles with veteran Duane Brown on the left side and second-year player Alijah Vera-Tucker on the right side. If those two can neutralize Gary and Preston Smith, the pressure really will be on Green Bay’s defensive backs.

Unhappy Returns

Braxton Berrios vs. the Packers in the 2021 preseason. (Photo by USA Today Sports Images)

Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia didn’t wait to field any questions on Thursday before he mentioned the talent of Jets returner Braxton Berrios.

A sixth-round pick in 2018, Berrios earned All-Pro honors last year, when he averaged 13.4 yards per punt return and 30.4 yards per kickoff return with one touchdown. This season, he’s averaging 14.0 yards per punt return and 25.5 yards per kickoff return.

Led by Berrios and kicker Greg Zuerlein, who is 3-of-3 on field goals of 50-plus yards and has had only three kickoffs returned, the Jets rank second Football Outsiders’ special-teams rankings. The Packers rank 10th.

“Brant Boyer is their special teams coach and he’s been around a long time,” Bisaccia said. “He played in the league for a long time. He reminds me of our guy Byron Storer and guys like Greg Manusky – guys that ran down there, always accelerated, never decelerated. And I think his special-teams unit in New York is playing that way. They’re real physical, they know what to do, they challenge you to play at a certain effort level the entire game, and so it’ll be a good challenge for us. They’ve got a good kicker in Zuerlein. Braxton Berrios has been a good return player in the league now for a little while and he’s returning both.”

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