December 11, 2025 • 31 mins
Mike and Wes preview the matchup with the Broncos, examining their defense (2:09) and offense (5:45), discussing keys to victory (11:37) and important matchups in the trenches (16:40), and looking at key games around the league in Week 15 (24:13).
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Packers dot Com. I am like Spofford, joined by my
partner and everything Packers, Wes hodko it'z. We're coming to
you here from our studios at Lambeaufield two preview an
awfully big game on Sunday. It will be the Packers
at the Denver Broncos three twenty five pm Central Time
(00:27):
kickoff from Denver and Wes. You look at this Broncos
team in twenty twenty five, they sort of feel like
they're in that ahead of schedule category. With Bo Nicks
as their young quarterback, They've built a defense that is
among the best in the league. And this Denver team
(00:49):
now is eleven and two. They've won ten straight after
a one and two start, and it's a team that
much like the Chicago Bears, whom the Packers faced last
it's a team that has built its record on winning
close games and being clutch in the fourth quarter on
both sides of the ball. And that's a pretty good
formula for chalking up victories in this league.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Yeah, and I think you're seeing Bo Nicks is a winner, man.
I know, sometimes the statistics you can see what they are.
People aren't going to be overly impressed by maybe the
passer rating and those type of things.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
But this kid.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Wins in one of the lines I've been using an
inbox all week is he plays to his win condition,
and that means having a really good defense and then situationally,
when the game is on the line, finding ways to
win that football game. I've been super impressed by Sean
Payton and the job he's done. I know he took
a lot of criticism that first year how things went
(01:44):
with Russell Wilson, but my goodness, they finally found their quarterback.
It took almost a decade for them to find that
successor to Peyton Manning. That led them to that Super
Bowl fifty victory and the train is back on the
tracks now. And my goodness, when you're talking about defensive football,
there may be nobody doing it better pound for pound
(02:04):
than what the Broncos have done this season. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Absolutely, I mean this defense, you know, pick your category,
they're going to be ranked up there pretty high. The number,
of course, that jumps out at everybody is the fifty
five sacks, which leads the NFL. It's actually eleven more
sacks than any other team has. The second place team
in the league has forty four. But this defense also
(02:27):
it isn't it isn't just about the sacks and the
pressure they put on the quarterback. It's sort of their
foundation in a sense. But this defense also leads the
league against the run in terms of yards per carry.
Three point seven yards per carry is all they allow
on the ground. So you combine that type of stout
run defense with the pass rush. They have seven different
(02:51):
defensive players who have three or more sacks on the season.
The two edge rushers you know, Benito and the other
guy escapes me at.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
The Jonathan Cooper Cooper.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Yes, Benito and Cooper, those are the two guys leading
the way as far as the sacks are concerned. But
they have the interior rushers with uh with Zach Allen
leading the way. There. They have guys from the other
levels of the defense contributing sacks. Seven guys with at
least three sacks on the season. And then, oh, by
the way, on the outside, you've got the reigning defensive
(03:26):
player of the Year in the NFL and Pat Sertan
as a lockdown, shutdown cornerback. This is a defense that
has a lot going for it on all three levels,
and it's why they are ranked where they are and
why this team quite frankly is where it is right Well, for.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
You know, you did a tremendous job of you know,
kind of laying the landscape of this defense, but also,
I mean vance Joseph being the orchestrator of all this.
When you talk about a guy that was the head
coach at the Denver Broncos, he leaves for four years
in Arizona, he comes back as a defensive coordinator for
Sean Payton in the stamp. He's put on this thing
(04:05):
when you talk about not necessarily rewriting a legacy, but
in terms of kind of like changing the perspective on
what it means to play in Denver, this guy knew
what the state, what the stakes were, He understood what
the assignment was for Peyton coming in and has given
him a tremendous complimentary defense. You look at Zach Allen.
We were talking yesterday with Larry McCarron when we're doing
(04:26):
three things. This is a guy that was a third
round pick, had spent time with Joseph in Arizona, right
he goes to Denver, he follows him to Denver. In
my goodness, the type of star that he's become. Benito
is probably one of the best stories that has come
out of the National Football League and maybe the twenty
first century, with very humble beginnings and turning himself into
one of the league's elite pass rushers. And then Certain
(04:49):
doesn't have the interceptions this year, you know, and doesn't
have those numbers, but he's a guy that is virtually
impossible to throw against. And with the man coverage that
Joseph plays, that Denver plays, they to have him match
up with another receiver and just try to shut down
that part of the field, that particular player for an
entire game.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
It is a very feisty group.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
The only thing that kind of does surprise me sort
of ties back into Certain and that they don't have
a lot of takeaways. For as much pressure as they've
generated this season, the interception numbers haven't been there. I
think there may be twenty fourth something like that in
the National Football League. But all that being said, that's
about all you can take issue with across the board.
They're as stout as they come.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Yeah, absolutely, that is the one thing, and it is
surprising it is not a defense that takes the ball
away a lot. I believe they only have ten takeaways
on the year, one fewer than the Packers with eleven.
And I think what we're starting to see switching it
back to the offensive side, what we're starting to see
(05:48):
with bow Knicks is what you said, the phrase you
said in terms of playing to his win condition. Bo
Nicks is going to He's going to take the short
stuff and throw the receiver screens and do all of
that you know, possession, move the ball stuff that Sean
Payton likes to do. But bo Nix is also going
(06:11):
to take his chances. He's going to take his shots
down the field. And his confidence in that not only
has grown because of some of the success he's had,
but also knowing he can take some chances because he's
got that defense, you know, behind him to back him
up if something goes wrong. And I think it's something
that has really buoyed this young quarterback and brought him
(06:35):
along in a sense a lot faster than maybe a
lot of people expected.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Now.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
At the same time, there's been a little bit more
put on his plate this year lately with the injury
to JK Dobbins, they lose their number one running back, RJ. Harvey.
The rookie is the one who has now taken over
at running back and he's coming along. But there were
some games that you know, we're a little bit rough
for Harvey and and more fell on bow Nicks to
(07:02):
pull out some of these close games, and the young
man has done it. I Mean, at some point you
feel like, all right, if you're always winning these close
games and putting together this long winning streak, that you
know the luck is going to run out at some point.
Like that's one way to look at it. The other
way is that when a team in the NFL gets
on a roll like this, they build confidence and they
(07:25):
believe in any given situation, on any given Sunday, they
can find a way to win. And that's sort of
where the Broncos have evolved to.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
Now, Yeah, he's just a winner.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
I mean that's the And I've strangely ended up watching
a lot of Broncos football this year.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
I don't know how it's worked out.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
That way, but just with some of these Thursday night
matchups that I've actually watched quite a bit of them.
The two things that really impressed me about how they've
built their football team. They completely renovated their offensive line
a couple of years ago, and I think you're starting
to see the fruit of that labor here this season.
They had a particularly rough outing against Las Vegas in
the first match, but other than that have kept the
(08:02):
pocket pretty clean for bone Nicks.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Losing JK.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Dobbins is a little bit of a that's a hiccup there.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Now.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Dobbins has dealt with injuries in the past. It shouldn't
necessarily be like this huge surprise that they've had to
go without him now. But the RG Harvey thing. He
took some steps forward last week, but had been kind
of rough before that, at least not having those really
productive long runs, you know, kind of you know, grinding
it out a little bit more. But they've made adjustments.
Marcedes Lewis was brought in is now a blocking tight end.
(08:28):
They also have Adam Troutman, they have Evan Ingram. I mean,
they've devoted a lot of resources to that tight end position.
Oh and then by the way, they have one of
the best possession receivers of his generation in Courtland Sutton.
That's kind of helping stir the drink too. When they
need to get those first downs when they need to
move the football. So yeah, it's a very complete football team, Mike.
And while nobody seems to really be talking about Denver,
(08:48):
everyone's just kind of like seeing him sneak up to
eleven and two. U. This is a football team that
is forged in the fire and they've done it this season.
And when you're talking about a team that also can
going to a playoff spot this weekend with one more victory,
the Packers definitely have a lot on their hands.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Yeah, and this this is a team that they actually
started this season one and two. They lost a pair
of games in September, both on last second field goals,
but then suddenly those close games started to go their
way and they built up this run. You mentioned Courtland Sutton,
and he's a receiver that I've always been impressed with
(09:26):
just in terms of a you know, an all around
weapon but also a very reliable guy. But as dangerous
as as Sutton is and as productive as he is,
all you have to do is look at the box
score from last week's victory over the Raiders. For them,
Bo Nicks completed passes to eleven different guys. Yes, he
(09:47):
did you know he threw he I believe it was
thirty eight pass attempts. He completed thirty one and those
thirty one completions went to eleven different people. So this
is not a this is not an offense that has
necessarily that that go to guy that you know, you
put the target out and go okay, let's let's try
to take him away. I mean, Sutton is probably the
(10:07):
one guy that gets the most attention with with JK.
Dommins being in as the running back being injured right now.
But but bod Nicks has has plenty of targets. He
likes to spread the football around and and you know
Sean Payton knows how to play the ball, control, keep
away game right, and that's another thing that helps his defense.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Yeah, it's it's funny. And I wrote about this an
Insider Inbox today. There is like that embryo of the
New Orleans Saints offense. You can see it. They have
a young quarterback. He's never really had a young quarterback.
You know, it was the Drew Breeze show for so
many years in New Orleans. But it is a get
the ball out quick, yep, move the ball down the field.
If it's Harvey, you know, if it is Sutton. You
(10:50):
look at the tight ends that they have. Obviously they
made an investment there in Troy Franklin two years ago
that that is starting to.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Work out for them.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
They are going to try to to basically outpace you,
and especially in those elements, especially at that elevation, you
can be really successful with it. But when you look
at the staff that Sean Payton has put together, all
his top lieutenants are back. Yeah, I mean he's back
to having you know, Lombardi as his offensive cornator. Pete Carmichael,
after originally being with Dennis Allen in New Orleans, eventually
(11:20):
joined him last year as a senior offensive assistant. There
is a process that the Saints have dedicated themselves to
with Sean Payton at the helm and you can see
now him starting to plant those seeds now in Denver.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Well, let's get right to it here. Eleven and two
versus nine, three and one. This is quite the NFC
versus AFC matchup, especially for this late in the season
here in mid December. A lot of things that the
Packers are going to have to do well and do
right in order to win this game. So keys to victory.
(11:54):
What rises to the top of the list for you.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Went on third down. It's been one of the things
I've been harping on. This is the number one ranked
third down offense in the league taking on the number
one ranked third down defense in the league, and with
both of those teams being at those spots, it's not
a surprise Denver wants to get you in third and long.
They want to let Benito, they want to let Cooper,
they want to let On, They want to use all
those pass rushers, all the different concepts that they have
(12:18):
available to them to pressure your quarterback, make them make mistakes,
and inevitably try to get them to the turf and
make them punt too.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
So for the Packers, why they've.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Been successful this year on third down is they've done
it on every down and distance, every situational aspect of it.
Whether it was a third and goal, whether it's a
third and ten. Green Bay has maintained its composure and
has been able to win in those spots. They did
last week against Chicago, and that was the difference eight
for twelve on third downs. It didn't matter what part
of the field that it was in. Green Bay was
(12:48):
attacking right, you go back to what happened in Detroit.
The game was on the line in fourth down situations,
nobody blinked. They kept it going. Packers need those principals
in this game, and to me, not to say deal
all the not to suck all the air out of
the question about he's the victory here, but also stopping
the run game or at least trying to contain it
(13:09):
as best you can.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
You did a decent enough job of it last.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Week, especially down the stretch to put the ball back
in Caleb Williams's hands. They need to make bo Nicks
make some throws, take some chances, and potentially keep that
turnover streak going as well.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Yeah, I like what you said about third down because
obviously the rankings Packers offense versus Broncos defense, the rankings,
they're undeniable. It does feel like this game will be
decided on third down. What I would say as a
corollary to that is the Packers offensively need to be
in manageable third downs, which means you need to be
(13:43):
able to run the ball. You need to be able
to establish something with Josh Jacobs against a very stout
run defense. Because with this pass rush that the Broncos have,
you can't spend. You can't live all day in third
and eight and third and ten. If the Packers can
get themselves into the third and twos to third and
fours where there's a good chunk of the playbook open,
(14:05):
the Broncos don't necessarily know what you're going to do
or or you know, you have so many more options
of how to convert third and three versus third nine, right,
I mean, those are those are night and day different situations,
and I think being in the manageable third downs now
against this defense, you know you're you're certainly not going
to convert them all, convert them all, and it's going
(14:26):
to be very hard for the Packers to actually maintain
their fifty percent conversion rate on the season on third down,
But they give themselves a better chance to hit that
number if they're living in in third and three versus
third and ten.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Yeah, it's a great point because you don't want to
have to count on that, right, You don't want to
have to get saved in those those deeper third and
long situations because Denver is going to make you pay
and there aren't going to give you They're only going
to give you so many time, so much time in
the pocket to actually operate with. I think what's great
about Jordan Love watching him evolve this year, watching him
grow in his third years the starting quarterback, is he
(15:00):
doesn't shy away from the pressure. He handles it well.
It's why the Packers were able to win in Detroit
a couple weeks ago, right in the face of that blitz,
in face of that quarterback hit. He's still found on
Tavian Wix downfield. But you want to keep life easier,
you want to be able to open up your whole
playbook by keeping it to third and short. Will be
interesting to see. We're shooting this before practice on Thursday.
(15:20):
Josh Jacobs did not practice on Wednesday. He was probably
the biggest headline to come out of that practice. He's
been dealing with that knee injury basically going back to
East Rutherford and against the Giants, So I'll have to
see exactly where he is in this grand scheme of things.
But getting him going, getting this run game going, allowing
Matt Lafleur and Jordan Love to kind of cook off
(15:41):
of that definitely gonna be paramount.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Yeah, my hope with regard to Josh Jacobs and missing
practice on Wednesday, and again I don't know anything, but
my hope with that is that because the Packers ended
up practicing inside on Wednesday, Yeah, because of the snowstorm
that fell late Tuesday night in Green Bay and the
outside practice field wasn't ready, so they had to practice inside,
(16:06):
and Jacobs just didn't want to spend two hours on
the artificial surface inside pounding on that knee. So it
was like, all right, I'm gonna I'm gonna give myself
a rest day with the knee here. Hopefully that's what
it is, and uh we'll see the uh.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
Done enough to earn a vet rest day too.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
Yeah, that's an injury, that's the thing. But you know
what Josh Jacobs is gonna say, don't put it as
vet rest on the injury report because that's you know,
like he's probably demanding that it not be listed, that
it not be listed that way. Here's the other matchup
that I think is that I think is really interesting,
and again it goes back to the Packers running game
and potential success on third down and all of that.
(16:47):
You have you have Nick Benito and Jonathan Cooper on
the edges. The Packers have Rashid Walker and Zach tom
That's that's the kind of the Packers have a good
chance to to neutralize that because they've been so solid
at the tackle position all year, and if something does
get away, you've got, you know, the tight end chips
and the running back chips. You can make the adjustments
(17:09):
there where. What I think is really the key matchup
in this one is this sort of revamped interior of
the Packers offensive line with a healthy Aaron Banks at
left guard, Sean Ryan taking over for Elton Jenkins, the
injured Elton Jenkins at center, and then the rookie Anthony
Belton stepping in now at right guard. This group has
(17:31):
they've played a few games together now, but this is
the interior group that has to go up against Zach
Allen and the other interior rusher who has a handful
of sacks this year. His name is escaping me at
the moment. Can you help me out here?
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Well?
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Sorry, I have the special teams up, which are you
talk about? Your mind?
Speaker 1 (17:49):
Interior defensive lineman for the Franklin Myers. That's it. So
you have Allen and Franklin Myers into two interior rushers
who have caused a lot of problems for opposing teams,
and you have this revamped interior of the Packers offensive line.
I think who wins that sort of area of the
(18:12):
trenches is gonna go a long way to determining who
comes out on top in this te.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Yeah, and the offensive line has been so solid too.
When you look at the totality of this thing and
being able to make those adjustments, right, you lose Elton Jenkins.
You're dealing with this big question mark now at the
center position. I think Sean Ryan has done an exemplary
job stepping in there a position that was not natural
for him.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
He's owned it.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
He's gone into some difficult environments and still played really well.
You're seeing that momentum build with him. And then, honestly, Mike,
look at Anthony Belton. This is another guy that was
a college tackle that has now taken over that right
guard position and there's gonna be some learning that has
to be done. It hasn't all been perfect, but he
is a monstrous offensive line. Yeah, he's in particularly last
(18:57):
week against Chicago, seeing the way he is moving people
awkwards off the offensive line.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
That's the hallmark.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
You want to pass protect, you got to do all
the various things, pick up the stunts. There's so much
that goes into offensive line play. But can you beat
the man that's in front of you? And I feel
like in this very small sample sized Anthony Belton is
proving up to that task.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Yeah, I think so too. Well, before we start talking
about the other games around the league in week fifteen,
anything else that sort of rises up high on the
list of the keys to victory, I.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Want to just really mention that elevation question. I know
this always comes up. The Packers have only played Denver
a handful of times in the last eighteen years, but
this is going to be a switch up now. I
think one thing we've seen with technology and advancement of
all this stuff is there really isn't a benefit to
going out there a day early. I think Mike McCarthy
maybe did once, if I remember.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
Right, it was in twenty fifteen. I actually mentioned this
an Insider inbox. The team did not go out a
day early, but the team traveled early Saturday morning before
a Sunday game and practiced at a Denver area high
school on Saturday afternoon prior to It was actually a
Sunday night football game, So then after that Saturday afternoon practice,
(20:14):
there was a bit of a layoff before the game
and then the Packers just got annihilated by Peyton Manning
and the Broncos. Now that was the Peyton Manning Broncos
team that won the Super Bowl that year and defense, yeah,
and won it pretty convincingly. But yeah, I looked it
up this week. The total yards in that game in
twenty fifteen. It was five hundred to one hundred and forty. Yeah,
(20:35):
I mean it was Aaron seven yards I think, Yeah,
I mean.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
It was it was.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
Yeah, that was the Packer. The Packers, who were six
and oh at that time, got absolutely dominated by the Broncos,
and that Broncos team ended up going on to win
the Super Bowl. But yeah, to your point about the elevation,
I don't think there's been anything proven by teams as
far as visiting Denver trying to go a day early
and acclimate.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
You gotta do it like a week that.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Yeah, it's you know, it needs to be more than that.
I will say this, the Packers were just in Denver
two years ago with that young twenty twenty three team,
that at that time was struggling quite a bit and
was trying to figure a lot of things out. But
the Packers actually were kind of the better team in
the fourth quarter of that game, And had it not
(21:21):
been for a very highly questionable holding call on Elton
Jenkins when the Packers were driving to try to get
in position for a game winning or at least a
game leading field goal, if it hadn't been for that
holding call, the Packers might have pulled that game out
with a fourth quarter field goal at the end and
(21:42):
beaten the Broncos. I thought as that game went on. Anyway,
now this is two years later and both teams are
very different, but as that game went on, I thought
the Packers were the better team later in the game
than the Broncos were. For whatever that's worth going into
this one.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
It's a good point.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
And we were talking with the Isaah McDuffie about this
in the locker room Wednesday and he mentioned, I mean,
like a lot of guys, not necessarily just that game,
but they've had that experience now of playing there. They
understand what's going to be required to take care of
their bodies, the hydration that's going to be evolved with that,
and Matt Lefure mentioned on Wednesday that they've actually sat
down their performance and coaches and trainers and all that had,
you know, a little bit of a four to one
(22:18):
to one that they provided to the team in terms
of what to expect with this thing for the guys
that haven't played at altitude.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
So, yeah, it comes at the league.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
It's a natural storyline every time a road team, especially
an uncommon opponent, goes to Denver. But at the end
of the day, the Packers, we are in week fifteen
when you talk about football shape, when you talk about
the amount that the green Bay has put into this,
we're almost five months in. When you go back to
the start of training camp. I mean, it's go time.
This is what you play for. And we'll talk about
this in a second with the rest of the breakdown
the NFC and the AFC, But this is an opportunity
(22:48):
for green Bay to make a statement. And yeah, there's
implications with this. You get a win, it puts you
in the conversation for that first round by but realistically,
the Packers have been to the playoffs the last two years.
The goal is now is to go to try to
make a championship run here, especially as this team gets
healthier down the stretch. I can think of no better
way to kind of propel yourself into this final quarter
(23:08):
of the season than taking out a very talented Broncos
team that hasn't lost in September.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
Yeah, no doubt about it. Well, with that, let's pay
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(23:57):
Hey Packers fans, we always knew Lambeofield was a one,
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back to Packers Unscripted Wes. When you look at the
rest of the week fifteen schedule, a lot of eyeballs
will be undone for this Packers Broncos game is a
(24:18):
big one and a very intriguing one. But the other
game that jumps off the schedule Detroit is at the
Los Angeles Rams. That's eight and five versus ten and
three the Lions. They don't have a whole lot of
margin for error left in this very tight and competitive
(24:40):
NFC race. And by the same token, the Rams, who
technically hold the number one spot in the NFC right now,
but they're actually tied for their division lead with the
Seattle Seahawks, and the Rams and the Seahawks are playing
one another next week, I believe, yep. So this is
a really interesting when the Lion's taking the a what
(25:03):
really has been a very dangerous and productive and high
flying offense, but a struggling, banged up, injured defense out
to Los Angeles to take on a Rams team that
has really other than that that hiccup against the Carolina
Panthers when Stafford threw a few interceptions which was out
(25:23):
of character for him this year, a Rams team that
both offensively and defensively has been pretty darn consistent.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
I think pound for pound, you have to make the
case that the Rams are that are currently the best
team in the NFL. I know the Seattle Seahawks have
an issue with that, but the fact is that the
Seahawks haven't beaten anybody in the second half of the season,
and the one.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
Loss was to the Rams.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Yeah, Seattle has taken care of business. You give him
credit for that, But when you're looking at strength a victory, right,
I mean they are. They're a big dog running through
the rest of the pond at this point. So from
the Rams perspective, this is a this is a tall
order for them. And when you look at these stretches
of the games coming up to Mike. Okay, so Seattle
from their perspective, they got the Colts and maybe Philip
(26:03):
Rivers this weekend.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
We'll see I was going to ask you about that
tho whole We'll get to that in a second Philip
Rivers storyline there in Indianapolis.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
But they got the Colts this weekend. Then they go
Rams Panthers and forty nine ers and Panthers very well
could be playing for the division. For the Rams, it's Detroit,
it's Seattle, then it's Atlanta and Arizona. Yeah, so they've
got two big ones here.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
So if they can take care of business against the Lions,
they kind of have this thing laid out for them
a little bit. Now that being said, every time someone
counts Detroit out, they smack them in the mouth.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
They did it last week against Dallas. They man handled
the Cowboys coming off a very difficult loss to Green Bay.
So I loved how you painted this. In path to
the playoffs, I think you have to have the glass
half full mindset, which is the Packers want to win
all these games down the stretch. You want the number
one seed. With that in mind, you got a root
for the Lions. But it's crazy to me that the
(27:00):
Lions could win this game against the Rams and are
still trying to claw themselves into the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
Yeah like that.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
That's how tight that top seven to eight if you
take out the NFC South the top six to seven,
No pun intended is trying to claim that number seven seed.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
Yeah, and it's funny.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
A couple of years ago, I was the biggest proponent,
saying number seven seed, I hate it, and it's I
give the NFL credit. They they sold it better than
I did. There has not been a question if a
nine and eight to nine or nine and eighteen is
going to make the playoffs. It's kind of come down
to if you have eleven ten or eleven wins trying
to grab that last spot.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
Yeah, that's certainly the way it's it's shaping up this year.
And it's interesting what you said about Seattle in terms
of like their strength of victory and whatnot. And and
you know here the Indianapolis Colts have been sort of
waiting on Seattle's schedule, but oh wait, Daniel Jones just
got just was lost for the season two an achilles injury.
So now Seattle is going to play a Colts team
(27:54):
that doesn't have its quarterback and may have a forty
four year old quarterback retired for five years. Semi finalists
for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of twenty
twenty six. But the clock is going to restart now
because he signed a contract to join Indianapolis's practice squad,
and it sure sounds like he very well could be
(28:15):
playing on Sunday Philip. I I give Philip Rivers credit.
I'll just say this though, I mean, Seattle's defense is
pretty darn good, and I'm a little I'm a little afraid,
you know, without having been playing and training and everything else,
the dangerous position Philip Rivers might be putting himself in
as a forty four year old taking the field against
(28:36):
that Seahawks defense. I'll just say it now. I hope
that I hope that we're not talking about this come Monday,
but I do have my concern.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
I love the aggressiveness though, and it's funny too, talk
about putting your money where your mouth is. There's been
kind of like rumblings the last few years that Philip
Rivers maybe was getting that itch again the door open,
and it sure did.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
He plowed right through it right.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
So, and then kudos of Daniel Jones actually very gracious
offering him as number seventeen. So Philip Rivers, there still
will be a number seventeen on the field for the Colts,
but a remarkable turnaround. I'll tell you what. Just give
credit to Seattle. I kind of dogged on a little bit,
and there really is some big questions about the teams
they've beaten this year, but they kind in a way here,
kind of like Green Bay last year. They've run through
(29:19):
that division, the AFC South. This year, Yeah, they sweep it.
If they can beat the Colts, you got to win
those games to put yourself in contention.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
Last one to get your quick thoughts on Minnesota is
that Dallas one of these teams is in some ways
going to be just about eliminated. The Vikings almost certainly
will be eliminated with the loss. The Dallas Cowboys not
mathematically eliminated, but they really can't afford to lose any
more games either. Which team stays alive?
Speaker 3 (29:46):
Do you think I think Dallas does?
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (29:49):
I think so too.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
Now now if nine can be nine against that Dallas defense,
it's going to be there. But I just I think
Dak Prescott's playing really well. He kind of reminds me
a little bit of what Joe Burrow was doing during
the stretch to final stretch last year, where he doesn't
really have a defense to work off. It's not overly
talented team, but he's using what he has. If they
can keep George Pickens head in it, I think.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
When you're the Cowboys, all you have to do is
basically cross the fifty, get to about the forty five
yard line, and Brandon Aubrey can put three points on
the board for you from just about anywhere. So make
or break for the Vikings though, for sure, Yeah, absolutely,
they're they're up against it and if they want to
have anything to play for other than pride and spoiler
and whatnot the last few weeks of the season, the
(30:33):
Vikings have to win this one to keep themselves mathematically
a lot.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
And this is it's big. They need to see if
that kid can play. Yeah, and these last four games,
even that finale against Green Bay, even if the Vikings
are out of it, they're gonna be playing hard. Oh yeah,
I think I saw Statistically the Vikings is at one
percent chance of the playoffs. I think Dallas is ten
percent right now.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
So yeah, it's it's last call.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
All right. With that, we'll call it a rap on
this edition of Packers Unscript. I'd be sure to follow
all of our coverage of the team and all of
our coverage days big game from Denver. We'll have it
all for you on Packers dot com for West Simmike.
Thank you for tuning in, everybody. We will see you
next time
Speaker 2 (31:10):
M
Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Packers dot Com. I am like Spofford, joined by my
partner and everything Packers, Wes hodko it'z. We're coming to
you here from our studios at Lambeaufield two preview an
awfully big game on Sunday. It will be the Packers
at the Denver Broncos three twenty five pm Central Time
(00:27):
kickoff from Denver and Wes. You look at this Broncos
team in twenty twenty five, they sort of feel like
they're in that ahead of schedule category. With Bo Nicks
as their young quarterback, They've built a defense that is
among the best in the league. And this Denver team
(00:49):
now is eleven and two. They've won ten straight after
a one and two start, and it's a team that
much like the Chicago Bears, whom the Packers faced last
it's a team that has built its record on winning
close games and being clutch in the fourth quarter on
both sides of the ball. And that's a pretty good
formula for chalking up victories in this league.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Yeah, and I think you're seeing Bo Nicks is a winner, man.
I know, sometimes the statistics you can see what they are.
People aren't going to be overly impressed by maybe the
passer rating and those type of things.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
But this kid.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Wins in one of the lines I've been using an
inbox all week is he plays to his win condition,
and that means having a really good defense and then situationally,
when the game is on the line, finding ways to
win that football game. I've been super impressed by Sean
Payton and the job he's done. I know he took
a lot of criticism that first year how things went
(01:44):
with Russell Wilson, but my goodness, they finally found their quarterback.
It took almost a decade for them to find that
successor to Peyton Manning. That led them to that Super
Bowl fifty victory and the train is back on the
tracks now. And my goodness, when you're talking about defensive football,
there may be nobody doing it better pound for pound
(02:04):
than what the Broncos have done this season. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Absolutely, I mean this defense, you know, pick your category,
they're going to be ranked up there pretty high. The number,
of course, that jumps out at everybody is the fifty
five sacks, which leads the NFL. It's actually eleven more
sacks than any other team has. The second place team
in the league has forty four. But this defense also
(02:27):
it isn't it isn't just about the sacks and the
pressure they put on the quarterback. It's sort of their
foundation in a sense. But this defense also leads the
league against the run in terms of yards per carry.
Three point seven yards per carry is all they allow
on the ground. So you combine that type of stout
run defense with the pass rush. They have seven different
(02:51):
defensive players who have three or more sacks on the season.
The two edge rushers you know, Benito and the other
guy escapes me at.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
The Jonathan Cooper Cooper.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Yes, Benito and Cooper, those are the two guys leading
the way as far as the sacks are concerned. But
they have the interior rushers with uh with Zach Allen
leading the way. There. They have guys from the other
levels of the defense contributing sacks. Seven guys with at
least three sacks on the season. And then, oh, by
the way, on the outside, you've got the reigning defensive
(03:26):
player of the Year in the NFL and Pat Sertan
as a lockdown, shutdown cornerback. This is a defense that
has a lot going for it on all three levels,
and it's why they are ranked where they are and
why this team quite frankly is where it is right Well, for.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
You know, you did a tremendous job of you know,
kind of laying the landscape of this defense, but also,
I mean vance Joseph being the orchestrator of all this.
When you talk about a guy that was the head
coach at the Denver Broncos, he leaves for four years
in Arizona, he comes back as a defensive coordinator for
Sean Payton in the stamp. He's put on this thing
(04:05):
when you talk about not necessarily rewriting a legacy, but
in terms of kind of like changing the perspective on
what it means to play in Denver, this guy knew
what the state, what the stakes were, He understood what
the assignment was for Peyton coming in and has given
him a tremendous complimentary defense. You look at Zach Allen.
We were talking yesterday with Larry McCarron when we're doing
(04:26):
three things. This is a guy that was a third
round pick, had spent time with Joseph in Arizona, right
he goes to Denver, he follows him to Denver. In
my goodness, the type of star that he's become. Benito
is probably one of the best stories that has come
out of the National Football League and maybe the twenty
first century, with very humble beginnings and turning himself into
one of the league's elite pass rushers. And then Certain
(04:49):
doesn't have the interceptions this year, you know, and doesn't
have those numbers, but he's a guy that is virtually
impossible to throw against. And with the man coverage that
Joseph plays, that Denver plays, they to have him match
up with another receiver and just try to shut down
that part of the field, that particular player for an
entire game.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
It is a very feisty group.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
The only thing that kind of does surprise me sort
of ties back into Certain and that they don't have
a lot of takeaways. For as much pressure as they've
generated this season, the interception numbers haven't been there. I
think there may be twenty fourth something like that in
the National Football League. But all that being said, that's
about all you can take issue with across the board.
They're as stout as they come.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Yeah, absolutely, that is the one thing, and it is
surprising it is not a defense that takes the ball
away a lot. I believe they only have ten takeaways
on the year, one fewer than the Packers with eleven.
And I think what we're starting to see switching it
back to the offensive side, what we're starting to see
(05:48):
with bow Knicks is what you said, the phrase you
said in terms of playing to his win condition. Bo
Nicks is going to He's going to take the short
stuff and throw the receiver screens and do all of
that you know, possession, move the ball stuff that Sean
Payton likes to do. But bo Nix is also going
(06:11):
to take his chances. He's going to take his shots
down the field. And his confidence in that not only
has grown because of some of the success he's had,
but also knowing he can take some chances because he's
got that defense, you know, behind him to back him
up if something goes wrong. And I think it's something
that has really buoyed this young quarterback and brought him
(06:35):
along in a sense a lot faster than maybe a
lot of people expected.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Now.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
At the same time, there's been a little bit more
put on his plate this year lately with the injury
to JK Dobbins, they lose their number one running back, RJ. Harvey.
The rookie is the one who has now taken over
at running back and he's coming along. But there were
some games that you know, we're a little bit rough
for Harvey and and more fell on bow Nicks to
(07:02):
pull out some of these close games, and the young
man has done it. I Mean, at some point you
feel like, all right, if you're always winning these close
games and putting together this long winning streak, that you
know the luck is going to run out at some point.
Like that's one way to look at it. The other
way is that when a team in the NFL gets
on a roll like this, they build confidence and they
(07:25):
believe in any given situation, on any given Sunday, they
can find a way to win. And that's sort of
where the Broncos have evolved to.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
Now, Yeah, he's just a winner.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
I mean that's the And I've strangely ended up watching
a lot of Broncos football this year.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
I don't know how it's worked out.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
That way, but just with some of these Thursday night
matchups that I've actually watched quite a bit of them.
The two things that really impressed me about how they've
built their football team. They completely renovated their offensive line
a couple of years ago, and I think you're starting
to see the fruit of that labor here this season.
They had a particularly rough outing against Las Vegas in
the first match, but other than that have kept the
(08:02):
pocket pretty clean for bone Nicks.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Losing JK.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Dobbins is a little bit of a that's a hiccup there.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Now.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Dobbins has dealt with injuries in the past. It shouldn't
necessarily be like this huge surprise that they've had to
go without him now. But the RG Harvey thing. He
took some steps forward last week, but had been kind
of rough before that, at least not having those really
productive long runs, you know, kind of you know, grinding
it out a little bit more. But they've made adjustments.
Marcedes Lewis was brought in is now a blocking tight end.
(08:28):
They also have Adam Troutman, they have Evan Ingram. I mean,
they've devoted a lot of resources to that tight end position.
Oh and then by the way, they have one of
the best possession receivers of his generation in Courtland Sutton.
That's kind of helping stir the drink too. When they
need to get those first downs when they need to
move the football. So yeah, it's a very complete football team, Mike.
And while nobody seems to really be talking about Denver,
(08:48):
everyone's just kind of like seeing him sneak up to
eleven and two. U. This is a football team that
is forged in the fire and they've done it this season.
And when you're talking about a team that also can
going to a playoff spot this weekend with one more victory,
the Packers definitely have a lot on their hands.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Yeah, and this this is a team that they actually
started this season one and two. They lost a pair
of games in September, both on last second field goals,
but then suddenly those close games started to go their
way and they built up this run. You mentioned Courtland Sutton,
and he's a receiver that I've always been impressed with
(09:26):
just in terms of a you know, an all around
weapon but also a very reliable guy. But as dangerous
as as Sutton is and as productive as he is,
all you have to do is look at the box
score from last week's victory over the Raiders. For them,
Bo Nicks completed passes to eleven different guys. Yes, he
(09:47):
did you know he threw he I believe it was
thirty eight pass attempts. He completed thirty one and those
thirty one completions went to eleven different people. So this
is not a this is not an offense that has
necessarily that that go to guy that you know, you
put the target out and go okay, let's let's try
to take him away. I mean, Sutton is probably the
(10:07):
one guy that gets the most attention with with JK.
Dommins being in as the running back being injured right now.
But but bod Nicks has has plenty of targets. He
likes to spread the football around and and you know
Sean Payton knows how to play the ball, control, keep
away game right, and that's another thing that helps his defense.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Yeah, it's it's funny. And I wrote about this an
Insider Inbox today. There is like that embryo of the
New Orleans Saints offense. You can see it. They have
a young quarterback. He's never really had a young quarterback.
You know, it was the Drew Breeze show for so
many years in New Orleans. But it is a get
the ball out quick, yep, move the ball down the field.
If it's Harvey, you know, if it is Sutton. You
(10:50):
look at the tight ends that they have. Obviously they
made an investment there in Troy Franklin two years ago
that that is starting to.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Work out for them.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
They are going to try to to basically outpace you,
and especially in those elements, especially at that elevation, you
can be really successful with it. But when you look
at the staff that Sean Payton has put together, all
his top lieutenants are back. Yeah, I mean he's back
to having you know, Lombardi as his offensive cornator. Pete Carmichael,
after originally being with Dennis Allen in New Orleans, eventually
(11:20):
joined him last year as a senior offensive assistant. There
is a process that the Saints have dedicated themselves to
with Sean Payton at the helm and you can see
now him starting to plant those seeds now in Denver.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Well, let's get right to it here. Eleven and two
versus nine, three and one. This is quite the NFC
versus AFC matchup, especially for this late in the season
here in mid December. A lot of things that the
Packers are going to have to do well and do
right in order to win this game. So keys to victory.
(11:54):
What rises to the top of the list for you.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Went on third down. It's been one of the things
I've been harping on. This is the number one ranked
third down offense in the league taking on the number
one ranked third down defense in the league, and with
both of those teams being at those spots, it's not
a surprise Denver wants to get you in third and long.
They want to let Benito, they want to let Cooper,
they want to let On, They want to use all
those pass rushers, all the different concepts that they have
(12:18):
available to them to pressure your quarterback, make them make mistakes,
and inevitably try to get them to the turf and
make them punt too.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
So for the Packers, why they've.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Been successful this year on third down is they've done
it on every down and distance, every situational aspect of it.
Whether it was a third and goal, whether it's a
third and ten. Green Bay has maintained its composure and
has been able to win in those spots. They did
last week against Chicago, and that was the difference eight
for twelve on third downs. It didn't matter what part
of the field that it was in. Green Bay was
(12:48):
attacking right, you go back to what happened in Detroit.
The game was on the line in fourth down situations,
nobody blinked. They kept it going. Packers need those principals
in this game, and to me, not to say deal
all the not to suck all the air out of
the question about he's the victory here, but also stopping
the run game or at least trying to contain it
(13:09):
as best you can.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
You did a decent enough job of it last.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Week, especially down the stretch to put the ball back
in Caleb Williams's hands. They need to make bo Nicks
make some throws, take some chances, and potentially keep that
turnover streak going as well.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Yeah, I like what you said about third down because
obviously the rankings Packers offense versus Broncos defense, the rankings,
they're undeniable. It does feel like this game will be
decided on third down. What I would say as a
corollary to that is the Packers offensively need to be
in manageable third downs, which means you need to be
(13:43):
able to run the ball. You need to be able
to establish something with Josh Jacobs against a very stout
run defense. Because with this pass rush that the Broncos have,
you can't spend. You can't live all day in third
and eight and third and ten. If the Packers can
get themselves into the third and twos to third and
fours where there's a good chunk of the playbook open,
(14:05):
the Broncos don't necessarily know what you're going to do
or or you know, you have so many more options
of how to convert third and three versus third nine, right,
I mean, those are those are night and day different situations,
and I think being in the manageable third downs now
against this defense, you know you're you're certainly not going
to convert them all, convert them all, and it's going
(14:26):
to be very hard for the Packers to actually maintain
their fifty percent conversion rate on the season on third down,
But they give themselves a better chance to hit that
number if they're living in in third and three versus
third and ten.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Yeah, it's a great point because you don't want to
have to count on that, right, You don't want to
have to get saved in those those deeper third and
long situations because Denver is going to make you pay
and there aren't going to give you They're only going
to give you so many time, so much time in
the pocket to actually operate with. I think what's great
about Jordan Love watching him evolve this year, watching him
grow in his third years the starting quarterback, is he
(15:00):
doesn't shy away from the pressure. He handles it well.
It's why the Packers were able to win in Detroit
a couple weeks ago, right in the face of that blitz,
in face of that quarterback hit. He's still found on
Tavian Wix downfield. But you want to keep life easier,
you want to be able to open up your whole
playbook by keeping it to third and short. Will be
interesting to see. We're shooting this before practice on Thursday.
(15:20):
Josh Jacobs did not practice on Wednesday. He was probably
the biggest headline to come out of that practice. He's
been dealing with that knee injury basically going back to
East Rutherford and against the Giants, So I'll have to
see exactly where he is in this grand scheme of things.
But getting him going, getting this run game going, allowing
Matt Lafleur and Jordan Love to kind of cook off
(15:41):
of that definitely gonna be paramount.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Yeah, my hope with regard to Josh Jacobs and missing
practice on Wednesday, and again I don't know anything, but
my hope with that is that because the Packers ended
up practicing inside on Wednesday, Yeah, because of the snowstorm
that fell late Tuesday night in Green Bay and the
outside practice field wasn't ready, so they had to practice inside,
(16:06):
and Jacobs just didn't want to spend two hours on
the artificial surface inside pounding on that knee. So it
was like, all right, I'm gonna I'm gonna give myself
a rest day with the knee here. Hopefully that's what
it is, and uh we'll see the uh.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
Done enough to earn a vet rest day too.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
Yeah, that's an injury, that's the thing. But you know
what Josh Jacobs is gonna say, don't put it as
vet rest on the injury report because that's you know,
like he's probably demanding that it not be listed, that
it not be listed that way. Here's the other matchup
that I think is that I think is really interesting,
and again it goes back to the Packers running game
and potential success on third down and all of that.
(16:47):
You have you have Nick Benito and Jonathan Cooper on
the edges. The Packers have Rashid Walker and Zach tom
That's that's the kind of the Packers have a good
chance to to neutralize that because they've been so solid
at the tackle position all year, and if something does
get away, you've got, you know, the tight end chips
and the running back chips. You can make the adjustments
(17:09):
there where. What I think is really the key matchup
in this one is this sort of revamped interior of
the Packers offensive line with a healthy Aaron Banks at
left guard, Sean Ryan taking over for Elton Jenkins, the
injured Elton Jenkins at center, and then the rookie Anthony
Belton stepping in now at right guard. This group has
(17:31):
they've played a few games together now, but this is
the interior group that has to go up against Zach
Allen and the other interior rusher who has a handful
of sacks this year. His name is escaping me at
the moment. Can you help me out here?
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Well?
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Sorry, I have the special teams up, which are you
talk about? Your mind?
Speaker 1 (17:49):
Interior defensive lineman for the Franklin Myers. That's it. So
you have Allen and Franklin Myers into two interior rushers
who have caused a lot of problems for opposing teams,
and you have this revamped interior of the Packers offensive line.
I think who wins that sort of area of the
(18:12):
trenches is gonna go a long way to determining who
comes out on top in this te.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Yeah, and the offensive line has been so solid too.
When you look at the totality of this thing and
being able to make those adjustments, right, you lose Elton Jenkins.
You're dealing with this big question mark now at the
center position. I think Sean Ryan has done an exemplary
job stepping in there a position that was not natural
for him.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
He's owned it.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
He's gone into some difficult environments and still played really well.
You're seeing that momentum build with him. And then, honestly, Mike,
look at Anthony Belton. This is another guy that was
a college tackle that has now taken over that right
guard position and there's gonna be some learning that has
to be done. It hasn't all been perfect, but he
is a monstrous offensive line. Yeah, he's in particularly last
(18:57):
week against Chicago, seeing the way he is moving people
awkwards off the offensive line.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
That's the hallmark.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
You want to pass protect, you got to do all
the various things, pick up the stunts. There's so much
that goes into offensive line play. But can you beat
the man that's in front of you? And I feel
like in this very small sample sized Anthony Belton is
proving up to that task.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Yeah, I think so too. Well, before we start talking
about the other games around the league in week fifteen,
anything else that sort of rises up high on the
list of the keys to victory, I.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Want to just really mention that elevation question. I know
this always comes up. The Packers have only played Denver
a handful of times in the last eighteen years, but
this is going to be a switch up now. I
think one thing we've seen with technology and advancement of
all this stuff is there really isn't a benefit to
going out there a day early. I think Mike McCarthy
maybe did once, if I remember.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
Right, it was in twenty fifteen. I actually mentioned this
an Insider inbox. The team did not go out a
day early, but the team traveled early Saturday morning before
a Sunday game and practiced at a Denver area high
school on Saturday afternoon prior to It was actually a
Sunday night football game, So then after that Saturday afternoon practice,
(20:14):
there was a bit of a layoff before the game
and then the Packers just got annihilated by Peyton Manning
and the Broncos. Now that was the Peyton Manning Broncos
team that won the Super Bowl that year and defense, yeah,
and won it pretty convincingly. But yeah, I looked it
up this week. The total yards in that game in
twenty fifteen. It was five hundred to one hundred and forty. Yeah,
(20:35):
I mean it was Aaron seven yards I think, Yeah,
I mean.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
It was it was.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
Yeah, that was the Packer. The Packers, who were six
and oh at that time, got absolutely dominated by the Broncos,
and that Broncos team ended up going on to win
the Super Bowl. But yeah, to your point about the elevation,
I don't think there's been anything proven by teams as
far as visiting Denver trying to go a day early
and acclimate.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
You gotta do it like a week that.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Yeah, it's you know, it needs to be more than that.
I will say this, the Packers were just in Denver
two years ago with that young twenty twenty three team,
that at that time was struggling quite a bit and
was trying to figure a lot of things out. But
the Packers actually were kind of the better team in
the fourth quarter of that game, And had it not
(21:21):
been for a very highly questionable holding call on Elton
Jenkins when the Packers were driving to try to get
in position for a game winning or at least a
game leading field goal, if it hadn't been for that
holding call, the Packers might have pulled that game out
with a fourth quarter field goal at the end and
(21:42):
beaten the Broncos. I thought as that game went on. Anyway,
now this is two years later and both teams are
very different, but as that game went on, I thought
the Packers were the better team later in the game
than the Broncos were. For whatever that's worth going into
this one.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
It's a good point.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
And we were talking with the Isaah McDuffie about this
in the locker room Wednesday and he mentioned, I mean,
like a lot of guys, not necessarily just that game,
but they've had that experience now of playing there. They
understand what's going to be required to take care of
their bodies, the hydration that's going to be evolved with that,
and Matt Lefure mentioned on Wednesday that they've actually sat
down their performance and coaches and trainers and all that had,
you know, a little bit of a four to one
(22:18):
to one that they provided to the team in terms
of what to expect with this thing for the guys
that haven't played at altitude.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
So, yeah, it comes at the league.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
It's a natural storyline every time a road team, especially
an uncommon opponent, goes to Denver. But at the end
of the day, the Packers, we are in week fifteen
when you talk about football shape, when you talk about
the amount that the green Bay has put into this,
we're almost five months in. When you go back to
the start of training camp. I mean, it's go time.
This is what you play for. And we'll talk about
this in a second with the rest of the breakdown
the NFC and the AFC, But this is an opportunity
(22:48):
for green Bay to make a statement. And yeah, there's
implications with this. You get a win, it puts you
in the conversation for that first round by but realistically,
the Packers have been to the playoffs the last two years.
The goal is now is to go to try to
make a championship run here, especially as this team gets
healthier down the stretch. I can think of no better
way to kind of propel yourself into this final quarter
(23:08):
of the season than taking out a very talented Broncos
team that hasn't lost in September.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
Yeah, no doubt about it. Well, with that, let's pay
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(23:57):
Hey Packers fans, we always knew Lambeofield was a one,
but now it's official. Learn more about all the wonders
of Wisconsin at Travel Wisconsin dot Com slash Wonders. Welcome
back to Packers Unscripted Wes. When you look at the
rest of the week fifteen schedule, a lot of eyeballs
will be undone for this Packers Broncos game is a
(24:18):
big one and a very intriguing one. But the other
game that jumps off the schedule Detroit is at the
Los Angeles Rams. That's eight and five versus ten and
three the Lions. They don't have a whole lot of
margin for error left in this very tight and competitive
(24:40):
NFC race. And by the same token, the Rams, who
technically hold the number one spot in the NFC right now,
but they're actually tied for their division lead with the
Seattle Seahawks, and the Rams and the Seahawks are playing
one another next week, I believe, yep. So this is
a really interesting when the Lion's taking the a what
(25:03):
really has been a very dangerous and productive and high
flying offense, but a struggling, banged up, injured defense out
to Los Angeles to take on a Rams team that
has really other than that that hiccup against the Carolina
Panthers when Stafford threw a few interceptions which was out
(25:23):
of character for him this year, a Rams team that
both offensively and defensively has been pretty darn consistent.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
I think pound for pound, you have to make the
case that the Rams are that are currently the best
team in the NFL. I know the Seattle Seahawks have
an issue with that, but the fact is that the
Seahawks haven't beaten anybody in the second half of the season,
and the one.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
Loss was to the Rams.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Yeah, Seattle has taken care of business. You give him
credit for that, But when you're looking at strength a victory, right,
I mean they are. They're a big dog running through
the rest of the pond at this point. So from
the Rams perspective, this is a this is a tall
order for them. And when you look at these stretches
of the games coming up to Mike. Okay, so Seattle
from their perspective, they got the Colts and maybe Philip
(26:03):
Rivers this weekend.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
We'll see I was going to ask you about that
tho whole We'll get to that in a second Philip
Rivers storyline there in Indianapolis.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
But they got the Colts this weekend. Then they go
Rams Panthers and forty nine ers and Panthers very well
could be playing for the division. For the Rams, it's Detroit,
it's Seattle, then it's Atlanta and Arizona. Yeah, so they've
got two big ones here.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
So if they can take care of business against the Lions,
they kind of have this thing laid out for them
a little bit. Now that being said, every time someone
counts Detroit out, they smack them in the mouth.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
They did it last week against Dallas. They man handled
the Cowboys coming off a very difficult loss to Green Bay.
So I loved how you painted this. In path to
the playoffs, I think you have to have the glass
half full mindset, which is the Packers want to win
all these games down the stretch. You want the number
one seed. With that in mind, you got a root
for the Lions. But it's crazy to me that the
(27:00):
Lions could win this game against the Rams and are
still trying to claw themselves into the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
Yeah like that.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
That's how tight that top seven to eight if you
take out the NFC South the top six to seven,
No pun intended is trying to claim that number seven seed.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
Yeah, and it's funny.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
A couple of years ago, I was the biggest proponent,
saying number seven seed, I hate it, and it's I
give the NFL credit. They they sold it better than
I did. There has not been a question if a
nine and eight to nine or nine and eighteen is
going to make the playoffs. It's kind of come down
to if you have eleven ten or eleven wins trying
to grab that last spot.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
Yeah, that's certainly the way it's it's shaping up this year.
And it's interesting what you said about Seattle in terms
of like their strength of victory and whatnot. And and
you know here the Indianapolis Colts have been sort of
waiting on Seattle's schedule, but oh wait, Daniel Jones just
got just was lost for the season two an achilles injury.
So now Seattle is going to play a Colts team
(27:54):
that doesn't have its quarterback and may have a forty
four year old quarterback retired for five years. Semi finalists
for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of twenty
twenty six. But the clock is going to restart now
because he signed a contract to join Indianapolis's practice squad,
and it sure sounds like he very well could be
(28:15):
playing on Sunday Philip. I I give Philip Rivers credit.
I'll just say this though, I mean, Seattle's defense is
pretty darn good, and I'm a little I'm a little afraid,
you know, without having been playing and training and everything else,
the dangerous position Philip Rivers might be putting himself in
as a forty four year old taking the field against
(28:36):
that Seahawks defense. I'll just say it now. I hope
that I hope that we're not talking about this come Monday,
but I do have my concern.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
I love the aggressiveness though, and it's funny too, talk
about putting your money where your mouth is. There's been
kind of like rumblings the last few years that Philip
Rivers maybe was getting that itch again the door open,
and it sure did.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
He plowed right through it right.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
So, and then kudos of Daniel Jones actually very gracious
offering him as number seventeen. So Philip Rivers, there still
will be a number seventeen on the field for the Colts,
but a remarkable turnaround. I'll tell you what. Just give
credit to Seattle. I kind of dogged on a little bit,
and there really is some big questions about the teams
they've beaten this year, but they kind in a way here,
kind of like Green Bay last year. They've run through
(29:19):
that division, the AFC South. This year, Yeah, they sweep it.
If they can beat the Colts, you got to win
those games to put yourself in contention.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
Last one to get your quick thoughts on Minnesota is
that Dallas one of these teams is in some ways
going to be just about eliminated. The Vikings almost certainly
will be eliminated with the loss. The Dallas Cowboys not
mathematically eliminated, but they really can't afford to lose any
more games either. Which team stays alive?
Speaker 3 (29:46):
Do you think I think Dallas does?
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (29:49):
I think so too.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
Now now if nine can be nine against that Dallas defense,
it's going to be there. But I just I think
Dak Prescott's playing really well. He kind of reminds me
a little bit of what Joe Burrow was doing during
the stretch to final stretch last year, where he doesn't
really have a defense to work off. It's not overly
talented team, but he's using what he has. If they
can keep George Pickens head in it, I think.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
When you're the Cowboys, all you have to do is
basically cross the fifty, get to about the forty five
yard line, and Brandon Aubrey can put three points on
the board for you from just about anywhere. So make
or break for the Vikings though, for sure, Yeah, absolutely,
they're they're up against it and if they want to
have anything to play for other than pride and spoiler
and whatnot the last few weeks of the season, the
(30:33):
Vikings have to win this one to keep themselves mathematically
a lot.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
And this is it's big. They need to see if
that kid can play. Yeah, and these last four games,
even that finale against Green Bay, even if the Vikings
are out of it, they're gonna be playing hard. Oh yeah,
I think I saw Statistically the Vikings is at one
percent chance of the playoffs. I think Dallas is ten
percent right now.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
So yeah, it's it's last call.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
All right. With that, we'll call it a rap on
this edition of Packers Unscript. I'd be sure to follow
all of our coverage of the team and all of
our coverage days big game from Denver. We'll have it
all for you on Packers dot com for West Simmike.
Thank you for tuning in, everybody. We will see you
next time
Speaker 2 (31:10):
M
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