The Green Bay Packers took another loss in a low-scoring game against the Eagles on Monday. It was their third loss of the season, with all three being by three points with a field goal missed or blocked during the game.
They will look to bounce back on Sunday against the struggling New York Giants, who will be without rookie starting quarterback Jaxson Dart, among other key players who are questionable to play.
Here are three keys to the Packers getting back in the win column this week, as well as a look at the Giants’ offense, defense and special teams.
The Giants are going through two dramatic changes with a new coach and a new starting quarterback.
The Giants will be without their first-round quarterback, Jaxson Dart, who started the last seven games but suffered a concussion last week against the Bears. It is not the first time this season he has found himself in concussion protocol.
In a Week 6 victory over their division-rival Eagles, Dart was evaluated for a concussion and eventually cleared to play, though the Giants’ handling of the situation became a point of contention and
Dart has been praised for being a mobile quarterback, running the ball 57 times for 317 yards and seven touchdowns. While his mobility has been one of his strongest assets, he is fighting through the growing points that a lot of rookie quarterbacks go through, and that is taking hits to pick up extra yards instead of sliding.
With Dart out, it will be veteran Jameis Winston taking over at quarterback for the Giants. An 11-year pro, Winston has not played this season but was chosen over Russell Wilson by interim coach Mike Kafka.
Winston has been known to be an all-or-nothing quarterback, and that is something that the Packers’ defense can take advantage of after having a great game against the Eagles.
“He’s played a lot of ball, he’s had a lot of success,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “He’s going to let it rip, so we’re going to have to do a great job in coverage, we’re going to have to do a great job with our pre-snap disguises and, ultimately, I think it always comes down to the ability to put pressure on the quarterback.”
Josh Jacobs had a good game against the Eagles, running for 74 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown. Jacobs has scored a rushing touchdown in a league-high eight of the Packers’ nine games this season.
While the Eagles’ run defense ranks a mediocre 19th in the NFL, the Giants are even worse at 31st, the second-worst in the NFL while allowing 152.1 rushing yards per game. With Jacobs posting decent production the last few games and the Packers’ tendency to run the ball early and often, Jacobs could be in for a big game.
The Giants do have a force in the middle of their defensive line in Dexter Lawrence II, but he is more suited as a pass rusher than a run stopper. The strength of the New York defense is its pass rush. The Packers will look to avoid Brian Burns and Co. on Sunday and build some momentum on the ground for the stretch run.
“I think that’s the main thing I’ve been trying to preach to the guys,” Jacobs said, “that we’re going to go as far as we want to go. So, it’s really about us.”
Last week against the Eagles, Jordan Love didn’t have a great game, throwing for just 176 yards on 20 completions.
However, 24 of his 36 passing attempts and 113 of his 176 yards came in the fourth quarter, when the Packers were down 10-0. Notably, he threw the ball nine times out of 11 plays on the Packers’ only touchdown drive, completing seven passes for 37 yards to set up Josh Jacobs’ touchdown run.
The Packers have a tendency to play conservative early in games and try to chip away at defenses in the run game, trying to use as much time as possible and wearing defenses down with long drives. While it has worked in the past, the last two weeks have shown that the offense can stagnate if the run is stopped, especially closer to the goal line.
After giving Love a hefty contract extension last summer and following two close losses over the last two weeks, it is time to put the ball in his hands and see what he can do with the keys to the offense.
The Giants finished last season ranked 30th in yards per game (294.8) and 31st in points per game (16.1) and finished with a 3-14 record. They have been much better this season at 14th in yards per game (332.9) and 24th in points per game (21.7) but still find themselves at 2-8.
The Giants have been led by two quarterbacks this season, and a third will start on Sunday. Rookie Jaxson Dart has seen the most action, starting the last seven games before entering concussion protocol. Dart has put up decent numbers, throwing for 1,417 yards and 10 touchdowns with three interceptions, good for a 93.5 passer rating, while picking up the Giants’ only two wins of the season.
On Sunday, it will be veteran Jameis Winston starting for the Giants rather than Russell Wilson, who replaced Dart last week.
Before a gruesome ankle injury ended his season, rookie Cam Skattebo was leading the Giants’ rushing attack, which is 17th in the NFL. In an upset win over the Eagles, he rushed for 98 yards and three touchdowns.
In his absence, it is Tyrone Tracy Jr. starting at running back. In eight games, Tracy has run the ball 64 times for 248 yards (3.9-yard average) and a touchdown. In last week’s loss to the Bears, he ran the ball 14 times for 71 yards. He had three 100-yard games last season.
Another key season-ending injury sidelined the Giants’ top receiver, second-year phenom Malik Nabers. After his Week 4 ACL tear, the receiving corps is led by Wan’Dale Robinson, who has brought in 53 catches for 602 yards and two touchdowns. The receiving room could be even more depleted this week with big-play receiver Darius Slayton not practicing to start the week due to a hamstring injury.
The Giants’ offensive line is near the bottom of the NFL, giving up 31 sacks, which is the seventh-most in the league.
The Giants rank 29th with 383.0 yards allowed per game and 27th with 27.3 points allowed per game. They have allowed 30-plus points in half of their games.
The Giants have the 23rd-ranked pass defense, allowing 230.9 yards per game. They are tied for 27th in interceptions with four, two of which are from cornerback Dru Phillips, and one has come from an unexpected source, nose tackle Dexter Lawrence II. The secondary is led by Phillips, who has 44 tackles and nine passes defensed, and fellow cornerback Paulson Adebo, who has 48 tackles and four passes defensed. Adebo’s health status is up in the air.
The strength of the Giants is their pass rush, with their defensive front filled by first-round picks Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Dexter Lawrence and rookie No. 3 overall pick Abdul Carter. Most of their production comes from one player, Brian Burns, who is tied for the league lead in sacks with 11.
Thibodeaux, who had six pressures in last week’s loss to Chicago, has 2.5 sacks and Lawrence and Carter have a half-sack apiece. Carter has been a disappointment at this early stage of his career. While he has eight quarterback hits, they all came during the first four games of the season.
The run defense is the second-worst in the league, allowing 152.1 yards per game, including four consecutive games of more than 140. Linebacker Bobby Okereke, who didn’t practice to start the week, leads the way with 88 tackles.
After placing kicker Graham Gano on injured reserve, the Giants are expected to go with veteran Younghoe Koo. One of the best kickers in the NFL for a four-season stretch with Atlanta, he made both field-goal attempts last week against Chicago.
Punter Jamie Gillan has been called on to punt the fourth-most times in the league with 40 attempts and is 28th in the NFL in yards per attempt at 44.3. Of his 40 punts, 14 have ended up inside the 20-yard line with four touchbacks and 14 fair catches. He’s a lefty, and his kicks are hard to handle. The Giants give up an average of 8.2 yards per punt return.
The returner is Gunner Olszewski, who has returned 17 kickoffs for an average of 28.0 yards per return and 16 punts for an average of 9.3 yards per return.
“No. 80’s a real good player,” special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said of Olszewski. “He’s a north-south guy, he’s aggressive going to catch the football, he makes really good decisions in the red zone. He’s doing a good job north-south in the kickoff return game. I think they have a really good unit.”
“We didn’t play our best tonight, and it’s frustrating. The injuries are piling up, but we can’t let that be an excuse. We’ve got to fight through it, especially when we have a chance to take control. We’ll need to learn from this and be ready for the road trip.” — Jeremy Swayman, on the Bruins’ frustrating loss to the Hurricanes.
Boston Bruins fans were hoping for another strong performance on Monday night, but instead, their team fell flat in a 4-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. Despite their recent hot streak, which saw them win eight of their last nine games and sit atop the Atlantic Division, the Bruins were outplayed and outshot in what turned out to be a frustrating defeat.
The Bruins entered the game already dealing with several key injuries. Elias Lindholm remains sidelined, and both Casey Mittlestadt and Viktor Arvidsson were placed on injured reserve before the game. To make matters worse, Charlie McAvoy suffered a puck to the face during the game, further depleting an already shorthanded lineup. Despite these setbacks, Boston entered the game on a high note, hoping to continue their solid play at home, but the Hurricanes came to play.
The turning point came in the second period, where the Hurricanes put on a clinic in the offensive zone. Jordan Staal opened the scoring with a powerful move to muscle the puck past Jeremy Swayman, giving Carolina a 1-0 lead. Mark Jankowski doubled the lead minutes later with a rebound goal, putting the Hurricanes up 2-0. The Bruins were outshot 13-7 in the second period, struggling to get anything going offensively.
Despite having four power-play opportunities, the Bruins failed to capitalize. They registered just five shots during those man-advantage situations, and Pyotr Kochetkov in goal for Carolina was up to the challenge, stopping everything that came his way.
The Bruins pushed hard in the third period, but it was too little, too late. Kochetkov made key saves to keep the Bruins from narrowing the gap, and Taylor Hall sealed the win for the Hurricanes with a late goal, making it 4-1. Riley Tufte managed to score a power-play goal with just 9.6 seconds left, but it was a mere consolation as the Hurricanes took home the victory.
After the game, Jeremy Swayman voiced his frustration: “We didn’t play our best tonight, and it’s frustrating. The injuries are piling up, but we can’t let that be an excuse. We’ve got to fight through it, especially when we have a chance to take control. We’ll need to learn from this and be ready for the road trip.”
The Bruins will now embark on a four-game road trip, starting with a matchup against the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night in Southern California. With their injury list growing, Boston will need to dig deep to maintain their position at the top of the Atlantic Division and keep their momentum going as they head into a difficult stretch away from TD Garden.