Jacksonville Jaguars vs Packers: Behind the enemy lines Week 10

The Jacksonville Jaguars are looking for their second win of the year.

After nine weeks of NFL football in 2020, the Jacksonville Jaguars have been able to win just one game, the season opener. Last week, they had a chance to get their second victory of the year against the Houston Texans but ended up falling short.

Things won’t get easier in Week 10 when they take on a very good Green Bay Packers team. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers hasn’t slowed down one bit and his 117.5 passer rating is currently leading the league. Running back Aaron Jones has been among the best players at his position and is averaging five yards per carry. Moreover wide receiver Davante Adams is playing at an All-Pro level.

Although it’s not impossible, it will be a daunting task for the ‘Jags’ to pull an upset and come out of Lambeau Field with their second victory of the year. For that to happen, rookie Jake Luton and the offense will have to play mistake-free football. Also, the defense will have to make a couple of key stops and force a couple of turnovers, something they have had a hard time doing in 2020.

Heading into this week’s matchup, we had the opportunity to talk to Paul Bretl, the side editor over at Dairyland Express, the ultimate site when it comes to the Winsconsin area sports. Paul was really cool and reach out to see if we could answer five questions about the ‘Jags’. He returned the favor and answered five questions about the Packers and the upcoming game. Make sure you check his article on his site too.

1. Green Back Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers leads the league in passer rating, how does he keep playing at a high level at 36 years old?

Paul: A significant contributor to Aaron Rodgers’ resurgence is the Matt LaFleur offense. At the end of the Mike McCarthy era, players were basically asked to win their one-on-one matchups each play, and if they didn’t, Rodgers was supposed to be Superman.

But with LaFleur, Rodgers does an excellent job of scheming players open through what he calls the “illusion of complexity.” This essentially means that the Packers run a number of similar-looking plays but from a wide variety of personnel. This has helped create easier completions for Rodgers, and he’s been more efficient on shot plays downfield. It also doesn’t hurt having a backfield of Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams to lean on.

Takeaway: This is going to be a tough matchup for the Jaguars’ defense however you look at it. The unit ranks 31st in points allowed with 247. Linebacker Joe Schubert said that the key to stopping the Packers offense is making Rodgers hold the ball to give his teammates a chance to sack him. That’s easier said than done.

Also, the ‘Jags’ can’t devote too much attention to the Packers passing game because they also need to stop the run. Jones will have no problem taking advantage of lighter boxes and could have a few long runs.

2. How would you grade Matt LaFleur’s tenure as the Packers coach? Why?

Paul: LaFleur gets an “A” from me. A big reason is that he has played a role in revitalizing Rodgers’ career but also because Green Bay is 20-6 under LaFleur, including the playoffs with only one loss in the NFC North. He’s not only turned the team’s play around on the field, but he’s been the catalyst behind the culture change that has taken place. At the end of the old regime, things had grown stagnant, but that is far from the case now.

Takaway: Coaching matter and Matt LaFleur reinvigorated a dull Packers offense. He has given importance to the team’s running game and no longer put the burden to win on Rodger’s shoulders the way Mike McCarthy used to do.

3. The Packers didn’t draft a wide receiver in this year’s draft and it seemed like a big deal at the moment. Was the situation overblown? Looking back, was it the right decision?

Paul: Davante Adams has been phenomenal, and Allen Lazard was playing like a true number 2 receiver during Green Bay’s first three games. However, he has been out since Week 4, and in his absence, no one at the receiver position – outside of Adams, of course – has really stepped up to provide Rodgers with another consistent target. So, yes, drafting a wide receiver early on could have certainly helped.

Having said that, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has made it clear that the team never had the opportunity to draft any of the receivers that they had been targeting when they were on the clock. There were rumors that they were going to trade up for Brandon Aiyuk, but San Francisco beat them to it, and in Round 2, none of the receivers that they had second-round grades on were available.

I’m not going to pretend that I wasn’t hoping that they’d land a receiver, but I also understand that ‘Gutey’ didn’t want to reach either, and I can appreciate that because we’ve seen countless examples of how that can go wrong. And even without addressing the position, this is still one of the more productive offenses in football.

Takeaway: A the time, drafting Jordan Love looked like a puzzling decision. It’s true that the Packers will eventually have to move on from Rodgers, but the veteran is still playing at a high level, and the need to add wide receiver talent was more pressing. Looking back, things have worked out well for the Packers so the decision to draft a signal-caller instead of a wideout might not come to haunt them back in the long run.

4. What is one Packers player that’s flying under the radar?

Paul: Tyler Ervin doesn’t fill the stat sheet by any means, but as the Packers’ primary motion man, he plays an important role. Pre-snap motion is an integral part of the LaFleur offense, and on Sunday, you’ll see Ervin moving from one side of the formation to the other quite often and being used on jet sweeps—or as a decoy.

What this does is it freezes the linebackers and other defenders, which can open passing lanes for Rodgers and allows the offensive line to get into a better blocking position. This all plays into that “illusion of complexity” that I mentioned above. And when Ervin does have the ball in his hands, he has the ability to break off a big play at any time.

Takeaway: Other than Myles Jack, the Jaguars linebacker corps have been less than stellar in 2020. Jarrod Wilson said in a recent sitdown with the local media that they need to be at the right place and execute their assignments if they want to stop the Packers offense. This season, they have had a hard time covering tight ends and if they focus too much on Davante Adams, players such as Tyler Ervin could have a really good game.

5. What is your prediction for Sunday’s matchup with a final score?

Paul: You never want to take a team lightly, but I have a hard time seeing how the Packers are going to lose. Against a Jaguars defense that has really struggled, this Green Bay offense should move the ball up and down the field with ease. Packers roll, 38-17.

Takeaway: Paul is right. Based on how both squads matchup, the ‘Jags’ will have a hard time pulling an upset. While Luton thrived in his first start, we don’t know how he’s going to fare at Lambeau Field. The Packers’ defense will try to make him uncomfortable and force him to make mistakes early in the game.