TEMPE — The Arizona Cardinals’ Week 6 opponent, the Green Bay Packers, possesses an offense that has relied on the explosive play this season.
In their 24-19 win over the Los Angeles Rams, the Packers benefitted from completions of 53, 66 and 21 yards en route to their three touchdowns and otherwise did not find consistent success on offense.
Asked what the Packers do well, Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon started with, “They throw the ball over people’s heads.”
“They got explosive players, the run game’s good, (Josh) Jacobs is a really good player, the scheme is really good, but what jumps out on the tape to me is they can throw it over your head,” Gannon said on Wednesday. “So we got to be on the details of that. They’re one of the top teams in the league in explosive plays. And that’s how they score points, so we got to do a good job with that.”
The Packers are second (13%) in explosive play rate through five weeks while the Cardinals rank third (12.4%), according to Football Insights. That’s including the two weeks Packers quarterback Jordan Love missed with a knee injury — he has played the last two games.
JG sums up the Green Bay Packers’ offense:
“They throw the ball over people’s heads.” pic.twitter.com/CKbKiGXYPF
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) October 9, 2024
Love has been a bit boom-or-bust this season with eight touchdowns and five interceptions in three games. He is pushing the ball down field aggressively, but on Sunday he made a critical error by throwing off-balance in the end zone to avoid a safety, only to get picked off for a touchdown.
At the same time, he has 14 completed passes of 20 yards or more, which ranks ninth in the NFL despite the time off.
Packers head coach Matt Lafleur called his offense “feast or famine” when talking to reporters this week, and he emphasized taking what is there.
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Cardinals defensive coordinator Nick Rallis said he was pretty pleased with how Arizona’s secondary played against a talented San Francisco 49ers offense on Sunday, and the group will be tested against a young group of Packers playmakers. Cornerback Garrett Williams returned to practice on Wednesday, and his potential availability should help.
Green Bay’s primary pass catcher this year has been slot receiver Jayden Reed, who can line up anywhere, including out of the backfield, and make plays. He hauled in a 53-yard contested catch at Los Angeles. Tight end Tucker Kraft has built a nice role, while receiver Romeo Doubs is back from a one-game suspension.
“They’re explosive in the run game and the pass game … Lafleur does a phenomenal job with that scheme,” Rallis said on Tuesday. “Quarterback can sling it … and they got a run scheme that is well-rounded, I would say, both out of 11- and 12-personnel.”
The Cardinals have defeated Sean McVay’s Rams and Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers this season with their best defensive outputs of 2024. Lafleur comes from that coaching tree.
But he has been the head coach in Green Bay since 2019 and is in Year 2 running the show without Aaron Rodgers. The last time Arizona faced Green Bay was back in 2021 with Rodgers at quarterback. Gannon said he sees a Packers offense that is uniquely Lafleur’s at this point.
“They were all together at one point, but then Matt went his own way, and you see certain things that show up that you’re like, ‘Oh, that kind of looks like San Francisco a touch’ and then you see other things that show up, ‘Oh, that kind of looks like L.A. a little bit.’ So he’s got elements of it, but it’s his own offense. I mean, he’s been doing it a long time as the head coach calling plays. I would say it’s his own offense.”
The Cardinals did a better job limiting chunk plays in the second half Sunday at San Francisco, but the game really changed due to three 49ers turnovers. Four 49ers drives after halftime ended with an interception, fumble or turnover on downs.
“I think we could have had four, honestly, because Dennis (Gardeck) had a tip as well,” said linebacker Jesse Luketa, who shouted out his boxing coach for his punch-out against the 49ers. “But good things happen when you run for the ball.”
For a young defense that has gone through ups and downs, being opportunistic to take the ball away against a talented and aggressive offense like Green Bay’s may prove to be the difference-maker again, one way or another.
Explosiveness on run vs pass plays pic.twitter.com/S7QcbR7LIg
— Football Insights 📊 (@fball_insights) October 9, 2024
Cardinals taking care of the ball
On the other side, the Packers have won the turnover battle in four of their five games this season, pacing the NFL with 14 takeaways helped by a league-leading five interceptions from safety Xavier McKinney.
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray said he’s not going to play scared but the team is aware of what Green Bay does well.
“This team obviously is looking for ways to create turnovers, and they’re doing a great job of it. We got to take care of the ball. That’s any game,” Murray said.