Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Speaker 1: Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spoffer, joined as always
Speaker 1: by the one and only Wes Hodkowitz. We're coming to
Speaker 1: you here from our studios at Lambefield to preview this
Speaker 1: Sunday's three twenty five pm Central Time kickoff at Lambefield
Speaker 1: against the San Francisco forty nine Ers and Wes. I
Speaker 1: don't think anybody thought that the forty nine Ers would
Speaker 1: be five and five at this stage, But what I
Speaker 1: can tell you is that there is nobody in that
Speaker 1: Packers locker room who's looking at five and five as
Speaker 1: any indication of the opponent that they are facing.
Speaker 2: I wish I could remember the forty nine Ers journalist
Speaker 2: or member of the media who had tweeted. I tweeted,
Speaker 2: it's snowed in Green Bay this morning. I don't know
Speaker 2: if you coul tell. When we were driving in, I
Speaker 2: tweeted out a video of Lambeufield and the snow that's
Speaker 2: encapsulating everything. And there's a bunch of San Francisco media
Speaker 2: of them picking up on that, and somebody from the
Speaker 2: San Francisco Media Corps retweeted it and it put as
Speaker 2: far as the text that went along with it, basically
Speaker 2: acknowledging it's tough game coming up. But they said five
Speaker 2: and five about as desperate as a team can be
Speaker 2: at this point, backed into a corner. And I felt
Speaker 2: like that was such a good summation of this because Michael,
Speaker 2: I'll tell you what if you just look at the
Speaker 2: statistics and then you go through everything at the very
Speaker 2: end of it, say okay, what is this team's record
Speaker 2: very easily could be a seven eight, nine win team.
Speaker 2: Yeah no, and then you dive farther into it. Five
Speaker 2: and five four losses by three points or fewer. They've
Speaker 2: been in every single game they've played this seas and
Speaker 2: they've weathered so many injuries. And we'll go into all
Speaker 2: the breakdowns of positions and phases, but the fact that
Speaker 2: they got through eight games though Christian McCaffrey, they developed
Speaker 2: Jordan Mason the way that they did that he could
Speaker 2: be a lead back, would have easily probably been a
Speaker 2: fourteen hundred yard rusher if you had to play out
Speaker 2: the whole string of the season. Here. It just shows
Speaker 2: you the innovativeness of Kyle Shanahan, the adjustments they've had
Speaker 2: to make defensively to a slew of changes. They just
Speaker 2: are always competitive. So yeah, in a lot of ways, Mike,
Speaker 2: I look at this game as, yeah, it's it's seven
Speaker 2: and three verses five and five. But very easily this
Speaker 2: could be a playoff preview type matchup.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it absolutely could. And yeah, I think the forty
Speaker 1: nine ers probably are are about as as desperate as
Speaker 1: it gets now with the way things are going in
Speaker 1: the NFC West, They're not going to be out of anything, no,
Speaker 1: because nobody's running away with that division. The leaders will
Speaker 1: talk about their big matchup later. The Cardinals are six
Speaker 1: and four, sitting on top of that division. So the
Speaker 1: fact that the Niners are just one game back of
Speaker 1: the division lead, but that actually the reason the Cardinals
Speaker 1: are in first and the Niners are in second is
Speaker 1: very interesting to look at because one of those four
Speaker 1: very close losses you mentioned was to the Cardinals. It
Speaker 1: was at home for San Francisco, big divisional matchup, and
Speaker 1: they were going in for a touchdown late in the
Speaker 1: fourth quarter that would have given them a two score lead,
Speaker 1: and they fumbled the ball inside the ten yard Yep.
Speaker 1: Kyler Murray then takes the Cardinals the other way, the
Speaker 1: Cardinals end up getting the victory. On the other end
Speaker 1: of things, that fumble inside the ten yard line is
Speaker 1: one huge play that is defining San Francisco's season right now.
Speaker 1: They had the four close losses. The other loss was
Speaker 1: to the Kansas City Chiefs, I think by ten points
Speaker 1: or so. You know, certainly no shame in that. But
Speaker 1: looking at where the Niners are, they are as far
Speaker 1: as total yardage goes, they are the number two offense
Speaker 1: in the NFL. They are the number six defense in
Speaker 1: the NFL. Everything about this team says this is pretty
Speaker 1: much the same team that went to the Super Bowl
Speaker 1: a year ago and nearly won the Super Bowl, except
Speaker 1: the record, accept the ability to win some of these
Speaker 1: close games. Brock Perdy dealing with a shoulder injury sounds
Speaker 1: like he's going to play, like he's not in danger
Speaker 1: of missing the game, but he is limited in practice
Speaker 1: to this point, and we'll see where things are health wise.
Speaker 1: I think the thing that's impressed me the most about
Speaker 1: their offense, and not that this is all that different
Speaker 1: from previous years, but you look at the weapons as
Speaker 1: far as Purty spreading the ball around in the passing game,
Speaker 1: Juwan Jennings, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel. Samuel is just ten
Speaker 1: yards away from five hundred receiving yards on the season,
Speaker 1: and all three of those guys would be over five
Speaker 1: yards then once once he gets there, So that certainly
Speaker 1: stands out. And you mentioned Christian McCaffrey is back. Jordan
Speaker 1: Mason seven hundred rushing yards in Christian McCaffrey's place. That
Speaker 1: was a heck of a job by that young man.
Speaker 1: But Packers had their trouble with McCaffrey in the playoff
Speaker 1: matchup last year. And you know, I think brock Purdy.
Speaker 1: The other thing I'll say is, hopefully the Packers kind
Speaker 1: of getting burned a little bit by Caleb Williams and
Speaker 1: his legs and the scrambling and the zone read stuff.
Speaker 1: Hopefully that was a little bit of an alarm bell,
Speaker 1: a wake up call for what Brock Purdy might do
Speaker 1: with his legs, especially if his throwing shoulder is bothering him.
Speaker 1: He might be a little bit more inclined to get
Speaker 1: away from the pressure and not take a hit on
Speaker 1: that bad shoulder and try to take off and run.
Speaker 1: But it's no different than any other year when you
Speaker 1: face the forty nine Ers where you can't just go
Speaker 1: into it and say, Okay, we're gonna try to take
Speaker 1: this guy away and let other guys beat us, because
Speaker 1: whom do you pick?
Speaker 2: Yeah, juwan right, I mean that's what kind of happened
Speaker 2: last year in the playoff game. I mean this is
Speaker 2: you know they lose Brandon Ayuk. Now, well, Jennings has
Speaker 2: become a primary target for them in this offense. George
Speaker 2: Kittle was telling the media this week, when you play
Speaker 2: the Packers, you want they're up on the schedule, you
Speaker 2: want to be out there. Although he's been battling kind
Speaker 2: of a lingering hamstring injury for at least the last month.
Speaker 2: There's so many different things to point to with this
Speaker 2: offense and in the ways that they can generate yards
Speaker 2: and production and efficiency. I talked to last month when
Speaker 2: the Packer I actually say earlier this month, when the
Speaker 2: Packers are getting ready to face the Detroit Lions. Why
Speaker 2: were the Lions successful in that game? Well, it was
Speaker 2: kind of that blueprint that the forty nine Ers have
Speaker 2: sort of set for the league, which is run the
Speaker 2: clock out, take the air out of the ball, win
Speaker 2: the game of possessions. This is still the number one
Speaker 2: ranked average time of possession team at the National Football League.
Speaker 2: The forty nine Ers have gotten away from some of
Speaker 2: the things that they've done well in the past. They've
Speaker 2: given up too many explosive plays defensively while buying large
Speaker 2: still playing well. You talk to about the missfield goals,
Speaker 2: you know in some of these matchups, and Jake Moody
Speaker 2: having an injury that kind of sidelined him for a minute, fumbles,
Speaker 2: those type of things. It's just the forty nine Ers
Speaker 2: just haven't They've had one or two things go wrong
Speaker 2: in most of these games that they just haven't been
Speaker 2: able to overcome, and that's why they're sitting where they are.
Speaker 2: But you know, Christian McCaffrey is two weeks back now
Speaker 2: in this offense. He's still getting his feet underneath him.
Speaker 2: This is not the game where the Packers want to
Speaker 2: help him be able to do that. I think there's
Speaker 2: a very clear line here and things that have to
Speaker 2: happen for Green Bay to come out victorious. And a
Speaker 2: lot of it is picking your poison. In another part
Speaker 2: of it is making sure that whatever you do emphasize
Speaker 2: you shut that aspect down. That's how green Bay got
Speaker 2: off to the start they did last year in the
Speaker 2: playoff game. They weren't able to continue it for the
Speaker 2: full four quarters, but that's how they were able to
Speaker 2: control the tempo early on. And I feel like being
Speaker 2: back at lambeau Field, a place where you know they've
Speaker 2: had success against the forty nine ers, even during the
Speaker 2: Kyle Shanahan era. You have to use all that to
Speaker 2: your advantage.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely. On the defensive side of the ball, it
Speaker 1: sounds like Nick Bosa, the star edge rusher for the
Speaker 1: forty nine ers. To steal an old line from Mike McCarthy,
Speaker 1: it sounds like Bosa will be hard pressed to play on.
Speaker 2: No disrespect to Bosa, I just I love that McCarthy
Speaker 2: when when McCarthy would say that you knew, all right,
Speaker 2: well pretty much count that guy out for Sunday.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's he's dealing with kind of a hip oblique
Speaker 1: type injury. It sounded like he was trying to play
Speaker 1: through it last week, then he aggravated it, came out
Speaker 1: of the game, and then frankly his absence on the
Speaker 1: final drive for the Seahawks where Gino Smith took Seattle
Speaker 1: right down the field and Gino Smith then scrambled to
Speaker 1: the pylon and scored the winning touchdown to beat San
Speaker 1: Francisco with just twelve seconds left. Bosa's absence was was
Speaker 1: crucial in in that loss, and he's he is their
Speaker 1: their leading pass rusher with with seven sacks on the season.
Speaker 1: The biggest thing that sticks out to me defensively about
Speaker 1: this group of San Francisco forty nine ers is they
Speaker 1: have nine different players with an interception. Yea, they have
Speaker 1: eleven interceptions, which is a lot, but only two guys
Speaker 1: with two interceptions. There are nine different guys who have
Speaker 1: picked off a pass on this defense, and that's certainly
Speaker 1: something to keep an eye on come Sunday.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Indeed, Leonore, who I think just got an extension
Speaker 2: if I remember correctly, with the forty nine ers, has
Speaker 2: been just a revelation for them. And that was one
Speaker 2: thing that even you know, whether it goes kind of
Speaker 2: even goes back to the Harbaugh days. Yeah, they played
Speaker 2: really good defensively. You knew all their names for their
Speaker 2: their defensive line and then their linebackers, but then they
Speaker 2: sometimes wouldn't have the star cornerbacks or anything like that.
Speaker 2: They just they won a lot with that front seven. Well, well,
Speaker 2: Leonore is a guy that has added a lot. He's
Speaker 2: been a real fine for them, a former fifth round
Speaker 2: pick I think in twenty twenty one, and then you
Speaker 2: go to Fred Warner. Certainly Dre Greenlaw losing him in
Speaker 2: the Super Bowl I think has affected them. That has
Speaker 2: been a a huge challenge for them. Obviously, they tried
Speaker 2: to sign they did sign DeAndre Campbell Debandre Campbell to
Speaker 2: be able to try to offset that absence. I think
Speaker 2: they're going to get Greenlaw back at some point this season,
Speaker 2: it sounds like, but by and large, I mean, you
Speaker 2: still have to be so cognizant of what this defense
Speaker 2: can do and how they can hurt you, and when
Speaker 2: you have Warner there like that's I say this. Every
Speaker 2: time the Packers have played the forty nine Ers, it's
Speaker 2: been This will be the seventh time, I believe in
Speaker 2: the last five years. It doesn't matter what the year is.
Speaker 2: You could take me back twelve years. They always they
Speaker 2: don't just have good linebackers. They have the best linebackers
Speaker 2: in the National Football League. The job that they've done
Speaker 2: developing them and the way that now Nick Sorenson is
Speaker 2: using them, they are a real problem to deal with
Speaker 2: and there's a reason why every single time the Packers
Speaker 2: played them, Aaron Rodgers would pay his respect to Warner
Speaker 2: and what he brings in the type of sideline sideline
Speaker 2: player he is, but also the way he can attack
Speaker 2: the runage. He's a complete five tool linebackers. So yeah,
Speaker 2: and then with the litany of guys that can intercept
Speaker 2: the football. I mean it just there's so much in
Speaker 2: this game on running the ball well, protecting the football,
Speaker 2: and making sure that you don't give the forty nine
Speaker 2: ers any extra opportunities.
Speaker 1: Well, let's dive right into the keys to victory then
Speaker 1: for this one, I'll start. There are a few on
Speaker 1: my list here, but I'm going to start with this one.
Speaker 1: I think the Packers have to get a takeaway in
Speaker 1: this game, nineteen takeaways. The Packers have been stuck on
Speaker 1: nineteen for a little while here because not just because
Speaker 1: of the bye week, but because their last two games
Speaker 1: against the Lions and the Bears, the defense did not
Speaker 1: take the football away. So that's been that's been a
Speaker 1: change in terms of in terms of what we saw earlier.
Speaker 1: And the other reason I bring it up for this
Speaker 1: game in particular is because I think if the Packers
Speaker 1: get one takeaway off of Purdy last January, they win
Speaker 1: that game going away. Darnell Savage had an interception maybe
Speaker 1: a pick six that hit him right in the chest.
Speaker 1: Keishawn Nixon had an interception that he certainly regrets letting
Speaker 1: get away from him. Either one of those plays. If
Speaker 1: the Packers get the interception off of Purdy, I think
Speaker 1: Brock Purdy is the goat of San Francisco's season because
Speaker 1: the Packers are going to go in there as the
Speaker 1: seventh seed and knock off the one and it's going
Speaker 1: to be because of one of those interceptions and the
Speaker 1: Packers just didn't hang on to the football. You've got
Speaker 1: to be able to make that play in this game
Speaker 1: when Perdy gives you that chance.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean that's also the difference in the type
Speaker 2: of safety play too. I mean, Savage wasn't able to
Speaker 2: make those type of plays here. But you look at
Speaker 2: a guy like Zabra McKinney now at six, I mean
Speaker 2: that if he's in that position, what potentially could happen.
Speaker 2: Evan Williams the way that he played, he's back, it
Speaker 2: looks like the hamstring injuries behind him. That's now become
Speaker 2: a strength as far as positions for green Bay. So
Speaker 2: I agree with you one hundred percent. There's two things
Speaker 2: that stand out to me about this, and you already
Speaker 2: read one of them in my inbox column. The one
Speaker 2: area whereas offensively San Francisco has struggled this year is
Speaker 2: in goal to go. It's in the red zone area,
Speaker 2: and they're pretty much the same kind of boat that
Speaker 2: Green Bay is. Where they move the ball well, but
Speaker 2: when they get inside the twenty, it's been kind of
Speaker 2: a grind trying to turn those into touchdowns. I feel
Speaker 2: like whoever is able to win that aspect of this
Speaker 2: game wins this football game. The other thing, too, I
Speaker 2: don't expect snow out here on Sunday like we had
Speaker 2: this morning at Lambeufield on Thursday.
Speaker 1: I don't think that's in the forecast.
Speaker 2: But it's still going to be right around forty. What
Speaker 2: does that mean, Well, kickoffs and there's going to be
Speaker 2: more opportunities Keishawn Nixon, you know, this is where he
Speaker 2: typically has been able to heat up late in the season.
Speaker 2: San Francisco's thirtieth in the league right now. On kickoff
Speaker 2: return def coverage, I mean there's a potential there for
Speaker 2: Nixon to break one. And when you look at game
Speaker 2: changing special teams plays, we saw it last week, and
Speaker 2: maybe there's another one in there for Green Bay this one.
Speaker 1: And Nixon had a big return last January in that
Speaker 1: playoff game. He ended up fumbling the ball at Eric
Speaker 1: Wilson makes the great recovery, but Nixon almost almost broke
Speaker 1: that one. And that long kickoff return in the playoff
Speaker 1: game did set up a touchdown for the Packers. So
Speaker 1: you're definitely, you're definitely onto something there. The other two
Speaker 1: things that stand out to me in this one, and
Speaker 1: I already already suggested one already, and that's too that's
Speaker 1: to not let Rock Purty beat you with his legs.
Speaker 1: The Packers defense really was, as I said in our
Speaker 1: last show, felt like the defense was on its heels
Speaker 1: all game because of what Caleb Williams for the Bears
Speaker 1: was doing with his legs. You can't kind of be
Speaker 1: put in that position again. And I do think. I mean,
Speaker 1: Purdy is certainly, you know, a capable scrambler regardless, but
Speaker 1: the fact that his throwing shoulder is not one hundred
Speaker 1: percent not to say that he's that he's going to
Speaker 1: hesitate to make any throws. But it's more to me,
Speaker 1: it feels like if he's going to be hesitant to
Speaker 1: take any hits, you know, because you know, one hit
Speaker 1: in the wrong spot, the you know, right slash wrong
Speaker 1: spot could you know, could really change things for perty.
Speaker 1: So he might be even more inclined to take off
Speaker 1: get out of the pocket. And the Packers have really
Speaker 1: got to contin and him in the pocket. And then
Speaker 1: the other thing is and I know I said, we've
Speaker 1: been talking about the whole pick your poison thing, but man,
Speaker 1: if there is one through line in these games in
Speaker 1: the Matt Lafleur era against the San Francisco Forti and Ires,
Speaker 1: it's been George Kittle. He does damage against the Packers
Speaker 1: every single time. The only game that Kittle has played
Speaker 1: in his career against the Packers in which he was
Speaker 1: not a factor, not a significant factor in my opinion,
Speaker 1: was the twenty nineteen NFC Championship game where Raheem Moster
Speaker 1: had the huge game and Jimmy Garoppolo only threw eight passes,
Speaker 1: so there wasn't anything in the passing game for Kittle
Speaker 1: to do. All his other games, he missed the game
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty. He was on ir All of Kittle's
Speaker 1: other games against the Packers, there is significant production usually
Speaker 1: comes with a touchdown. I think you've got to find
Speaker 1: a way to limit him better than the Packers have
Speaker 1: done in the past. And is that a cure all, No,
Speaker 1: because you got McCaffrey, you got Deebo Samuy, you got
Speaker 1: Juwan Jennings, and there plenty of other weapons to deal with.
Speaker 1: But I would like to see a Packers defense not
Speaker 1: let George Kittle beat him for once.
Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure. And if I may to bring it
Speaker 2: back to pretty to a little bit as well. The
Speaker 2: one thing, you know, this year it's been a little
Speaker 2: bit more up and down for him. I mean the
Speaker 2: stats don't jump off the page obviously, as you mentioned,
Speaker 2: he's also dealing with the shoulder now. But why he's
Speaker 2: been such a good fifty You know, people get so
Speaker 2: tied up in the fact he was mister irrelevant. I
Speaker 2: think sometimes you forget about why he fits so well
Speaker 2: into Shanahan's offense and a lot of what he does
Speaker 2: is similar to what Jared Goff is doing in Detroit now.
Speaker 2: It's efficiency, it is protecting the football, it's making the
Speaker 2: plays that are there, maybe not having all the incredible
Speaker 2: highlight reel Sports center type plays, but being able to
Speaker 2: matriculate the ball down the field. And that's where he's
Speaker 2: really excelled. And to bring it back to Kittle, the
Speaker 2: ability for him to come in from day one and
Speaker 2: be able to maintain and build that chemistry with his
Speaker 2: tight end. I mean, yeah, Ayuk has been in and out.
Speaker 2: He had the holdout this past year. Deebo Samuel is
Speaker 2: using a variety of different ways. But when you think
Speaker 2: of this San Francisco offense, even before Christian McCaffrey got here,
Speaker 2: George Kittle was the constant. He's the fifth round pick
Speaker 2: that became a superstar, and seeing him really be able
Speaker 2: to grow with Purdy has been something I think one
Speaker 2: has helped kind of make his own case for a
Speaker 2: Hall of Fame career, but two is what enabled Perdy
Speaker 2: to be able to come in as a rookie and
Speaker 2: second year player and ultimately make an impact. We've seen
Speaker 2: it time and time again. The best friend of a
Speaker 2: young quarterback in the National Football League is a tight end.
Speaker 2: It's happening in Green Bay here right now with Tucker
Speaker 2: Craft and Jordan Love. When you have that type of
Speaker 2: guy you can turn to. That's where you go when
Speaker 2: you need a first down, that's where you go when
Speaker 2: you need to make a play. And Kittle's always been
Speaker 2: that guy.
Speaker 1: Yeah, last year, last year, in that playoff game in January,
Speaker 1: it was it was Kittle, Kittle and McCaffrey that did
Speaker 1: a lot of damage when Deebo Samuel left the game
Speaker 1: with an injury. We'll see, we'll see how close to
Speaker 1: full speed, full strength Kittle is with the hamstring injury,
Speaker 1: and playing in forty degree weather isn't always the greatest
Speaker 1: thing for hamstring injuries either, So you know, we'll just
Speaker 1: have to see how that plays out.
Speaker 2: Kittle's a tough son of a gun, but I is.
Speaker 2: But I do want to mention this is something he
Speaker 2: has been dealing with. He's miss games already with this
Speaker 2: hamstring injury. He took a week off. We'll see if
Speaker 2: it helps him, if it's gonna be something that is
Speaker 2: going to allow him to play more. But Michael, you
Speaker 2: and I have been covering this league for a long time.
Speaker 2: I covered track and field before this. Those things just
Speaker 2: don't go away. Yeah, it's not an injury where it's
Speaker 2: like six weeks for a bone to heal. It doesn't
Speaker 2: work like that. Sometimes you tear it in different spots.
Speaker 2: I mean is it is probably one of the biggest
Speaker 2: storylines to follow going into Sunday and throughout Sunday.
Speaker 1: Yeah, without a doubt, a little bit of sponsor business
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Speaker 1: twelve in the NFL. First, we'll take a look at
Speaker 1: the NFC North and an interesting matchup. The Bears playing
Speaker 1: their third consecutive home game. This one will be against
Speaker 1: the Minnesota Vikings, and as frustrating as that loss was
Speaker 1: for the Bears last week to lose to the Packers
Speaker 1: on the blocked field goal, you get the sense that
Speaker 1: the Bears are back in that spot where they feel
Speaker 1: like they got something to build on with their offense
Speaker 1: and with Caleb Williams. This Minnesota Vikings defense is going
Speaker 1: to be a huge challenge in that regard. This will
Speaker 1: be an interesting matchup the first.
Speaker 2: Time that Caleb Williams is seeing this Brian Flores defense
Speaker 2: as well. Yep. So there's parts of it that I
Speaker 2: wonder about, you know, certainly the diagnosing of that front,
Speaker 2: where your pressure points are, how things are going to
Speaker 2: be thrown at you, finding your pursuit angles and finding
Speaker 2: your escape you know, zone from the pocket. All those
Speaker 2: things are going to be so critical for Williams. But
Speaker 2: I will say this, the guy could not have finished
Speaker 2: the game any better. I mean, he was making throws
Speaker 2: he absolutely had to make. He was putting it where
Speaker 2: only as receivers could catch it, and he was allowing
Speaker 2: guys to make plays. And you wonder when you start
Speaker 2: getting some of those more explosive type games. We were
Speaker 2: talking about him and how much you know, going into
Speaker 2: that game, everything was so close to the line of
Speaker 2: scrimmage against New England, you wonder if that's going to
Speaker 2: potentially open some things up for them. I think what
Speaker 2: I probably am more curious to see is this Vikings offense,
Speaker 2: which has been I don't want to say stagnating, but
Speaker 2: they've started to hit some skids a little bit. How
Speaker 2: that is going to match up with a Chicago defense
Speaker 2: which has been really tough, I mean tougher than a
Speaker 2: two dollars stake this season and figuring out that chess match.
Speaker 2: I think as much as it is about Williams and
Speaker 2: the first overall pick and are they going to be
Speaker 2: able to get this offense going, I think it's actually
Speaker 2: that phase and that matchup that's probably going to determine
Speaker 2: whether or not one Chicago can pick up a much
Speaker 2: needed victory, and two where exactly Minnesota is at in
Speaker 2: Sam Darnold.
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, Packers fans becoming Bears fans this weekend in
Speaker 1: the early window there, seeing if the Bears can knock
Speaker 1: off the Vikings. The other one in the NFC North,
Speaker 1: the game that I didn't think existed Detroit at Indianapolis
Speaker 1: because I I misjudged that whole thing missing, that that
Speaker 1: AFC South matchup that remained there for the Lions. But
Speaker 1: they go to Indianapolis and you know, you say, Okay, yeah,
Speaker 1: they're on the road, but they're going on the road
Speaker 1: in another dome. They can practically just take drive a
Speaker 1: bus to Indianapolis. They don't even have to get on
Speaker 1: a plane. I mean, you know, I know the Colts
Speaker 1: are fighting, you know, for a potential playoff spot in
Speaker 1: the in the AFC. But you know, none of these
Speaker 1: AFC South teams have have really done anything against the
Speaker 1: Detroit Lions.
Speaker 2: So Houston made it close.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, in the first half, that's true. Houston had
Speaker 1: the big lead on him and they got it, you know,
Speaker 1: and then let it get away. But yeah, hard to
Speaker 1: see the Lions losing this one.
Speaker 2: But to quickly recap for those of you who have
Speaker 2: not been watching the NFL this season, the Lions beat
Speaker 2: the Tennessee Titans fifty two to fourteen, came back to
Speaker 2: beat Houston Texas twenty six to twenty three, and last
Speaker 2: weekend handed the Jacksonville Jaguars the worst loss in their
Speaker 2: team's history fifty two to six. This does wrap up
Speaker 2: the AFC South. Want to make sure we mentioned that
Speaker 2: as well. I will say this is where all eyes
Speaker 2: are going to be on Anthony Richardson. Ye kid, he
Speaker 2: makes sense of the chaos. And I feel like, what
Speaker 2: did I say when they made the switch to Flacco.
Speaker 2: I said, I don't like this Richardson was hurt. You
Speaker 2: want to make sure he gets healthy when he's back,
Speaker 2: when he's ready. He's the quarterback again. One, you spent
Speaker 2: a really high draft pick on him. Yeah, in two.
Speaker 2: He can win in unconventional ways. And honestly, this is
Speaker 2: why I'm not counting the Colts out from this. Now
Speaker 2: their defense is going to have to have an answer
Speaker 2: for everything that Detroit is throwing at teams. But offensively,
Speaker 2: I think there is an opportunity for this. I mean,
Speaker 2: listen to some of the comments this Peak this week.
Speaker 2: I think it was Alex Pearce who said, we believe
Speaker 2: in this guy. He is the future of this team.
Speaker 2: And you know, just seeing how it all plays out
Speaker 2: is going to be very curious to watch. But I'm
Speaker 2: just gonna say, next Tuesday, you and I are sitting
Speaker 2: here and all right, the Indianapolis Colts pull because there's
Speaker 2: a thing. Colts are still in this thing.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, no, the Colt, The Colts, The Colts right, plenty,
Speaker 1: The Colts have plenty to play for. They are fighting,
Speaker 1: They are fighting like crazy in UH in that AFC
Speaker 1: South to UH to stay in the playoff picture and
Speaker 1: uh and yeah, this for a team like that with
Speaker 1: a young quarterback, uh, playing at home in front of
Speaker 1: your home crowd. I mean this can this can be
Speaker 1: one of those games that that can turn your season
Speaker 1: and define your season. I mean there is, uh, there is.
Speaker 1: It's it's a certainly an opportunity for the Indianapolis Colts
Speaker 1: to uh to get people to take notice.
Speaker 2: One hundred percent. And they have the weapons to do it.
Speaker 2: Like that's the weirdest thing. They have veteran offensive linemen,
Speaker 2: they have really good receivers, Jonathan Taylor as their running back. Yeah,
Speaker 2: but it just it's been too inconsistent.
Speaker 1: Well elsewhere, we hinted at this one before as well.
Speaker 1: A really big game in the NFC West, Arizona is
Speaker 1: at Seattle. The Cardinals on top of the division at
Speaker 1: six and four. Seattle right behind now at five and
Speaker 1: five after beating the forty nine ers in the final
Speaker 1: seconds last week. Am I correct that all three of
Speaker 1: the teams in the NFC West behind the Cardinals are
Speaker 1: five and five? Is that that's correct? So the Niners,
Speaker 1: the Seahawks, and the Rams all at five and five.
Speaker 1: The Cardinals are atop that division by one game at
Speaker 1: six and four. This is a really interesting one. We
Speaker 1: won't be able to really see any of it because
Speaker 1: it'll be going on at exactly the same time as
Speaker 1: Packers and forty nine Ers. But this is a significant
Speaker 1: one in that division race.
Speaker 2: I don't want to get into the path to the
Speaker 2: playoffs thing. We got a long way to go yet.
Speaker 2: But I was sitting here thinking about this because Philadelphia
Speaker 2: also plays the Rams this week. I think that's yeah, that'
Speaker 2: Sunday night football.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I think we're getting to the point now where it's
Speaker 2: like Arizona keep winning, Philly keep winning. Yeah. And you
Speaker 2: know when you you said the five and five thing
Speaker 2: about the NFC West, those are teams eight, nine, and
Speaker 2: ten right now in the standings for the conference. Yeah, uh,
Speaker 2: it's Packers are sitting there at seven and three, and
Speaker 2: I think who's seven, And there's a team that's seven
Speaker 2: and four Washington, Washington. So yeah, I mean, this is uh,
Speaker 2: this is huge. And trying to make you know, trying
Speaker 2: to make sense that the Seahawks has been a real conundrum.
Speaker 2: You know, they had some injuries earlier this season.
Speaker 1: They really start, they start out three and zero and
Speaker 1: then they lose three straight and fall the three and three.
Speaker 1: I believe and uh and going through these ups and
Speaker 1: downs and then they pull out a massive road win
Speaker 1: at San Francisco in the final seconds last week. It
Speaker 1: you know, the it's been the I think the most
Speaker 1: interesting thing to me about the NFC West is not
Speaker 1: just that all four of those teams are within one
Speaker 1: game of one another, but none of those teams playing
Speaker 1: all that well at home. Like you know, you always
Speaker 1: think Seattle, oh, that's such a really that's a tough
Speaker 1: place to play. San Francisco tough place to play. Both
Speaker 1: of those teams are losing home games regularly this season.
Speaker 1: So that's what's been so hard to get a gauge
Speaker 1: on where exactly these teams are going.
Speaker 2: And Seattle feel free keep losing games at home that
Speaker 2: I will be Karen and.
Speaker 1: Bide fed by me, fined by me. As well. One
Speaker 1: other one just before we go, I want to get
Speaker 1: your thoughts on. In the AFC, Baltimore is at the
Speaker 1: Chargers carbol two. Yeah, Baltimore coming off of that tough
Speaker 1: loss against Pittsburgh Division rival the AFC North Battle there
Speaker 1: went to the Steelers, so they're looking to bounce back
Speaker 1: from that. The Chargers blow the three touchdown lead against
Speaker 1: the Bengals on Sunday Night Football last week, but then
Speaker 1: pull it out at the end, and Jim Harbaugh Justin
Speaker 1: Herbert looks like a combination that could be pretty dangerous
Speaker 1: here in the NFL for a while.
Speaker 2: Justin Herbert might throw for forderd yards in this game.
Speaker 2: It's just what the issues Baltimore has had with their secondary,
Speaker 2: very very two sided defense right now, really good against
Speaker 2: the run, not good against the can't stop the pain.
Speaker 2: And Herbert, I'll say this, man, it's not I'm not
Speaker 2: This is not a big epiphany to say, Oh, Jim
Speaker 2: Harbaugh was a good hire. I mean he was the
Speaker 2: most people have been sought you know, he's been the
Speaker 2: most sought after coach in the free agent market in years, right,
Speaker 2: everybody for years they were talking about when he's going
Speaker 2: to come back to the National Football League. But he
Speaker 2: has been perfect for Justin Herbert. Because Herbert, we've seen
Speaker 2: the flashes for the last four and a half years,
Speaker 2: and here he is now with one of the best
Speaker 2: quarterback minds that the league has seen in college football
Speaker 2: has seen, and he's being able to work with them
Speaker 2: and they've made the improvements they've needed to make offensively.
Speaker 2: You know, Lad McConkie now becoming a factor in this offense.
Speaker 2: Their their offensive line is much improved. We'll see how
Speaker 2: they handle the Lamar Jackson experience defensively. But I just
Speaker 2: I look at the I look at the Chargers right
Speaker 2: now a lot like I like look at the Packers.
Speaker 2: I just I think this team can play with anybody. Now.
Speaker 2: The question is, and this is a real good litmus
Speaker 2: test for this can you beat that elite of the AFC?
Speaker 2: And this will be one of those first tests. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Absolutely, I think that's gonna be. Uh, it's gonna be
Speaker 1: a really interesting game to follow. So with that, we
Speaker 1: will call it a rap. After I talk about that's
Speaker 1: my guy. The NFL Draft, Because mark your calendars, folks,
Speaker 1: the twenty twenty five NFL Draft is coming to Green Bay.
Speaker 1: Be among the thousands of football fans cheering on their
Speaker 1: team's picks by joining us April twenty four through April
Speaker 1: twenty six of twenty twenty five. Visit green Bay dot
Speaker 1: com slash Draft twenty five for more information. And now
Speaker 1: we will call it a rap on this edition of
Speaker 1: Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our coverage
Speaker 1: of the team and of Sunday's game late afternoon kickoff
Speaker 1: from Lambellfield against the forty nine ers. We will have
Speaker 1: it all for you on Packers dot com for West
Speaker 1: Side Mike. Thank you for tuning in everybody. We'll see
Speaker 1: you next time.