Packers vs. Jaguars: What to Watch For

The Green Bay Packers (4-3) return to Lambeau Field to face the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-5) on Sunday.

The Packers are on a two-game winning streak after ending Houston’s undefeated run two weeks ago and St. Louis’ undefeated home record last week. The Jaguars haven’t won since week three against the Colts and the Colts beat the Packers already this year, so the Jaguars will probably win this game.

Who’s not going to play?
The list is long. Greg Jennings, Charles Woodson, John Kuhn, Sam Shields and Nick Perry are out. Jordy Nelson is questionable. B.J. Raji looks like he’ll return this week after missing two games. The Jaguars will be without their top offensive weapon, Maurice Jones-Drew, and starting safety Dwight Lowery. Running back Montell Owens is doubtful. Cornerbacks Derek Cox and Rashean Mathis, receiver Laurent Robinson and running back Greg Jones are questionable.

Who should I bet on?
The Packers are favored by 15.5. That’s a college football line. An Alabama vs. Vanderbilt line. It’s kind of fitting because we doubt Jacksonville would be able to beat a college team. Yeah, they’re pretty bad and they’re without the only guy on their offense anyone is scared of. The way the Packers have been playing lately, this one should be over quickly. Take the Packers.

What to Watch For

Jarrett Boykin, yo!
Greg Jennings is still out and there’s a decent chance Jordy Nelson will also be sidelined. That means the Packers sixth receiver may move up to be their fourth receiver for one Sunday. Interestingly, Jacksonville — presumably because they already have SO MUCH talent — released Boykin earlier this offseason. He then signed with the Packers, beat the odds and a crowd of other guys and won a roster spot.

Alex Green to average more than one yard per carry
Jacksonville sucks in every aspect of the game. They’re last in passing offense, 25th in rushing offense, 24th in passing defense and 28th in rushing defense. We always expect the Packers passing offense and, to some extent, their defense to play well though. No one expects anything from the Packers running game, mostly because their offensive line sucks balls. How T.J. Lang, Bryan Bulaga and Jeff Saturday end up three yards in the backfield on every play is beyond me, but that’s another story. The point here is, if those slobs can’t open up some holes for Alex Green this week, they should be fired. Last week, Green averaged 1.75 yards per carry. So it’s time for the offensive line to show they belong in the NFL by doing a little run blocking.

The losing streak to end
The Packers and the Jaguars have only met four times. They’ve split those meetings, but the Packers have lost the last two and the only previous game at Lambeau Field (in 2004). This week should take care of that.

Your blood alcohol level
Like we said before, this game should be out of hand early, in which case you’ll probably be paying more attention to your beer than anything going on on the field. If you’re drunk by halftime, don’t drive and don’t kill anyone, unless it’s a Vikings fan. And be careful. You could end up waking up next to a horse or worse, a cow.