After two underwhelming performances in Week 1, the New York Jets and Green Bay Packers are set to face off in a Week 2 matchup that will say a lot about both sides’ form in 2014.
Get a handle on all the trends and stats that will define the outcome of this game below and don’t miss our breakdown of Thursday Night Football’s Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh game in the AFC West.
[sc:Football ]New York Jets vs. Green Bay Packers Preview and Prediction
When: Sunday, September 14, 1:25PM ET
Where: Lambeau Field, Green Bay
Line: New York Jets (+8) at Green Bay Packers (-8); total 45.5 – view all NFL lines
Betting on the New York Jets
The Jets won in Week 1, sure, but beating what might be the worst team in the NFL in 2014, the Oakland Raiders, by just five points (19-14) leaves something to the imagination.
[sc:NFL240banner ]Jets head coach Rex Ryan said as much himself, suggesting that his team’s first game of the season should have been a “rat kill,” even as he improved to 8-1 in games against rookie quarterbacks making their NFL debuts.
Ryan is likely right. The Jets will need to clean up their play in Week 2 against the Packers, who are expected to be a playoff team in 2014. New York took 11 penalties for a total of 101 yards against the Raiders, and added two turnovers. Those are the kind of mistakes Aaron Rodgers punishes teams for.
Quarterback Geno Smith looked just ok against a suspect Raiders secondary, often working himself into situations where he was left to take a heavy shot from a defender. Smith was efficient, however, going 23-for-28 for 228 yards, 74 of which were to the newly-acquired Eric Decker.
The key in this game for the Jets will be their ground game on both sides of the ball, which happens to be great news for Ryan’s team.
Packers head coach Mike McCarthy has said for years that the Pack rely on at least a modest run game to open up the passing opportunities for Aaron Rodgers, and the Jets had the third-best rushing defense in the league last season, holding teams to 88.7 yards per game.
New York kept that going against the Raiders, allowing just 26 yards combined–26!–to two backs who were expected to get things done in 2014, Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew.
For their part, the Jets rushed the ball very well, getting 170 yards combined from Chris Ivory and Chris Johnson, who both look to have more jump than they had in 2013. But then, maybe it was just that they were finding big holes and poor tacklers in the Oakland defense…yeah, that too.
If New York can continue to dominate the line and rushing games against the Packers (who ranked 25th against the rush in 2013), they could easily snag a second victory on Sunday.
Betting on the Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers lost their first game of the season handily last Thursday as the Seattle Seahawks looked every bit the defending Super Bowl champions in a 36-16 rout.
The worst news might not even have been the loss, however, as it was always going to be a tough game for the Pack to win. Green Bay lost at least one and probably two starters Thursday, as right tackle Bryan Bulaga left with a knee sprain and 2013 Offensive Rookie of the Year Eddie Lacy suffered his second concussion in less than a year.
While the outlook is relatively positive for both players, both are doubtful for Week 2. It’s more of the same for Green Bay, who have been in the top-3 of man games lost in three of the last four seasons, per Football Outsiders.
It’s hard to say which injury could be more concerning coming into this game with the Jets. Bulaga’s replacement against the Seahawks, Derek Sherrod, came in and was promptly beaten on two Aaron Rodgers sacks. Lacy, in the meantime, represents the weapon the Pack may be most excited about in 2014, given him and Rodgers were rarely healthy at the same time in 2013.
Thankfully for the Pack, back up running back James Starks looked capable in place of Lacy in Week 1, rushing for 5.1 yards per carry against Seattle on seven carries.
For the Packers, the key to this matchup will be scoring early. Aaron Rodgers (23-for-33, 189 yards, 1 TD-1 INT in Week 1) and Jordy Nelson (nine catches, 83 yards) look as dialed-in as ever this season, and if they can avoid having to abandon the run because they’re behind like they did in Week 1, they should be able to take advantage of the Jets’ rag-tag secondary.
The Packers put up 255 total yards against Seattle in Week 1–their third-lowest total since 2012–so almost anything would be an improvement.
Writer’s Prediction
The Packers get out in front early behind a vengeful Rodgers, and the Packers avoid their relative inability in the run game while winning and covering.
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