Three Reasons Why Packers Will Beat Rams on Sunday
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers, losers of four in a row, badly need a victory against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. Never mind the playoff race; they just need to win for confirmation that they’re on the right track.
The Rams could be just what the doctor ordered, especially if their doctors say quarterback Matthew Stafford shouldn’t play with an injured thumb.
Here are this week’s three reasons for optimism.
1. Rypien Good? Not So Much
The million-dollar question is whether Stafford will play. Maybe it’s all gamesmanship, but Rams coach Sean McVay on Friday said Stafford could be a gametime decision. On Saturday night, ESPN's Adam Schefter said Stafford is not expected to play.
“What I do think is important is with things like this, is, ‘Hey, I am able to grip it’ and be able to throw this thing around and do the things that are required to be able to go play the quarterback position the way that he can,” McVay told Rams beat reporters on Friday. “If he's able to do that 90 minutes before kickoff, I think it'd be silly to not leave that open.”
The Packers have prepared all week to face Stafford. If he lacks the grip strength to throw the football, the Rams will turn to Brett Rypien.
Rypien, the nephew of Super Bowl-winning quarterback Mark Rypien, entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He’s started three games and won two, though the stats are horrendous: 60.7 percent completions, four touchdowns vs. eight interceptions, and a 62.8 passer rating.
“Thankfully, we did get a little bit of film on him when he had to go in and play (in) the Dallas game,” defensive coordinator Joe Barry said. “He’s a four-year guy, he’s been in the league, he’s been around. We’re taking the approach that No. 9’s going to play. If he doesn’t and we get No. 11, I don’t think they’re going to change what they do all of a sudden. They’re not all of a sudden going to put a Rypien offense in; they’re going to run their offense.”
Rypien was 5-of-10 in relief of Stafford last week at Dallas. That was his seventh career outing in which he threw more than two passes. It was the only time he didn’t throw an interception. Among all active quarterbacks with at least 140 career passing attempts, Rypien’s interception rate of 5.7 percent is second-worst.
“That's something, obviously, that's really cool,” Rypien told reporters about playing at Lambeau Field. “I didn't really think about it like that until now but, obviously, Lambeau is a special place and a lot of cool moments have happened there. I've watched Aaron Rodgers growing up for years and saw a lot of good football there, so it is a special place. I'm excited for it.”
2. Maybe the Packers Really Are Close
For a young and rebuilding/reloading/retooling/re-whatevering Packers team, the playoffs – or at least the ability to play some big games late in the season – would be great. But, ultimately, nothing mattered more about this season than Jordan Love and a young group of pass-catchers forming the basis for the next run of championship contenders.
Through seven games, you’d need the James Webb Space Telescope to find progress.
After an impressive start of six touchdowns and zero interceptions in the first two games, Love threw five touchdowns and eight interceptions the last five games. The league median for completion percentage is 66.1 percent. Love has hit that mark just once and is at 57.7 for the season.
Aside from one 77-yard gain on a busted coverage, Christian Watson in four games has caught 10-of-23 targets for 99 yards. The last three games, Romeo Doubs has caught 7-of-16 targets for 52 yards. Athletic rookie tight end Luke Musgrave has had one catch of longer than 12 yards since Week 2.
Receivers coach Jason Vrable, however, sees the light at the end of the tunnel. And it’s not a freight train.
Christian Watson caught four passes for 46 yards vs. the Rams last year.
Photo by Tork Mason/USA Today Sports Images
“I really believe that on offense we’re taking the right (trajectory) in practice,” said Vrable, the team’s receivers coach since 2020. “If you’re there and you’re watching the whole thing, I feel like the last two weeks were the best practices that we’ve had in our room since I’ve ever been in this building. The speed, the confidence, and the results, I think they’re going to start coming.”
There have been too many mental errors and too many drops for Love to function with consistency. While he wouldn’t admit it when asked on Wednesday, it has to play on his mind that his No. 1 read might not always be in the right spot when Love is supposed to throw the ball.
Vrable, though, swears he sees progress on the practice field. If there’s substance to what he’s saying and it’s not just pie-in-the-sky nonsense, perhaps a breakout performance could be coming against a defense that is a mediocre 14th in opponent passer rating.
“The results haven't been there,” Vrable said. “There was a time where we had a little bit of a lull where we’re all over the place with stuff. But the last two weeks have been clean practices.
“Guys on their details and guys in the right spot at the right time for Jordan, because I don't want him to look out there and think a guy has to be there at 10 yards and he's at 12 or he's at 14. We can't be having that stuff and it's happened at times, and that might make Jordan look not as confident, right?”
This week, coach Matt LaFleur shook up the practice routine. That meant more competitive periods of starters vs. starters rather than starters vs. the scout team.
“In the past with a guy who's been through it and ran the route a lot and ran it vs. every coverage a lot, they play fast. That’s our job of what we have to get done,” Vrable said. “At times, it hasn't been good enough, and everybody's seen that. There's no excuses about it, but we've got to be better. We've got to be cleaner. We've got to play with more confidence.
“The last two weeks have been the best maybe that I've had since I've been here, but for sure this year. And we've got to continue that (trajectory).”
3. Fall Back
The Packers have been the slowest starters since the tortoise took on the hare about 2,600 years ago.
With zero touchdowns and three field goals, they’ve scored nine points in the first half of their last five games. During that span, every team has scored at least two touchdowns. Six have scored at least 10. The league median is seven. The Packers are averaging 2.8 yards per play; the median is 4.6. They’ve gained 25 first downs – 11 fewer than any other team and less than half the league median of 55.
Maybe the end of daylight savings time will be just the ticket. Push back those clocks an hour, and the noon kickoff will feel like 1 p.m. That’s just about exactly when the Packers gained their initial first down of Sunday’s loss to the Vikings.
In a grasping-at-straws type of season, that’s what we’re down to for finding reasons for hope.
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