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Pick-six preview: Broncos at Packers

Here is our first look at the Week 3 game between the Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos.
Bill Huber|
Pick-six preview: Broncos at Packers
Pick-six preview: Broncos at Packers

Green Bay Packers (2-0) vs. Denver Broncos (0-2)

The vitals: noon Sunday at Lambeau Field.

Series: Tied 6-6-1, but Green Bay is 5-0-1 at home and 4-0 at Lambeau Field.

The last time: The Broncos won 29-10 in Denver on Nov. 1, 2015. The Broncos held Aaron Rodgers to 77 passing yards, his fewest in a game that he started and finished.

The quarterback

Joe Flacco had one of the all-time great postseasons in helping Baltimore win the Super Bowl in 2012. However, a star was not born. From 2013 through the start of this season, 36 quarterbacks have thrown at least 1,000 passes. Flacco is 34th in that group with a passer rating of 82.5. Acquired by Denver in the offseason for a fourth-round pick, Flacco has completed 69.1 percent of his passes and is on pace for a career-high 4,480 passing yards, but the Broncos have scored only two touchdowns.

Video: Matt LaFleur on the state of his offense

His top weapon

At age 32, Emmanuel Sanders might no longer be a premier weapon but he’s Flacco’s top target. He had 101 receptions for 1,404 yards in 2014, part of a stretch of three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. He’s caught 16-of-20 passes for 184 yards and has both of the Broncos’ touchdowns this season.

Getting defensive

Last season, the outside linebacker combination of veteran Von Miller (14.5 sacks) and first-round pick Bradley Chubb (12 sacks) piled up a whopping 26.5 sacks and 47 quarterback hits. With 98 career sacks, Miller ranks third among all active defenders. Through two games, however, they have zero sacks, two quarterback hits (by Chubb) and three total pressures (two by Chubb, one by Miller). Maybe Aaron Rodgers’ propensity to hold the ball in the pocket will give Miller and Chubb the extra split-second necessary to make an impact.

Noteworthy number

Matt LaFleur joined Vince Lombardi (3-0) as the only coaches in Packers history to win their first two games. The Broncos have a new coach, too, in former Chicago defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. The Broncos’ 0-2 start is their first since 1999.

The big picture

Courtesy NFL Communications
Courtesy NFL Communications
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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.

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