Know the Foe: Five Questions With the Packers

The Tennessee Titans and Green Bay Packers will meet in the final game of the final NFL Sunday of 2020.

They nearly squared off back in February, on Super Bowl Sunday.

Both teams reached last season’s conference championships only to come up short. The Titans fell 35-24 to the eventual champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. The Packers lost 37-20 to the San Francisco 49ers.

Each feels as if it can do better this year. For now, though, they will meet the marquee matchup of Week 16.

To get a better sense of the 2020 Packers, who are 11-3 and in position to secure homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, we asked Bill Huber of Packer Central (part of the SI.com NFL community) five questions.

1. The Titans pass defense has been suspect all season. Of course, quarterback Aaron Rodgers has wide receiver Davante Adams, but what other potential pass catchers should be of concern to the coaches?

It’s been a player-of-the-week sort of thing. A lot of weeks, it’s been Adams but some weeks it’s been big Allen Lazard, other weeks it’s been rocket-fast Marquez Valdes-Scantling. And other weeks it’s been tight end Robert Tonyan, who somehow didn’t make the Pro Bowl team despite leading all tight ends in catch percentage and being tied with Kansas City’s Travis Kelce for most touchdowns. Running backs Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams are adept receivers, too.

But this is “The Adams Show.” He’s been targeted 131 times. That’s not too far behind Valdes-Scantling (60), Tonyan (55) and Lazard (40) combined. Finally, last week, Carolina went in with a game plan of taking away Adams and hoping for the best. The Packers won but the offense faltered after a red-hot start. Presumably, more teams will take that approach. It’s up to coach Matt LaFleur to find some answers.

2. Matt LaFleur made a quick stop in Tennessee on his way to becoming a head coach. After nearly two full seasons with him in charge of the Packers, what can you say are the primary characteristics of a Matt LaFleur team?

I’ve got to tell you, I’ve never been a scheme guy. X’s and O’s are great but if my X can’t beat your O during a game, who cares? My philosophy was reinforced last season, when the Packers scored exactly as many points in Year 1 under LaFleur as they did in the final year under Mike McCarthy.

Well, I’ve got to rethink that now. Remember the uproar about the Packers not giving Rodgers any weapons in this year’s draft? Well, they were No. 1 in the NFL in scoring before last week’s games and are only two points behind first-place Tennessee ahead of this week’s games. What’s changed? It’s the same personnel but there’s total comfort in Year 2 under LaFleur.

Beyond that, they attack on offense, they don’t turn it over and they don’t turn one bad game into two. LaFleur is 24-6 and never lost back-to-back games.

3. Linebacker Za'Darius Smith has 11 1/2 sacks, two and a half fewer than the entire Tennessee defense. What makes him an effective pass rusher?

He’s the total package. I’m not sure he’s elite in anything but he’s big enough to rush with power, athletic enough to get an edge and really quite a technician. Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine likes to move him around to take advantage of matchups, so he’ll rush against the left tackle on one snap and the center the next.

Smith hasn’t been nearly as good as last season, when he led the NFL in quarterback pressures (Pro Football Focus) and quarterback hits (official stats). Playing the run sometimes seems like a burden. But when it’s time to make a play, he’s the one who generally makes it happen.

4. Lambeau Field has long provided one of the NFL's best homefield advantages. Has that been any different this season with little to no crowds?

It’s about the same deal here as elsewhere, with more teams below .500 at home than above .500. Pettine was talking the other day about offenses having a huge advantage with essentially 16 home games in terms of quarterbacks being able to change plays and use the snap count to their advantage.

I’m not sure the Packers have had a great homefield advantage over the years, anyway. Having great quarterbacks since Brett Favre stepped in 1992 has been the biggest factor to their success. Even the December/January cold hasn’t always worked to their advantage, though I think this team is more of an all-weather team than others because Jones is such a terrific running back.

5. Both teams have something for which to play in this game. How do you see it going?

It’s an interesting dynamic for the Packers. If they win and the Rams beat Seattle, the Packers would clinch homefield advantage. But a loss would be almost irrelevant, so long as they can win next week at Chicago.

Regardless, they did not play well offensively during the final 30-some minutes last week and will want to get back on track. The defense – especially the run defense – has been questioned for most of the season. Green Bay is No. 14 in points allowed, which is pretty respectable, but it hasn’t faced a competent offense in what seems like forever. So, this will be a great litmus test for a team that’s 11-3 and yet surrounded by a significant number of questions.

I’m inclined to take whoever wins the coin toss and defers to the second half in hopes of getting an extra possession. If forced to make a pick under the threat of having to eat fruitcake, I’d take the Titans 38-35.

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