It’s been a while since the Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos have met in the regular season. In fact, it’s been four years to be exact.
This Sunday, Aaron Rodgers faces an unfamiliar opponent at Lambeau Field. The Packers and Broncos last met in 2007 at Mile High, a game that saw Brett Favre pass for 331-yards, two touchdowns and just six incompletions in the Packers 19-13 win.
It’s also worth taking note that we may see the same outcome from Green Bay this weekend. Standing as odds on favorites ahead of Week 4, last time the Packers faced the Broncos, Greg Jennings hauled in an 82-yard touchdown against Denver’s defense – and after the past three weeks, the very same could happen again.
But what has changed in this inter-conference match-up is the Broncos offense. Even if the Packers rarely meet the Broncos on a season-to-season basis, Denver’s troubled passing game led by Kyle Orton still poses a threat to Dom Capers’ secondary.
For the most part, the Broncos main risk in the air has come from wide receiver Eric Decker so far this season. Having replaced injured wide receiver Eddie Royal as the second overall target on the depth chart, Decker has 214-yards and two touchdowns to his name in just his second year as a pro.
Shutting down Decker will be key to a Packers victory, but that may be easier said than done. There’s still reasonable concern at free safety after Charlie Peprah struggled with Johnny Knox last week, and Steve Smith’s triple digit game in Week 2 should still act as a reminder as to how vulnerable the Packers secondary can be at times.
The problem with Decker though, is his durability with Orton. In double coverage two weeks ago against the Cincinnati Bengals, Decker left two defenders on the ground after catching a play fake from Orton for 52-yards and a touchdown. Decker’s ability to also draw away from the football and come back to it a second later on his back shoulder will leave the Packers cornerbacks with a tough job on their hands.
The good news is though, that Decker has been silent in the red zone. The majority of his catches come from outside the opponents’ 20-yard line – mainly due to Orton’s ability to produce points as the starter.
Of course, there is no reason for the Packers to double team Decker like the Bengals. If anything, it leaves fellow wide receiver Brandon Lloyd with more open space – a player who has yet to break out this season like expected. And if we learned anything from paying careful attention to Steve Smith two weeks ago, it’s that a player like Brandon LaFell can easily pick up the slack on the other side.
What the Packers must do however, is force pressure on Orton to make throws. The same philosophy worked wonders on Jay Cutler last weekend, and Orton’s three interceptions this year have the hot seat warming up.
And the running game?
Knowshon Moreno still remains hurt despite playing against the Titans last week, and Willis McGahee is likely to struggle against the Packers run defense that limited Matt Forte to just two yards. All of that could change sometime soon if the Broncos lose this game and Tim Tebow chants fire up again, but that is a problem for another day.
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