GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – No more mini-byes or full byes. There’s only one month left to go. What used to be a December drive toward a division championship or home playoff game or better yet a first round bye is now a treacherous spin from Lambeau Field to Miami and back just to see if the Green Bay Packers can finish the 2022 season with their head above water and maybe, just maybe, a shot at a Wild Card. The five game losing streak through Halloween all but knocked the Pack out of the post-season conversation, they went 2-2 around Thanksgiving keeping the light chatter alive and here it is Christmas week with maybe only the most ardent fans still holding out hope. The Packers have to win out and get some help to have it become a reality. First up is the Los Angeles Rams. Talk about a team having a bad year. The defending Super Bowl champions will bundle up Monday night with a 4-9 record and three of their best players watching, Matthew Stafford and Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp on IR and Aaron Donald nursing a high ankle sprain. The 5-8 Packers are looking to win back to back games for the first time since weeks 3 and 4 but they’ll be missing just two key pieces. Edge Rusher Rashan Gary who had his season end with an ACL tear last month and Left Tackle David Bakhtiari who had the emergency appendectomy two weeks ago. Time to gas up and see where this December drive will take ’em.
When the Packers have the ball.
Head Coach Matt LaFleur said Donald is one of those rare players who can singlehandedly force you to cross lines through calls on your play sheet. He eliminates parts of the game plan by himself. You can’t underestimate his absence but he has the missed the last two games and the Los Angeles defense has held up strong. There’s still elite talent at linebacker in veteran Bobby Wagner and with Jalen Ramsey at corner. Zach Tom will handle the blind side of Aaron Rodgers but for the first time among his three prior starts, he’s had a full week, in this case, the bye week as well, to prepare. Anticipating temperatures in the teens and dropping through the night, I believe the Packers will strap the snow shoes on the feet of Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon and try to get the ground game established. I’ll be curious to see how the Rams plan to deal with Watson who has been a big play machine for a month. Extra attention should create opportunities for not only the other receivers, which will include Romeo Doubs for the first time in five weeks, but tight ends who have been strangely quiet for most of the season. Rodgers knows if the offense puts up points early against a team that’s not going anywhere but home after the game, they get even colder than they’d like to admit and bitter weather becomes even more of a home town advantage.
When the Rams have the ball.
The ghost of Christmas past is back. A year ago, Baker Mayfield was the starting quarterback of the Cleveland Browns who put up a fight on the holiday at Lambeau. The Browns got on the board first and rallied from down 24-12 to within 24-22 in the 4th quarter but the Packers prevailed. Mayfield tossed a pair of touchdown passes but also threw interceptions to Packer defenders. After getting dealt, then cut by Carolina, the desperate Rams called a week ago and signed him. After just 48 hours in L.A. he rallied the Rams to a 17-16 victory over the Raiders by throwing two TD passes in the game’s final three minutes. Can he recapture that Christmas magic? Hard to think so if instead of Kupp, OBJ and Allen Robinson, it’s Van Jefferson, Tutu Atwell and Ben Skowronek at wide receiver. Running back Cam Akers has produced only 376 yards on the ground this year. There just isn’t much sizzle left with an offense that ranks 31st in yards per game, 30th in points per game. Defensive coordinator Joe Barry used to be employed by Los Angeles and he needs his unit to put together a strong performance to face the prospect of being unemployed. This could be the week to control the run game, without a running threat at quarterback and then turn up the heat. Mayfield was sacked five times during his trip to Lambeau last year, the Rams have allowed a whopping 46 sacks this season.
The bottom line.
Keep in mind the Packers have won only twice since departing for London with a 3-1 record. The victory over the Dallas Cowboys should have been a huge lift but the Packers, on a short week, laid an egg against the Tennessee Titans four days later. It’s been two weeks since they needed big plays later to knock off the Bears in Chicago. They certainly haven’t shown anything to suggest they’ll put the final five games off their schedule in the win column but I do have a feeling they’ll keep the holiday spirit up until this year’s Christmas Day game in south Florida.
I like the Pack 24-16.
