Ahead of the Denver Broncos’ showdown with the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, we had a Q&A with Zach Kruse of Packers Wire to get some intel on Green Bay ahead of their Week 7 trip to Denver.
Check out our exchange with Kruse below.
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Broncos Wire: How has Jordan Love looked -- do you think he's the future in Green Bay?
Packers Wire: Love’s first five games as the starter in Green Bay have been a rollercoaster ride. He’s looked great in spurts (Week 1 in Chicago, third quarter in Atlanta, fourth quarter vs. New Orleans) but also terrible in other spurts, and the Packers passing game in general has really struggled the last three weeks. Love’s accuracy has been erratic and he’s turning the ball over at a higher rate recently. Bad combo. He’s still going to get the full season as the starter because the Packers need to evaluate if he is the future. This patient organization understands all the variables in play, especially the youth around Love on offense, and is committed to letting all young players grow together. Is Love the future? I truly don’t know. We’re only five games in and there’s not enough information yet.
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Packers Wire: The Broncos defense ranks dead last in the NFL in a lot of categories. What has gone so terribly wrong?
Broncos Wire: The 70-point disaster against the explosive Dolphins’ offense is going to skew Denver’s season-long defensive stats, but the unit has actually been playing better in recent weeks. Their early-season struggles had many causes. Injuries played a big role — star safety Justin Simmons missed the Dolphins game and inside linebacker Josey Jewell left the game injured. Without Simmons and with their top two backup safeties also injured, the Broncos’ secondary was torched deep down the field. Without their best inside linebacker, the middle of the defense was a gaping hole for running backs. Denver was also giving too many snaps to OLBs Randy Gregory and Frank Clark while they were underperforming and the defense forced no turnovers against the Commanders or Dolphins. The Broncos have since traded Gregory and cut Clark, and they have forced five turnovers over the last three games (thanks in part to the return of Simmons and Jewell). Surprisingly, Denver held the Chiefs to just 19 points last week. Time will tell if that was an outlier against a familiar opponent or if it was a sign of better games ahead for the Broncos’ defense.
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Broncos Wire: Do the Packers have any notable weaknesses the Broncos might be able to exploit?
Packers Wire: The Packers run defense has allowed 200 or more rushing yards during two of the first five games, so a team that can be physical up front and commit to running the ball can really poke holes in Green Bay’s defense. But the defense isn’t the big problem. The Packers must be better in every facet of playing offense. The run blocking has been terrible, and Jordan Love isn’t playing efficiently in the passing game, in large part because the Packers are struggling on early downs and he’s facing so many second-and-long and third-and-long situations. The Broncos could make life very difficult for the Packers if they can run the ball and put Love into obvious passing situations on Sunday.
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Packers Wire: One specific question on the Broncos defense: Can they rush the passer? Packers have struggled to protect Jordan Love recently.
Broncos Wire: Ironically, Denver has improved since parting ways with their highest-paid pass rusher (Gregory, who was earning $14 million per season). The Broncos have a pair of promising young rushers in Nik Bonitto (5.5 sacks) and Jonathon Cooper (4 sacks) and Baron Browning — arguably their most talented edge defender — seems to be on track to return from the reserve/PUP list this week. Denver can get after the quarterback.
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Broncos Wire: The Broncos lost Justin Hollins to the Rams in 2020 when they tried to bump him down to the practice squad and he now plays in Green Bay. What kind of role does he have?
Packers Wire: Hollins is a rotational edge rusher. The Packers actually released him before playing the Raiders in Week 5, so it’s clear he’s a bottom-of-the-roster type. Still, he provides a veteran presence on the edge. He’s athletic and can set the edge against the run. But now that Rashan Gary is getting closer to being a full-time player, I wouldn’t expect Hollins to play more than a handful of snaps every week.
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Packers Wire: How would you assess the level of play from Russell Wilson through six games?
Broncos Wire: He’s made incredible improvement since last season, but he’s had crucial turnovers in each of their last two games. Sean Payton has tailored the offense to Wilson’s strengths, getting him on the move more often and mixing in opportunities for his signature “moon ball” deep pass. For whatever reason, ex-coach Nathaniel Hackett seemingly wanted Wilson to be more of a pocket passer last year and that obviously did not work out. Wilson didn’t have 12 passing touchdowns until Week 15 last season and he has already matched that total through six games under Payton. He might not be the long-term answer in Denver, but Wilson isn’t the problem, and he’s having a big bounce-back from last year. So long as the recent turnover struggles don’t continue, Wilson will have a fine season.
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Broncos Wire: Do the Packers have any under-the-radar players that Denver fans should know about?
Packers Wire: I’ll give you a few to watch. Safety Rudy Ford has an interception leading to points in back-to-back games. A starter entering a season for the first time, Ford is taking advantage of his opportunity. He can run and is physical near the line of scrimmage. Right tackle Zach Tom is an ascending second-year player who looks like he’ll be a long-time starter along the offensive line. He needs to keep the pocket clean for Jordan Love. Devonte Wyatt, a 2022 first-rounder, has 17 pressures in five games and can be a play-wrecker. Broncos fans will recognize Packers kicker Anders Carlson; he’s the younger brother of Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson. The rookie replaced Mason Crosby and is perfect to start the 2023 season.
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Packers Wire: Can the Broncos run the ball well enough to stress the biggest weakness of the Packers defense?
Broncos Wire: Absolutely. Javonte Williams is finally starting to look like his old self now that he has five games under his belt since last season’s knee injury. Williams and undrafted rookie Jaleel McLaughlin have proven to be a dynamic one-two punch in Denver’s backfield. The only thing holding the Broncos’ rushing attack back is game flow. When the team falls behind, they’re getting into passing situations that prevent them from leaning on the ground game as much as they should be. When given opportunities, Williams (5.2 YPC last week) and McLaughlin (6.6 YPC this season) have been productive.
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Broncos Wire: What's your score prediction for Sunday -- who wins and why?
Packers Wire: It’s difficult to be confident in either team winning this game. I’m giving the slight edge to the Packers because they are coming out of the bye, should have Aaron Jones and Christian Watson near 100 percent and are better than the Broncos defensively. The truth is, the Packers need to play well in all three phases to beat anyone. This is a young, volatile team with big question marks on offense. I do trust the Packers defense in this matchup and I think Matt LaFleur will unleash some Mike McDaniel-like concepts to help the Packers offense. For two struggling teams, I think this is a game both will circle as “we really need to win this one.” My prediction: the Packers get a late turnover and escape with a one-score win, but my confidence level isn’t high.
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Packers Wire: The Broncos win if...? The Packers win if...?
Broncos Wire: Denver wins if Wilson protects the ball and the Broncos build a lead and run over the Packers while harassing Love on defense. Green Bay wins if Denver’s defense reverts to its early-season struggles and puts the Broncos in a hole that the offense can’t climb out of.
