The Green Bay Packers are back on the road this week, taking on the Tennessee Titans on Sunday from Nissan Stadium.
Green Bay is coming off a 16-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts, while the Titans are still searching for their first win of 2024 after two narrow losses.
The Packers could be tasked again with finding a way to win without Jordan Love, as it remains unclear whether the starting quarterback will return this week. Without Love against the Colts, Green Bay leaned on its rushing attack, producing 261 yards on the ground.
Meanwhile, Tennessee’s defense has played well enough to win, but the offense has struggled mightily to begin the season. This is a game the Packers should win, but they can’t overlook a Titans team desperate to save their season.
Taking a closer look at this Week 3 matchup, here are three key matchups to watch out for:
RB Josh Jacobs vs. Titans run defense
According to Tennessee’s stud defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, “No one runs on the Tennessee Titans.” Expect Matt LaFleur to put that theory to the test, especially if Love isn’t available. With Malik Willis getting the start last week, Josh Jacobs had to carry much of the offense, rushing for 151 yards on a hefty workload. Jacobs’ 32 rush attempts against the Colts were the most by a Packers player since Ryan Grant had 33 against the Seattle Seahawks in 2008. If Green Bay plans to rely heavily on Jacobs yet again, they may face more resistance on Sunday. The Titans are first in the league in total defense, allowing only 92 rush yards per game and 4.0 yards per attempt. Facing a defense that swarms to the ball, Jacobs may need to put his superhero cape back on to carry the Packers to victory.
Edge Rashan Gary vs RT Nicholas Petit-Frere
Green Bay’s top pass rusher could be in store for a big week going up against a struggling right tackle in Petit-Frere. Tennessee has been one of the league’s worst teams in terms of pass-blocking to start the season, and Petit-Frere has been a prime culprit. According to Pro Football Focus, his 11 allowed pressures lead the entire NFL. Gary has had a slow start to the season (just three pressures), but that’s largely due to a more conservative pass-rush approach against two mobile quarterbacks. Fortunately, Will Levis isn’t the scrambler that Jalen Hurts or Anthony Richardson is, so Gary should be able to focus more on getting up-field this week. It also won’t hurt that he will have an advantageous matchup lining up opposite a right tackle going through a massive slump.
Green Bay’s pass defense vs QB Will Levis
We’ve established that Levis has received very little help from his offensive line, but he also hasn’t helped himself when it comes to taking care of the football. The ball is life in the NFL, and the 2023 second-round pick has put the ball in harm’s way far too often this year, tossing three passes to the wrong team. Meanwhile, Green Bay’s defense has made the most of their opportunities to take the ball away this year, having already accounted for a league-high five interceptions. They had just seven interceptions as a team in 2023. Ball security will be vital to the Titans finding any type of success on offense this week, but going up against an opportunistic defense will make that increasingly difficult. The Packers continuing their streak of takeaways against a struggling quarterback could be a deciding factor in Week 3.
