5 Questions with LeRoy Butler: What has happened to Packers offense?
LeRoy Butler has a suggestion for coach Matt LaFleur: Let everyone know this is quarterback Jordan Love’s team, give him more control of the offense.
GREEN BAY – Here are five things to watch as the Green Bay Packers face the New York Giants on Sunday, Nov. 16 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Can the Packers remain on a tear defensively?
After limiting the Philadelphia Eagles to 10 points and Carolina Panthers to 16, the Packers have held six of their nine opponents less than 19 points. Over the past five games, they’ve held their opponents to 18.4 points per game and for the season rank seventh in points allowed at 19.6 per game. They aren’t going to beat the 1996 Super Bowl XXXI champions for fewest points allowed in 16 games (210), but if they can hold the New York Giants to under 19 this weekend, they’ll be among only 21 Packers defenses to do it seven times since the 16-game schedule was introduced in 1978, according to Stathead.com’s NFL database. The ’96 team holds the record with 12 games of under 19 points and the ’78 team is second with 11. To reach the top 10, the ’25 defense would have to hold three more teams under 19. One of the teams to do it nine times was the 2010 Super Bowl XLV champions. The odd part about the defense’s success is that the team is 3-3 in games holding the opposition under 19. The 1996 team was 12-0 and the 2010 team was 7-2.
Giants weighing how often they will need to double-team Micah Parsons
The Arizona Cardinals chose not to double-team end Micah Parsons during a critical fourth-quarter stretch and paid the price. The Eagles allowed Parsons some single blocks against their outstanding tackle tandem of Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata and held him without a sack or quarterback hit. But the Eagles managed just 10 points. Now, the Giants must decide how they want to handle Parsons. They have one of the premier left tackles in Andrew Thomas and a veteran with 69 career starts at right tackle in Jermaine Eluemunor. While with Dallas, Parsons had 4½ sacks in his last five games against the Giants, including 1½ sacks in Week 13 last season. He has 6½ sacks and eight quarterback hits this season. “He’s as disruptive a pass rusher and defensive player as we’ve seen,” Giants offensive coordinator Tim Kelly said. “Fortunately for us, I think we have two pretty good tackles. So, we’re going to have to pick our spots there and do a good job of making sure he doesn’t wreck the game.”
Packers better not underestimate Giants quarterback Jameis Winston
Just in case his team isn’t familiar with Giants starting quarterback Jameis Winston, coach Matt LaFleur can always show them tape of the 2021 season opener. Winston, playing for the New Orleans Saints in a game played in Jacksonville because of the damage Hurricane Ida had done to Louisiana, completed 14 of 20 passes for 148 yards and five touchdowns. The Packers got their revenge against Winston in Week 3 of 2023, holding him to 10-of-16 passing for 101 yards in an 18-17 victory. But Giants interim coach Mike Kafka chose Winston over Russell Wilson to replace injured rookie starter Jaxson Dart (concussion ) because how much juice Winston brings to a team that just lost its head coach. “I think just positive energy,” receiver Darius Slayton said. “Jameis is a positive guy, but he’s also kind of an electric personality. A guy that draws people in and makes people believe, so I look forward to playing with him this week.”
Giants have a fourth-quarter problem the Packers need to exploit
In a 24-20 loss to the Chicago Bears last week, the Bears scored 14 points in less than 3 minutes late in the fourth quarter. It was the final straw in management’s decision to fire coach Brian Daboll, who chose to kick a field goal instead of going for a touchdown from the half-yard line that could have given the Giants a 24-10 lead. The week before that, San Francisco put a 34-24 game away with two fourth-quarter touchdowns. For the season, the Giants rank 31stt in fourth-quarter points allowed with 11.5 per game. “It’s about finding ways to make plays when it matters most,” defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said. “And it starts with me putting them in a position to do so where we can. And last week, I mean, have to give some credit to Caleb (Williams), too. He made some plays and we didn’t. They made the plays, and we weren’t able to.” The Packers tend to wait until the second half to make things happen. They lead the NFL in fourth-quarter scoring with 11.4 points per game.
The Giants wouldn’t mind if Josh Jacobs isn’t centerpiece of Packers’ offense
The Packers have not done a very good job freeing up running back Josh Jacobs this season. He does not have a 100-yard game and is averaging 3.8 yards per carry. The Giants have one of the worst run defenses in the league, having given up 784 yards on the ground in their past four games. The big question is whether the offensive line can stop getting pushed back into Jacobs and coach Matt LaFleur sticks with the run if he’s not. “I like how Josh is running the ball, especially of late,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “I think he’s done a really nice job, just running hard. Watch him down in the red zone and he does an excellent job just willing his way into the end zone. I think upfront we can always be better with our pad level and our base and just the fundamentals with that. And we just have got to keep hammering away.”
