This is the ultimate “get right” game for the Green Bay Packers.
It’s what we thought would be the result of last week’s affair against the Las Vegas Raiders. That didn’t go as planned when the Packers’ offense struggled once again in a 17-13 Monday night loss in Vegas.
The game dropped the Packers to a losing 2-3 record, and left a sour taste in the mouth of the team and Packer fans everywhere as the club headed into the bye week. The hope was Green Bay could reach a very respectable 4-2 by the end of Week 7, but that has already gone down the drain.
Thankfully, after a week of rest, the Packers get arguably the worst team in the league for their next game. The 1-5 Denver Broncos earned their first and only win of the season thanks to a second-half comeback against the Chicago Bears, another one of the NFL’s worst to offer.
In all fairness, Denver’s Sean Payton-coached offense led by Russell Wilson looks better than it did last season, even if marginally. They’re 16th in the league on third down, 17th in points per game, 10th in yards per play, and 17th in offensive DVOA. Denver has generally been an average offense throughout the year. They won’t be the worst offense Green Bay has faced this year.
The defense, however, is historically awful through 6 weeks. In a game that will go down in NFL history, Denver surrendered 70 points and over 700 yards to the Miami Dolphins a few weeks ago.
The Broncos defense ranks last in yards per play, points per game, rush yards per attempt and pass yards per attempt, 31st in points per play, 30th in first downs per game, tied for 20th in takeaways per game (with Minnesota and Green Bay), and 20th in sack percentage. There is virtually nothing that the Broncos defense performs above average.
The Packers themselves have been a mediocre offense so far. Offensively, Green Bay are dead center at 16th in offensive DVOA, 25th in first downs per game and rushing yards per attempt, 22nd in yards per play, 20th in yards per pass attempt, and 12th in giveaways per game.
Defensively, the Packers stand at 10th in yards per play and 3rd down conversions per game, 9th in yards per pass game, 10th in sack percentage, 14th in opponent passer rating per game, 19th in yards per rush attempt and 28th in rushing yards per game. Green Bay’s passing defense has been their strength.
This will be the first time Russell Wilson plays the Green Bay Packers in a Broncos uniform. During his career with the Seattle Seahawks, Wilson went 3-4 against the Packers in the regular season, throwing 9 touchdowns to 8 interceptions while averaging just a 5.24 average net yards per attempt and less than 200 passing yards per game (187.3). For whatever reason, the Packers have had Wilson’s number for the majority of his career, and that shouldn’t be expected to change playing for a dysfunctional Broncos team in 2023.
The difference between 3-3 and 2-4 feels massive at this junction of the season. Even more than the Raiders game a week ago, this feels like the most opportune “get right” game coming off the bye week. The Broncos may be the easiest game the Packers have left on the schedule this season.
Green Bay faces back-to-back Los Angeles teams after this game with the Rams and Chargers coming to town. Those contests will be a much greater challenge than the Broncos.
It feels as close to a do-or-die Week 7 game as you can get.
Liam O’Donnell is a devoted Packers fan and an aspiring sportswriter from Milwaukee. He writes for PackersTalk.com and you can follow him on twitter at @liamodonnell___.
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