The Green Bay Packers head to the west coast for a Week 5 matchup with Matt Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams. Coming off a tough loss to the division rival Vikings, the Packers come into this week with a .500 record. After four weeks the Rams are 1-3 with their sole win coming in their only game played at SoFi Stadium so far this season.
Sean McVay’s squad comes into this game missing their two biggest weapons in Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. They also rank near the bottom on the defensive side of the ball, giving up the second-most points in the NFL this season. With that said, as he has shown throughout his career, a Matt Stafford-led team should never be overlooked.
Here are 3 things to watch in the Packers vs. Rams Week 5 matchup in LA:
Dontayvion Wicks Breakout?
Last week Dontayvion Wicks had 13 targets. He finished with 5 catches, 78 yards and 2 TDs. 5/13 is less than ideal, but the opportunities are there. And not to mention, one of those missed opportunities was a drop in the end zone. He very easily could’ve (and probably should’ve) finished that game with 3 touchdown catches.
With Christian Watson being ruled out (ankle) and Romeo Doubs listed as doubtful (not sure what’s fully going on there, but that’s a whole different conversation) Wicks should once again see plenty of targets. According to PFF, Wicks leads the entire NFL in separation percentage at 82.14%. He has created separation from coverage on 23 of 28 opportunities. In only his 2nd season, Dontayvion Wicks has proven he has the tools to be a true weapon in this league.
Look for Wicks to clean up the drops this week and give the Rams defense a headache all afternoon.
Josh Jacobs Still Looking for First TD
If you told me we would be 4 weeks into the season and Josh Jacobs would still be looking for his first touchdown I would assume the worst. Granted, it has been a bumpy and unusual first four weeks with Jordan Love missing 2 games, forcing the offense to slightly adapt from their normal attack. But I would still assume Jacobs would’ve found the end zone by now. To be fair, he has had some bad luck with a TD being called back by penalty and fumbling at the goal line in week 2.
Jacobs should enter this week wide-eyed and ready to roll. The Rams have the 32nd ranked rush defense giving up 165 rush yards per game. I would expect Josh Jacobs to be heavily utilized in the game plan leading to his first touchdown celebration of the 2024 season.
Jordan Love Settling In
Jordan Love showed up to Lambeau last week in a Brett Favre jersey and he certainly paid homage to 4 with a classic Favre-like performance. Love finished the day 32/54 with 389 yards, 4 TDs and 3 INTs.
Being his first game back since week 1, there appeared to be some early rust with some atypical misses and some questionable decision making. As the game went on, Love settled in and started to play like he did in the back half of last season.
With a full week of practice and being completely off the injury report, I expect Jordan Love to come out like his usual self this week in LA. “It’ll be fun,” Love said. “I’m excited about it. My first time playing at SoFi, so I’m excited to go back home, and (it’s) obviously the closest game to back home in Bakersfield, so … I have a lot of family that lives there, and I’m excited to play in front of them.”
Prediction: Packers 34, Rams 21
There should be plenty of West Coast Cheeseheads representing at SoFi Stadium on Sunday and I think they are in for a treat. Given the circumstances, this is a game the Packers should win. Even being down a few WRs, this offense has the weapons to give any defense a hard time; especially a defense that has yet to show the ability to consistently get stops. Look for a more Rodgers-like than Favre-like performance from Jordan Love this week and don’t be surprised if Josh Jacobs ends up in the end zone more than once.
