The Green Bay Packers will likely need to go down a familiar winning path to get to 2-0 on Sunday in Atlanta. As was the case in Week 1, Matt LaFleur’s team must play a clean game on offense, win battles along the line of scrimmage and tackle dangerous ball-carriers to take down the Falcons in Week 2.
Here are the five biggest keys to the Packers beating the Falcons on Sunday:
Zero turnovers
The Falcons produced three takeaways (all via safety Jessie Bates III) and scored 17 of their 24 points off turnovers in Week 1. Atlanta’s offense had to go 17 yards, five yards and 61 yards for points off turnovers, and the only other scoring drive needed to go just 56 yards. The Packers must avoid field-flipping and game-changing giveaways and force Desmond Ridder and the Falcons to traverse the whole field for points. Can Jordan Love play another clean game on the road against an aggressive defense? Playing complementary football means not putting the defense in tough situations.
Pressure Desmond Ridder
In Week 1, Desmond Ridder took four sacks and was 0-for-1 passing — with a near-interception — over five pressured dropbacks. To combat pressure, the Falcons had him throw short, including five screens and eight passes behind the line of scrimmage. The Packers can create another long day at the office for Ridder and the passing game by consistently winning up front. The Packers produced incredible pressure numbers in Week 1 and will bring to Atlanta one of the deepest and most athletic pass-rushing fronts in football. It’s hard to imagine Ridder getting into any kind of rhythm if the Packers’ pass-rush is on.
Tackle the running backs
Falcons running backs Tyler Allgeier and Bijan Robinson forced 10 total missed tackles across 34 touches in Week 1. The Panthers had a hard time getting Allgeier on the ground in the run game, while Robinson was a menace in space as a receiver, especially on his 11-yard touchdown in the first half. Overall, the pair produced over 150 total yards after first contact and after the catch. Long story short: the Packers must tackle well on Sunday, especially on the edges. Broken tackles will be the difference between forcing the Falcons to craft slow, methodical drives and the explosive plays that create points.
Start fast
Winning on the road often requires starting fast or at least weathering an early storm. Creating an early scoring drive or two could suck the life of a noon crowd at Mercedes Benz Stadium and get the Falcons out of their comfort zone as an offense. Last week, the Packers got a fourth down stop and a touchdown drive early, which let everyone settle within a hostile environment in Chicago. The Falcons, meanwhile, delivered a turnover on downs on Carolina’s first drive and later got an interception, setting up a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. A fast start would put the Packers in the driver’s seat.
Protect Jordan Love
Everything ties back to protecting the quarterback and pressuring the opponent’s quarterback. No one is going to expect the Packers to protect Jordan Love as well as they did in Week 1, when only a handful of Bears pass-rushers got within arm’s reach of the Packers quarterback. But keeping disruption out of the pocket was a big reason why Love was so good on third down, fourth down and even in the red zone last week. The key will be blocking up the interior; the Falcons have Grady Jarrett, a two-time Pro Bowler and one of the league’s best interior pass-rushers, and David Onyemata produced two quarterback hits and a tackle for loss in his Falcons debut in Week 1. Can Josh Myers, Elgton Jenkins and Jon Runyan Jr. keep the interior of the pocket intact long enough for Love to get the ball to the right place? Even if Christian Watson and Aaron Jones are limited, Matt LaFleur can scheme up big plays if Love is well-protected.
