How good are the Packers?
They have a shiny 9-4 record and if the playoffs were today, they would be the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoffs and go to No. 3 seed Seattle. That’s ironic because the Packers head to the Pacific Northwest for a Sunday night game this week.
The Packers are a tough team to figure out because they are ranked seventh in offensive scoring and ninth in defensive scoring. Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney are two of the best in the game at running back and safety.
Yet, questions remain.
The only complete game Green Bay has played was against Arizona back in Week 6. In that game, the defense only allowed 89 rushing yards, and the offense tallied a whopping 437 yards as the Packers smoked the Cardinals 34-13.
The Packers have lost to the three best teams in the NFC. The Lions twice, Eagles and Vikings. The Packers' signature win so far this season was a 24-19 decision at Los Angeles over the Rams.
On the other hand, the Packers have looked very good in the last three weeks. With wins over the 49ers and Dolphins and a tight loss to the Lions. The X-factor has been Jordan Love, who has been playing fantastic. He’s completing 65 percent of his passes for 643 yards with five touchdowns and no picks — and a 117.28 passer rating.
Love isn’t throwing the 50-50 ball as often as he was earlier in the season and as a result, his turnovers have nosedived.
Love looks like the quarterback the Packers had hopes for when they gave him a huge contract after one season as a starter. The thing that impresses me most is how he is taking ownership of his mistakes. That quality was often missing from the previous quarterback in Green Bay.
But if the Packers want to play deep into January, it will come down to the play of the secondary. That unit has been torched with miscommunication, bad tackling and coverage miscues that needs to addressed. Not to mention, there is also the Jaire Alexander issue. He hasn’t played since Nov. 17 — and that was only 10 snaps at Chicago. Alexander is supposed to be the lockdown corner on this team and without him, Eric Stokes is being thrown into action and it’s very clear that he doesn’t deserve the time.
The Packers are a good team that still hasn’t really proven anything just yet. We will definitely find an answer in the next four weeks.