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The Green Bay Packers went into the 2023 season with one question on their mind. Is Jordan Love the answer at quarterback long-term? The answer is a resounding yes as Love finished in the top ten of many passing categories and led this team to the playoffs in the first year after moving on from Aaron Rodgers. Here is the Green Bay Packers playoff preview.
Green Bay Packers Playoff Preview
The Packers are the youngest team in NFL history to make the playoffs. Their offense is full of first and second-year players. Wide receivers Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks are rookies and both tight ends, Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft, are in their first year. Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon are the veterans of the bunch. Defensively, the team is full of first-round talent but inconsistent play makes the unit difficult to evaluate. The Packers nabbed the seventh seed in the NFC and will head to Dallas to take on the Cowboys.
Green Bay Packers Playoff Preview: Why They Will Win
This has been a very injured team throughout the year. However, they seem to be getting healthy. They ride that health to some victories. In the past two games, we have seen Aaron Jones dominate on the ground which opens up easy play-action opportunities for Love. Jayden Reed and Christian Watson are big-play threats every time they touch the ball. On defense, a good three weeks from Rashan Gary, Jaire Alexander, and Preston Smith could easily propel this team to the playoffs. Against the Bears, the Packers sacked Justin Fields five times which killed drives and got the ball back to the offense. They have the offensive firepower and the defense has the talent to be elite even if only for a short period of time.
Green Bay Packers Playoff Preview: Why They Won’t Win
While this young team is promising for the future, they could crack under the pressure of the playoffs. Young teams often make silly mistakes which this team is prone to do. For example, Wicks didn’t get out of bounds at the end of the half in week 18 and left points on the board. Those kinds of mistakes cannot fly in the playoffs against quality teams. It would be unprecedented for a team this young to make a deep run.
The other reason they will not win is the defense. This group gave up 30 points to Bryce Young and the Panthers. After that game, they didn’t score another point. If the defense is cut through like Swiss cheese, Love and the offense won’t be able to keep up or they will be asked to do too much leading to mistakes. There has been so much inconsistency on defense that it is hard to know what to expect. Some of it has been due to injuries but some of it is defensive philosophy. If the defense allows offenses to run up and down the field, they will not win.
Playoff X-Factor
Green Bay Packers playoff preview X-factor: Quay Walker
There are plenty of candidates for the X-factor part of this article but I’m going with the second-year linebacker. His speed and tackling ability are essential to the Packers’ defense. Teams are going to try and run the ball on this defense. If Walker can plug some holes quickly and hold opposing offenses to minimal gains on first down, it gives the pass rushers an opportunity to do what they do best. He also has been used in interesting blitz packages and could have some huge games.
Check Out More Playoff Previews On The Forkball!
It has to feel good for fans to read a Green Bay Packers playoff preview in the first year of Jordan Love. Regardless of what happens this year, this team is getting valuable playoff experience for their young team.
