Packers Wire staff predictions: Week 7 vs. Broncos

Nothing can be considered easy or straight forward for a young, struggling Packers team, and there’s a reason why the Packers are only a slight betting favorite against a 1-5 team coming off three-straight losses. But Week 7 does provide an opportunity for the Packers to get back on track on offense, take away the football on defense and snap the two-game losing streak. While I don’t expect a scoring bonanza, the Packers — assuming Aaron Jones plays — should be able to produce a far more efficient performance on offense, and there’s a lot to like about the matchup between the Packers pass-rush and the Broncos offensive line and Russell Wilson. Feed the ball to Jones and Christian Watson, up the success rate on offense and pressure Wilson into sacks and mistakes, and the Packers should snap the losing streak in Denver. While I’d like for my confidence level in a victory to be higher, this is a game the Packers should win.

The Packers have a great opportunity to get back on track coming out of the bye week. After losing back-to-back games, they will face a struggling Broncos team sporting a 1-5 record and a defense ranked dead last in yards and points allowed per game. There really is no excuse for Green Bay’s offense to struggle in this one. The run game should finally find its footing, especially if Aaron Jones is available, and Jordan Love should also be able to regain some confidence. The Packers won’t run up the score but should eclipse 300 total yards for the first time since Week 3. For the defense, Russell Wilson is having a solid year but has also been sacked 19 times. The pass rush will have a productive outing and force at least one or two turnovers to secure the win.

If this week we don’t see the Packers’ offense find some sort of sustained success, I’m not sure when it will happen. This Denver defense is statistically one of the worst in football in several key categories, even if were to exclude the Miami game where they gave up 70 points. They go hand-in-hand, but two keys for the Packers offense will be getting the run game going against a defense that has struggled to defend running backs, both as ball carriers and in the passing game, and finding success on early downs. Many of the overall issues that this Green Bay offense is experiencing is from being in too many second and third-and-long situations, which puts Jordan Love and the young pass catchers in obvious passing situations. If the offense put up some points early, it will go a long way in helping the defense. Denver has an efficient run game, but they’ve been unable to lean on it often this season because they’ve frequently been trailing by multiple scores. If the Broncos are able to stick with the run game, they also have some playmakers at receiver that will challenge this up and down Green Bay defense if they have to account for both running and passing games. The key for the Packers will be to make Denver one-dimensional.