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With the Green Bay Packers scheduled to face the Arizona Cardinals in Week 8 on Thursday Night Football, the NFC seeding picture comes into focus.
Before the Packers-Cardinals tiff, consider some predictions for the visitors from Wisconsin.
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Green Bay Packers Week 8 Predictions
4. Linebacker Rashan Gary will force a fumble
Gary was active and influential in the Packers' win over the Washington Football Team this past weekend. His Week 7 performance could carry into Week 8. It's something Green Bay can really use, given the injuries to Za'Darius Smith and Jaire Alexander. Preston Smith is questionable for this game during a short week in Week 8.
The Packers are very banged up, and this doesn't even include the COVID-19 complications which have emerged for the game. Defensive coordinator Joe Barry won't travel with the team to Glendale. It's a very fluid and unusual situation in which Green Bay needs an all-hands-on-deck effort from a lot of different players on defense.
Gary will answer the call and give the Packers a lift in the desert.
3. Tight end Robert Tonyan will accumulate at least 80 receiving yards
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The COVID-19 absences of Davante Adams and Allen Lazard mean that Aaron Rodgers has to find different targets for the Packers against the Cardinals. The Week 8 edition of Thursday Night Football has lost some of its sizzle and sex appeal precisely because of the loss of Adams, Rodgers' favorite target.
The Packers need other guys to step up on offense, just as they need players to emerge on defense to compensate for their crucial injuries to frontline starters. Tonyan has had an occasional moment in the sun. He memorably smoked the Atlanta Falcons on a Monday Night Football game, and he has had a few other special games for the Pack Attack.
He has, however, not been especially consistent—not at a high level, at least. Green Bay needs Tonyan against the Cardinals, but more than that, they need him to be a more regular factor in the offense. The game in Arizona in Week 8 gives him a chance to restart his 2021 season and find a higher gear.
2. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers will throw for over 250 yards
Even without Adams and Lazard, Rodgers will pile up the passing yards. To be honest, this will likely happen not necessarily due to Rodgers mastering the moment (though he is certainly capable of doing that, to say the least), but because the Packers are likely to trail on the scoreboard in the second half. They will have to throw unless they surprisingly take charge of the game early and can drain the clock with their rushing attack.
Rodgers will probably use a short passing game in the first half to move the ball and slow down the Cardinals' formidable pass rush. In the second half, Green Bay's approach will depend on the scoreboard, but the odds suggest that Rodgers will accumulate passing yards as long as his backup receivers don't get smothered.
1. Packers will lose to Cardinals in Week 8
While this game will be close, since the Green Bay defense has a good chance of generating a pass rush against a less-than-great Cardinals offensive line, the Packers won't be able to score enough to win. Let's be realistic: As great as Rodgers is, he and Matt LaFleur are dealing with a ton of roster limitations. On a short week against a quality opponent, that is bound to matter. Arizona 27, Green Bay 24.
