3 Mistakes Packers Must Avoid in October
The Green Bay Packers are about to embark on one of the easiest stretches, on paper, of any team in the NFL this season.
Green Bay plays in London on Sunday against the New York Giants and then hosts the New York Jets at Lambeau Field.
The Packers should be 5-1 heading into a three-game road swing against Washington, Buffalo and Detroit.
Green Bay's best-case scenario has it sitting at 8-1 and near, or at, the top of the NFC standings after Week 9.
To get there, the Packers can't overlook the lesser opposition on their schedule while improving on some mistakes that hurt them in the first four weeks.
Green Bay turned the ball over in every game so far, and it has multiple giveaways in three of those games.
The Packers can't lose faith in the young wide receivers that suffered those giveaways, and they need to keep working them in so that the depth at that position is as strong as it can be ahead of the stretch run.
The second half of Green Bay's schedule is more difficult, so a long winning run with improvements made each week would be a welcome sight so it can chase the No. 1 seed in the NFC later on in the campaign.
Letdowns Against Weaker Opponents
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Matt LaFleur and his coaching staff need to keep the team focused with a few games ahead against weaker opposition.
The Packers can't afford to sleepwalk through their games against the two New York teams and Washington because they need to tighten things up ahead of the Week 8 clash with Buffalo.
Green Bay can experiment with a few things over the next three games, but the stretch should be more about fine-tuning the offense so it is ready to go head-to-head with one of the best teams in the league.
The Packers will be expected to cruise past the Giants in London on Sunday. They have the much better quarterback in the matchup, and the Giants could have trouble in the passing game since Daniel Jones is dealing with an ankle injury.
Green Bay needs to avoid a letdown in London and not let Saquon Barkley run all over its defense. The Packers conceded over 120 rushing yards in three of four games, so it is not out of the question for Barkley to run all over them and keep the game close.
The Jets and Commanders should lose by double figures to the Packers in the next two games, as long as the defense handles Zach Wilson and Carson Wentz, which, in theory, is easy to do.
A few workmanlike performances out of Aaron Rodgers, some low point and yardage concessions and getting everyone involved on offense should be the perfect formula to avoid any slip-ups and go into Buffalo with a 6-1 record.
Heavy Reliance on Veteran Receivers
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The next few weeks should be the perfect time for Rodgers to build more chemistry with Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson.
We all know Rodgers loves to throw to Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb, and they will play important roles in the bigger games on the schedule.
The matchups against the New York teams and Washington provide Rodgers with the perfect opportunity to build up the chemistry with Doubs and Watson, as well as their confidence in their roles within the offense.
Doubs leads the Packers in receptions and receiving yards, but he has a slender lead on Lazard and Cobb in both categories.
Watson has not had more than three receptions in the three games he has played so far. He missed the Week 3 clash with Tampa Bay.
Getting Doubs and Watson more involved in the offense should allow Rodgers to spread out the offense, avoid double coverage on his main targets and convert on more big plays.
Lazard and Cobb are not receivers who will stretch out defenses with their speed. That role could be filled by one of the rookie wideouts, and if that part of the offense is worked on in the next three weeks, they could break out for a big play in games of larger magnitudes.
Turnovers
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Green Bay committed seven turnovers in the first four games.
The Packers have been able to bounce back from most of the giveaways, but they should not have such a high total in that category if they have title aspirations.
Green Bay's defense forced four turnovers of its own, so the turnover margin is not as large as it could have been.
One of the team's two giveaways on Sunday resulted in a momentum swing in favor of the New England Patriots. Jack Jones took an interception return to the end zone right before halftime.
Green Bay avoided a concession after the first turnover, as it forced a punt after Romeo Doubs' first-quarter fumble.
New England's late first-half score gave it the confidence to hang around. Bailey Zappe answered two Green Bay scoring drives to start the second half.
The good news for the Packers is that all but one of their turnovers have not been followed by a touchdown. The Packers have allowed three field goals off turnovers.
Green Bay can't let turnovers affect its games later in the season, so holding on to the ball must be one of the top items to focus on over the next three weeks.
A year ago, the Packers had three turnovers in December, all of which came in the Week 18 clash with the Detroit Lions.
Green Bay has to aim for a similar result this season, and the work on that starts in London against the Giants.
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