5 Bold Predictions for Green Bay Packers' Week 2 Matchup

In perhaps the most-anticipated game on the Green Bay Packers' schedule in 2015 and a potential playoff preview, the team will host the Seattle Seahawks at Lambeau Field on Sunday. 

Much has changed since the last time these two teams met. The Packers are missing their top wideout, Jordy Nelson, and a starting inside linebacker, Sam Barrington, both on injured reserve. The player who muffed the onside kick recovery is gone, and many new faces will take over on special teams, including rookies Jake Ryan, Ty Montgomery, Quinten Rollins and Aaron Ripkowski. 

The Seahawks, meanwhile, will be without safety Kam Chancellor for the second straight week, as Ian Rapoport reported on Tuesday, as the top defender holds out for a new contract. Undrafted free agent Dion Bailey will start in his place. Former starting cornerback Byron Maxwell departed in free agency. On offense, Seattle got a boost when it added tight end Jimmy Graham. 

Rather than thinking of this game as a NFC Championship rematch, think of it instead as two potential NFC powerhouses locking horns to determine which is stronger to start the season. 

In a game where seemingly anything could happen, let's make some bold predictions for the outcome. 

Two Packers Receivers Each Get Two Touchdowns

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

If Aaron Rodgers is able to throw four touchdowns against the Seahawks defense, two of his top wideouts—James Jones and Randall Cobb—will each get deuces.

James Jones should have had three touchdowns against the Chicago Bears, had one not been negated by an offensive holding penalty. So why shouldn't he match his production from Week 1 at home against Seattle? 

The Seahwaks are going to be without safety Kam Chancellor for the second week in a row, as Ian Rapoport reported on Tuesday. That will make it easier for Rodgers and his weapons to exploit Seattle's secondary, which gave up 297 receiving yards and three total touchdowns to the St. Louis Rams in Week 1. 

With Jordy Nelson out, Jones and Cobb will be two of Rodgers' go-to targets in the end zone. A lot of things have to fall into place for this prediction to come to fruition, including an excellent red-zone conversion rate by the Packers and strong offensive line play. But that's what makes it bold.

Marshawn Lynch Gets 200+ Total Yards Against Packers

L.G. Patterson/Associated Press

It's almost a given that the Packers run defense, which had to place inside linebacker Sam Barrington on injured reserve, as ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Monday, will give up big gains to Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch. 

But more than 200 yards of offense? 

Lynch had 73 rushing yards and 31 receiving yards against the St. Louis Rams defense in Week 1, for a total of 104 yards. But the Rams held him to averaging 4.1 yards per attempt.

In its Week 1 matchup with the Chicago Bears, the Packers defense allowed Matt Forte to average a whopping 5.9 yards per attempt. If Lynch had the same number of carries against the Packers—18—as he did against St. Louis and also averaged 5.9 yards per attempt, that would already give him more than 100 yards on the ground. 

Chances are, however, that Seattle will give Lynch many more than 18 carries against Green Bay, in an attempt to exploit its opponent's greatest weakness. Though Lynch averaged 17.5 carries per game in 2014, he averaged 22.5 in the two games in which Seattle played Green Bay.

The Packers can stack the box to try and stop Lynch, but they can't underestimate Seattle's pass-catchers. Though the Seahawks don't have a particularly notable receiving corps, Jermaine Kearse had eight receptions for 76 yards against the Rams. Jimmy Graham, Doug Baldwin and other weapons added 175 more receiving yards.

B.J. Raji Will Sack Russell Wilson Twice

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Some Packers fans weren't sure how B.J. Raji would fare not only in his first game back in more than a year, but in his return to the nose tackle position after two years of playing at defensive end.

But Raji's performance against the Chicago Bears in Week 1 helped quiet those questions.

Though he was also solid against the run, Raji had a big game in terms of bringing pressure on the quarterback. Raji had a critical third-down sack of Jay Cutler in the red zone, as well as two quarterback hurries. 

In his best season in 2010, Raji had 6.5 sacks, but in the two years he played at defensive end, he had none. Defensive coordinator Dom Capers' scheme didn't ask Raji to pressure the quarterback as a defensive end, but rather eat gaps. Raji, however, was unfulfilled in that role and it showed. 

In his return to the nose, Raji will be given more leeway to rush the passer, as was evident in Chicago when he got his first sack in three seasons. 

Raji has had two sacks in one game before: Week 15 against the New England Patriots in 2010. As he attempts to return to his best form, he'll go for that mark again.

Russell Wilson Throws 2 Interceptions

Tom Gannam/Associated Press

The way to beat the Seahawks is to force Russell Wilson to make mistakes.

The Packers were well on their way to accomplishing that strategy in the NFC Championship Game, goading Wilson into throwing a whopping four interceptions, though, of course, special teams and defensive follies gave away the game. 

The Packers know they don't have the personnel to stop Wilson and Marshawn Lynch on the ground, but they do have the playmakers they need to take away the ball. 

Back in January, it was Sam Shields, Morgan Burnett and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix who were able to make the plays on the ball, the rookie Clinton-Dix picking Wilson off twice. The Packers will look to that same group of playmakers in this week's matchup to put themselves in position to take the ball away, as well as few new faces. 

Burnett returned to practice on Wednesday and ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky reported Thursday that he "looks good" to play Sunday. 

Defensive coordinator Dom Capers will use subpackages to get rookies Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins on the field, both of whom proved their ability to get after the ball this preseason. Randall had one interception against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Rollins had three passes defensed during the preseason and almost picked off Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo twice. 

Two interceptions may not seem like a very bold prediction for Wilson knowing that the Packers got him to throw the ball to them four times in the championship game, but Wilson only threw more than one interception once in each of the 2013 and 2014 regular seasons. It's not something he does often.

Clay Matthews Gets an Interception for the Second Straight Week

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Speaking of interceptions, Clay Matthews has had only six in his entire career, so it's not something that happens often for the linebacker, especially in back-to-back weeks. 

However, Matthews' situation has changed, and with it, his ability to be in the right place at the right time to make a play on the ball. Heading into this season, the plan was for Matthews to work next to inside linebacker Sam Barrington on rushing downs, moving outside to rush the passer in passing situations. 

With Barrington out for the year, however, Matthews should be a more permanent fixture in the middle next to now-starting inside linebacker Nate Palmer. That means he'll be dropping into coverage more, and just generally in position to get interceptions more frequently. 

Including this week. 

In future weeks, the Packers might miss Matthews' presence on the edge and try rookie Jake Ryan in the middle. But this week, expect Matthews to play there almost full-time, which means he should have an opportunity to pick off Russell Wilson, who has thrown interceptions to the Packers under pressure many times before, including four times in the NFC Championship Game.