The Green Bay Packers have been plagued with injuries all year. AJ Dillon was ruled out for the season, and Jordan Love went down in week one, among many others. Come Thursday night, there are a few key inactives on both sides of the ball.
Green Bay Packers Inactives vs. Detroit Lions
Shorthanded Secondary
Jaire Alexander has been practicing all week; however, he once again will not see the field. Even with his practice routine, the team is taking extra measures to make sure he feels 100% before returning to live action. The Packers’ defense has been on fire, for the most part, this season. Xavier McKinney is easily the first name to come to mind. He leads the team with seven interceptions, with the next closest being Alexander at two.
Corey Ballentine is another name that will not be suiting up for Green Bay come Thursday night. Ballentine did not practice all week, and the 28-year-old’s injury could not come at a worse time. The Detroit Lions have a tremendous receiving duo in Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams. Combined, the two have put up 1450 of Jared Goff’s 2,982 yards this season. Green Bay will need to step up their game in the secondary to prevent Goff from having another 412 passing-yard performance.
Rome-NO
Romeo Doubs is the second-leading receiver on this Packers offense. Even with missing some time for personal issues, the third-year wide receiver has a clear place in this offense. Doubs did not play last week on Thanksgiving, and he has not seen the field since he hauled in 54 yards against the San Francisco 49ers on November 24th. That game seemed like he was starting to get back on track after a combined 45 yards in the two games prior. This is an entirely different offense when Romeo is putting up 94 and 72 yards per game like he was at the end of October.
Jordan Love still has his fair share of targets. Jayden Reed will be the go-to as he has been all season. Reed can also get involved in the run game, which is a much-needed threat to balance Josh Jacobs in the backfield. Reed has over 200 more receiving yards than Doubs, Tucker Kraft, and Christian Watson. Kraft has become a bigger factor in recent weeks, and Watson is beginning to find himself once again. While he still drops the occasional deep ball, having Reed, Kraft, and Watson as a receiving trio is all Jordan Love needs. An unlikely touchdown occurred to Malik Heath a few weeks ago, so it’s only a matter of time before a guy like Bo Melton finds the end zone.
Main Photo: Tork Mason-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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