It's that Sunday at Noon home cooking for the Green Bay Packers once again as they face the Arizona Cardinals today at Lambeau Field for a game that will start two straight at home for the Packers. The 3-2 Packers are coming off their 24-19 victory over the LA Rams at SoFi stadium in LA and hope this two-game home stand can help the team heat up just before the second half of the season. With a 2-3 record, the Cardinals will be looking to build off the momentum they created for themselves after defeating the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara. This will be the 74th regular season meeting between the Packers and Cardinals in a series dating back to 1921 when the Cardinals were located in Chicago. 

The last time these two teams met was in Arizona where the Cardinals were 7-0 to start the season and the Packers were 6-1. The Packers got the best of that match-up, winning a close game 24-21. This game saw Randall Cobb get in the endzone twice threw the air catching two touchdowns from Aaron Rodgers. While Rodgers and Cobb are obviously no longer with the Packers, Arizona's current running back, James Conner was with the team and scored two of their three touchdowns in the second half of the game. Before this game, the two teams did have a somewhat famous meeting in 2018 when the 2-9 Cardinals defeated the 4-6-1 Packers in Green Bay. This ended up being the last time former Head Coach Mike McCarthy would be at the helm of the Packers as he was fired immediately after the game. 

Last week was a decent game for the Packers coming up with the victory but it had some rough moments in it as well. Of course, there's the lovely low-light of Jordan Love falling and tossing the ball right into the hands of a Rams' defender near the goal line for a pick-six. There was also a slew of drops and the defense letting Kyren Williams run all over them for 102 yards on 22 carries. But there were also some highlights too with the defense forcing more turnovers and Tucker Kraft seemingly having his breakout game. Arizona has a dynamic offense that could cause some issues for the Packers if they're not ready, but when it comes to their defense, it doesn't quite offer the same threat. 

With some weapons returning today on both sides of the ball, the Packers should hopefully be notching another tick in the win column. 

What to see on Offense

Last week the Packers could still move the ball a bit despite missing two receivers in Doubs and Watson and a tight end in Luke Musgrave. Granted unlike Doubs and Watson, Musgrave was active for the game in LA, he never saw a single snap, and it's apparent now that perhaps he shouldn't have been active as he landed on injured reserve this past week after the Packers signed TE John FitzPatrick off of the Falcons' practice squad. Doubs is back from suspension which will help out the offense and Christian Watson could also be back as he is listed as questionable but after practicing in limited fashion each day this week, he is closer than he has been before to getting back out there. For the first time since week 1, Jordan Love should be 100% and could have his full complement of receivers at his disposal. The offensive line, however, could be without Rasheed Walker as he came up on the injury sheet Friday with limited participation and is questionable. It doesn't appear there's a lot of concern around it but it's worth noting nonetheless. 

Having both receivers back will be a gift considering the Cardinals are ranked 29th against the pass allowing 7.71 yards per attempt. They can get after the Quarterback with 11 sacks so far this season, but they don't have a personnel list that the Packers are exactly going to lose sleep over. Dennis Gardeck leads the team with three sacks, and former Packer,  Krys Barnes trails in second with two, both from the linebacker position. These linebackers and defensive linemen can get to the Quarterback in creative ways, but the Packers' offensive line has been pretty well-disciplined against such moves and should be able to keep Jordan Love upright. 

In the secondary, the Cardinals only have four interceptions. Garrett Williams has been their best corner so far mainly from the slot position, but their outside corners Sterling Thomas and Sean Murphy-Bunting haven't gotten off to great starts. There is a chance Packers' receiver Bo Melton could be lining up against his younger brother Max Melton as Melton has seen an increase in snaps and has been making his way up the depth chart. You don't often get to see brother vs brother actually on the field on opposing teams so that should be a fun one if the Melton bros find one another face to face. On the back end, the Cardinals have Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson. Baker is always a sure tackler but he's been struggling a bit as a ball hawk. However, I wouldn't test that often as you never know when those skills will return to the veteran All-Pro. 

After Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle combined for 211 yards against this Arizona defense last week, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Packers feature Jayden Reed and Tucker Kraft in the passing game often today to test whether they can have similar success with similar style players.

Looking at the rush, Arizona is ranked 28th vs the run giving up 147.8 rushing yards per game. While AZ's linebackers and safety are good at stopping ball carriers, the defensive line is not. I would fully expect Josh Jacobs to put together some hard runs in between the tackles along with Emanuel Wilson. Jacobs hasn't been over 100 yards since his week 2 150-yard stomping of Indianapolis, but we could see him get over that mark today.

Yesterday the Packers elevated fullback, Andrew Beck from the practice squad. This is likely to occupy the H-back role with the team only having two active tight ends since John Fitzpatrick will not be playing today. I don't know about you, but I miss the fullback role. We need the William Hendersons and the John Kuhns of the world back on our football teams every week. So, I'll be pulling for Andrew Beck to perhaps make a few plays whether that be plowing the fields for the halfbacks or hurdling defenders after a screen pass. 

Given the dynamic nature of the Cardinals' offense, I'm hoping for some complimentary football with the Packers putting together some long scoring drives to help keep the defense well-rested and getting that done starts with a good running game. 

What to See on Defense

For the second straight week, the Packers will be without defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt as he is OUT with an ankle injury. Jaire Alexander is also notable on the list being questionable with a groin injury but like Christian Watson, Alexander could be the closest he's been in the last few weeks to playing today, so hopefully we see number 23 out there, we're going to need him today. It's worth noting that the team didn't elevate a cornerback yesterday from the practice squad. This could be a good sign for Alexander but with Carrington Valentine returning to the lineup, they may think they'll be fine with the four they have if Alexander can't go. I'm going to go with the hope that Jaire returns today. 

Kyler Murray has had an up-and-down career. But it appears this year is an up one so far for the one-time Tom Clements QB school student. He has 972 passing yards and seven touchdowns already this season with two interceptions. Part of this is due to Murray's new toy in the rookie receiver, Marvin Harrison Jr. who leads the team with 279 yards receiving and four touchdowns on 17 catches. Even before the draft, if I could've chosen one player for the Packers to have traded whatever was needed to move up in the 2024 draft, it would've been to go get Marvin Harrison Jr. I'm well aware we have a good group of young receivers, but I still would've paid the price to go put Harrison Jr among them. He's that good. 

That may be the main reason I hope Jaire Alexander returns today. We will need Jaire to contain Harrison Jr. so that we don't have a Randy Moss Deja Vu moment of a rookie receiver absolutely torching our secondary, as Harrison Jr is capable of it. After MHJ, Michael Wilson is next in line at receiver with 216 yards and a touchdown on 19 catches, and then tight end Trey McBride comes in with 175 yards on 20 catches. Overall, I think the Packers' secondary will be able to contain Arizona's passing attack, but it depends on limiting Harrison Jr, if you let him lift the lid off the top, it's going to open up everything underneath and the Packers' defense cannot let that happen today. 

Kyler Murray has been pretty careful with the ball so far this season only throwing two interceptions. With the Packers' defense occasionally relying on their ability to take the ball away, they may have to focus on making tackles and limiting yardage first before taking it away today. But I'm still hoping for Xavier McKinney to keep his ridiculous streak going of one interception each game. Outside of passing though, Kyler Murray is always a threat on the ground. Already with 247 yards and a TD on 23 carries, the Packers will need to reach back to weeks 1 and 2 when they contained Jalen Hurts and Anthony Richardson and hope to keep Murray behind the line of scrimmage as much as possible. During those first two weeks, the pass rush suffered a bit due to the containment efforts, so I kind of expect the same today, however, Murray has been sacked four times in two different games this season, so I wouldn't give up on it altogether, it can be done. 

Outside of Murray's rushing threat, the Cardinals also have James Conner who's had 379 yards on 83 carries and three touchdowns this season so far averaging 4.6 yards per carry. Much to our dismay, the Packers still struggle with stopping the run. It's our cross to bear. However, I will say it isn't quite as bad as you might think, we're right in the middle of the pack at 16 when it comes to rushing defense averaging 4.43 yards allowed per carry. The linebackers will have to be disciplined today to help stop the run from both Conner and Murray. I've mentioned it before, but I would not be surprised to see Javon Bullard or Evan Williams lined up as slot corners often in nickel packages to add a little extra safety assistance in stopping the run. Both of those rookie safeties have showcased their abilities already this season, it's time we start actively featuring them in game-plan more often. 

This will be a challenging game for the defense, but I believe it is one they can win as they've shown the ability to stop teams with similar features earlier in the season. It all depends on everyone playing sound, mistake-free football. We can't shoot ourselves in the foot against this team. 

Extra Notes

I'm honestly terrified to say this for fear of jinxing him today, but Brayden Narveson was perfect last week in LA. He was 1/1 nailing a 46-yard field goal and went 3/3 with extra points. It was absolutely a nice bounceback from the previous week, but he needs to make it a consistent thing before we start giving him a pass. 

On the Cardinals side, kicker Matt Prater was inactive last week and is listed as questionable for today with a knee injury. Chad Ryland, who actually worked out for the Packers almost two weeks ago, could be the kicker if Prater doesn't go. Ryland was 3/4 last week getting the call against San Francisco with the lone miss being a blocked kick.

Punter Daniel Whelan has been outstanding this season for the Packers but he hit a bit of a wall against the Rams only averaging 37.2 net yards on five punts. Before LA, Whelan was averaging about 48 net yards just to give you a bit of a comparison. Hopefully, returning home to Lambeau will help him put last week behind him as he's averaged 53 net yards at home so far this season. 

Should we just forget about the kickoff? I mean, let's just save the kicker's leg. Keisean Nixon was licking his chops at the new kickoff format in the offseason, but I'll bet he didn't bank on teams just kicking it over his head every time. Nixon only has one return in five games, and that came in the season opener. I would miss the kickoff, but at this point, my God, just put the ball at the 30 and save your energy. There will more than likely be changes made to the format again in the offseason, so I guess we'll just have to wait for the Fall of 2025 to care about a kickoff again.

In the End

Today's game is going to rely on the Packers playing sound, complimentary football. The Packers' defense has the tools to match up against the Cardinals' offense. They showed that earlier in the season by stopping QBs like Jalen Hurts and Anthony Richardson. But if this ends up being a bit of a track meet, the defense is going to need the offense to put together some long methodical scoring drives to get them some time on the sidelines to rest and prep for the next drive, and also take away any momentum the Cardinals' offense may gain. 

Once again, if you're reading this just before you walk into the Holy Land that is Lambeau Field, get loud today. We need to take back our home-field advantage after losing to Minnesota in Green Bay two weeks ago. That needs to have ended two weeks ago, no more losing at Lambeau. So, let's get after it and pick up a win so we can successfully defend our field once again against Houston next week. Go Pack Go.