It’s a matchup in the Music City today as the Packers are in Nashville, Tennessee to take on the Tennessee Titans at noon CST at Nissan Stadium. The Packers are coming off a 16-10 win at home against the Indianapolis Colts and will be looking to earn their second win of the season against an 0-2 Titans team that’s off to a rough start and hoping to turn around their misfortune before they’re too deep in the hole.

This will mark the Packers’ first visit to Nashville since 2016, however, the two teams have met twice since then. The most recent of those matchups was a 27-17 loss for the Packers at Lambeau Field in November of 2022. The Packers could not get much going consistently on offense in that game with Aaron Rodgers only completing 61% of his passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns. He didn’t receive much help on the ground either as the team amassed only 56 yards rushing on 19 carries. The Titans, however, had their way with the Packers’ defense with QB Ryan Tannehill going 22/27 for 333 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Derrick Henry was unsurprisingly star of the game with 132 all-purpose yards and a rushing touchdown. He also had a passing touchdown to tight end Austin Hooper in the third quarter as the loss ended up being the Packers' 7^th of the season in 11 games.

Last week’s victory against the Indianapolis Colts can be summed up as a Matt LaFleur game-planning masterclass. With backup QB Malik Willis starting, and the Colts struggling against the run as of late, LaFleur dialed up runs to over six different players out of the backfield as the Packers totaled 261 yards on the ground and just 122 through the air. The defense also made a case for their 2024 improvement under Jeff Hafley by eliminating any chances of a big play from Colts QB Anthony Richardson and instead intercepted the young QB three times in the victory. 

We saw a Packers team that was a bit more disciplined in week 2 than in week 1 and they seemed to rally around Malik Willis to pull off a victory in the absence of Jordan Love. The Titans may present a bit more of a challenge to the run game than the Colts did, but Green Bay will be looking to build off that team win to get their second victory of the season.   

What to see on Offense

Last week, writing this section was pretty easy. While Jordan Love was listed as questionable, I stuck with my gut and wrote about Malik Willis manning the helm as it seemed pretty obvious Love was not going to play. This week, I'm not so sure. Love did practice in limited fashion every day needed this week, something he did not accomplish last week, so it truly is a good question of whether he will start or not. Guess I'll have to look at it both ways.

With Malik Willis at quarterback last week, Josh Jacobs ran the ball 32 times en route to a 151-yard rushing performance. If Willis is starting this week, I would expect the Packers to try relying on the run a lot again, However, it won't be as easy against the Titans as it seemed to be against the Colts. The Titans' front, led by Jeffery Simmons and rookie T'Vondre Sweat, has been stout against the run in the first two games of the season. In week 1 they only allowed 84 yards rushing to Chicago and in week 2, while they gave up a bit more in 130 yards to the Jets, most of it came on a 30-yard run by Breece Hall who besides that run was being held to only 2.5 yards per carry. If Willis is at QB, Matt LaFleur will have to get more creative with the run getting carriers to the edge quickly so that they're not gobbled up by those big defensive linemen. If Jordan Love does in-fact play, the run could see a little more success with the threat of the pass being more prevalent. 

As far as the pass goes, if Malik Willis plays, it will be intriguing to see who comes out on top. Being with the Titans in camp and in years past, obviously Willis is familiar with their defense. However, the Titans obviously know him too and are likely aware of his weaknesses and how to exploit them. I feel like the advantage may lay in Matt LaFleur. LaFleur was without a doubt a mad scientist of the game-plan last week and if Willis is his QB, there's no question he will have another plan ready to go for how to make him successful. If Willis starts, he will have to be much better than last week and make some more passes in order to find victory. 

If Jordan Love starts, it's a whole different ball game where I believe the Packers have the advantage. 

Edge rusher Harold Landry is off to a great start with three sacks already on the season and he will definitely be pinning his ears back against the Packers if he can. The question is where he will line up. Landry usually lines up on the left side where he will match up with Packers OT Zach Tom. Tom is off to an excellent start to the season himself allowing zero pressures, and has the ability to lock down Landry. If Landry moves to the right, Rasheed Walker has been a little shakier allowing a sack and five pressures this season. Landry could pose an issue to Walker so if he lines up a lot on the right to take advantage of that match, Matt LaFleur will want to get him a little help to make sure Landry doesn't become a game wrecker. 

The Titans' secondary led by the newly acquired L'Jarius Sneed has been off to a bit of a slow start. They haven't allowed many passing yards but we have to consider the sources. They played Caleb Williams in his first NFL game who so far this season has not looked like a first overall pick for the Bears, and then they faced Aaron Rodgers who threw for 176 yards but also scored 2 touchdowns and zero INT's. While Rodgers surely looked good Thursday night against New England passing for 281, I think he was still kicking some rust off in weeks 1 & 2. If Jordan Love is playing, I think he may be able to exploit the Titans secondary for a good game. If it's Willis, as I said before, they'll have to get a bit more creative to get those positive plays.  

What to See on Defense

We've begged for a better defense under Jeff Hafley, and in some ways, we've gotten just that so far after two weeks. But, we still aren't allowed to have nice things as our rushing defense continues to lack. 

Last week, the Packers defense gave up 103 yards on the ground to Jonathan Taylor, and in week 1 they gave up 109 and two rushing touchdowns to Saquon Barkley. It just been more of the same, and part of me questions our linebackers. They're on the stat sheet for tackles, but those tackles are coming 4-5 yards passed the line of scrimmage. They just aren't attacking the run. The defensive line as well has just been getting swallowed up in blocks and has been unable to get their arms around ball carriers until they've already been gashed. 

Tony Pollard has 144 yards rushing with a 4.4 yards per carry average and will be a threat to eat up the Packers defense if he has the chance. With QB Will Levis being shaky, the Titans are sure to lean on Pollard given the Packers issues on the ground. I don't think the answer is quite as simple as just plugging in different players, but I would like to see Edgerrin Cooper and Ty'Ron Hopper get some more action on defense. Both have shown to be good tacklers and have attacked the ball when called upon, they don't have to start, but it would be nice to see them get more than seven snaps between the two of them. 

Will Levis has been the butt of a lot of humor so far this season with his dramatics after throwing an interception against Chicago in week 1 and then his questionable lateral against the Jets. Despite him having some decent weapons in Calvin Ridley, DeAndre Hopkins and Tyler Boyd, no defense has been afraid of him throwing the football. He's had some good throws the first two games, but he's also been very mistake-prone and the Packers will be looking to make him pay for that. 

I have to pinch myself when I realize this Packers' defense already has five interceptions this season. We've usually been on the losing end of the turnover battle. Given the fact that this defense has done well to take the ball away, I would expect them to try and bait Levis into making more mistakes so that they can pat their turnover stats a little bit more. Xavier McKinney is off to a one interception per game start after two games. Normally that's a stat you'd expect to end eventually as 17 INTs in a season is unheard of and would shatter a 72-year old record of 14 INTs in a season held by the great Richard "Night Train" Lane. But, I wouldn't count week 3 as the game his streak ends, McKinney will likely be waiting for that Will Levis mistake to happen so he can take advantage. 

Perhaps one of Levis' biggest issues has been his protection. Being a young quarterback still trying to come into your own in the NFL is a task on it's own, but it's a bit more difficult when you're running for your life. The Packers defense hasn't done that well in getting to the QB this season, but that could be due to the focus being on containing two mobile QB's in Jalen Hurts and Anthony Richardson. Levis isn't a sitting duck, but he isn't a big run threat either and his offensive line has done him zero favors allowing him to be sacked seven times already this season. Not only do I expect our defensive ends, Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, and Lukas Van Ness to get after Levis, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of blitzing as well. 

The Titans will be looking to beat the Packers on the ground, it's time for them to show they can stop the run as well as the pass.

Extra Notes

In two games, Titans punter, Ryan Stonehouse has had two punts blocked. One of which was returned for a TD by a familiar face to the Packers in Jonathan Owens when he made his debut with the Chicago Bears. The Packers' special teams performance has been pedestrian at best, a blocked punt would really boost spirits and stats early in a year that I feel is crucial for ST coordinator Rich Bisaccia. I have no doubt in my mind that getting to the punter was a focus in practice this week, hopefully we'll see that happen.

Brayden Narveson is 6 for 8 this year. He's been perfect on extra points, but it was two 45-yard attempts that tripped him up. Despite that, he has converted a 46-yard attempt. If he can put together a few perfect games, the kicker conversation will likely fall silent for a few weeks. He's looked much better than our previous training camp attendees, but hopefully he can start to look even better when returning to the team that cut him after training camp when he returns today. 

I was surprised when the Packers chose Daniel Whelan over Pat O'Donnell last year. I thought the Packers would hang on to the veteran punter for at least one more year. But last year and so far this season he's shown the Packers made an excellent decision in giving him a chance. Whelan has turned into a weapon in his own right pinning 4/5 of his punts this season inside the 20-yard line averaging about 42.6 yards per punt. Punter has often been a revolving door for the Packers in the last two decades with the exception of maybe 1-2 guys. Hopefully, Whelan can keep it up and hang around Green Bay for a long time. 

It's going to be a hot one in Nashville today. The Packers did a great job of staying hydrated and not letting the heat affect their game too much last week. It will have to be more of the same today and hopefully they can still have the same success against the weather as the visiting team. 

In the End

As I type this, Jordan Love is still listed as questionable for today's game. It was a bit easier last week as the night before he was ruled as doubtful, so there was no question Malik Willis would be starting. Many say that they don't think he should play, that the Packers will be fine without him and they shouldn't risk further injury in rushing him back. While I agree with this, Doc McKenzie isn't going to clear Love if he thinks there's a high risk of further injury. You don't spend 32 years as team physician if you're known to put players' health in jeopardy. I don't care what Martellus Bennett claims. If Doc McKenzie clears Jordan Love, then I'm ready to go with number 10 under center. 

If Love isn't cleared, Matt LaFleur is going to have to be in his bag game-plan wise even more-so than last week. If Love plays, I think this could be all Packers. If it's Malik Willis, this could be another low-scoring nail-biting affair. But I think the Packers could come out victorious either way and hopefully nice and healthy for their first NFC North match against Minnesota next week. Go Pack Go.