4 things the Packers need to prove against the underdog Jaguars in Week 8

The Packers travel to Jacksonville in Week 8 and are coming off their best win of the season against the Texans. The Jaguars return home after a big win over the Patriots in London. This definitely has the makings of a trap game for Green Bay if they are not at their best.

FanDuel has this Packers as 4.5-point favorites On the way to the game on Sunday afternoon. For fans looking at the records of both franchises, that limit may seem low. The Packers enter the contest at 5-2, while the Jaguars have an inverse record of 2-5. The oddsmakers are clearly pricing in the boost that Jacksonville will receive by returning to the United States and playing in front of its home crowd.

Green Bay is rightfully the clear favorite for the Week 8 matchup, but this game won’t be a walk in the park for head coach Matt LaFleur and his team. Here are five things the Packers need to do to keep going against the Jaguars.

Jordan Love and Green Bay’s passing attack receives a lot of national media attention, but the first thing LaFleur and his offensive staff want to do each week is establish the run. Getting Josh Jacobs into the game early on Sunday is the best way to keep the Jaguars and their home fans from gaining momentum.

The veteran running back has racked up 540 yards receiving this season Healthy average of 4.5 yards per carry. He benefits from the attention Love and the pass catchers draw from opposing defenses. However, that doesn’t change the fact that Jacobs has largely lived up to his free agent salary this young season.

Expect the Packers to try to weaken the Jaguars’ defense by using Jacobs early on the first few drives of Sunday’s game. If he can keep the offense on top and make an explosive play or two in the first quarter, it will give his team a big boost.

One of the quickest ways to pull off an upset in the modern NFL is to win the turnover battle. The Jaguars defense will be looking to use takeaways to secure short fields for their offense in this game. Taking care of the football is essential for Jordan Love and his offense.

Although Love played well in the first seven games of the season, his eight interceptions are a blemish on his statistics. Jacksonville will try to heat him up with pressure to force Love to get rid of the ball before he gets comfortable. Green Bay’s offensive line needs to step up these blitzes to avoid putting their quarterback in compromising situations.

On the other side of the ball, defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley will like his unit’s chances of forcing Trevor Lawrence into missed throws. Xavier McKinney is a safety to keep an eye on in this game. He excels at luring quarterbacks into risky throws, and that will be an important part of Green Bay’s defensive game plan.

Travis Etienne may have the most name recognition in Jacksonville’s running back room, but Tank Bigsby has been the team’s top running back this season. The Packers defense needs to contain Bigsby Season average of 6.2 yards per carry if you want to avoid the surprise.

This will require a group effort from Green Bay’s defense. Kenny Clark will be the first line of defense as he looks to clog up the middle of the front with his massive frame. Isaiah McDuffie will also be a key part of the effort from his middle linebacker spot. Neither has to do anything extraordinary against Bigsby. If they do their job inside the team’s front seven, that should be enough to keep Bigsby from spiraling out of control.

Green Bay’s offense was very effective against Houston last week, but it was Jayden Reed’s worst game of the season. It’s critical for the Packers to have their most dynamic wide receiver get the ball in space against Jacksonville if they want to win this game with any semblance of comfort.

Chances are Green Bay will do its best to get Reed in the game early. A few short perimeter screens should help the young wide receiver integrate into the flow of the game more easily. Sprinkle an end-around or two on the floor and it might be enough to put Reed on the path to a breakout performance.

The Jaguars defense will try to attack him early to prevent a good start. Darnell Savage knows the Packers very well, so he may be tasked with following Reed from his nickel cornerback spot. He’s a good, physical player, but he doesn’t have the explosiveness to pin Reid in space. This is a matchup where Green Bay can have a lot of success if they can make plays to get Reed up the pace with the ball on the outside.