It’s London week, and the (3-1) Green Bay Packers are set to face the (3-1) New York Giants on Sunday.
This will be Green Bay’s first trip across the pond, while New York has played there twice since the international slate began in 2007. Perhaps that doesn’t give the Giants much of an advantage, but it is significant, considering the Packers have had trouble playing in different time zones.
On paper, Green Bay is the better team, which is why they are 7.5-point favorites despite New York’s No. 1 rushing offense.
If the Packers hope to win, their run defense better show up against one of the most talented running backs in the game in Saquon Barkley. The Giants will do their best to set the pace through their ground attack. Meanwhile, the Packers will need to do everything they can to make Daniel Jones beat them.
Offensively, the Packers would be wise to also stick to the ground attack. New York’s defense has allowed at least 145 rushing yards in three straight games. We may see two teams pound the rock on Sunday, and whichever team does it best could come out on top.
Starting with Barkley going up against a vulnerable run defense, let’s highlight four key matchups in this week 5 meeting.