The second half of the Saturday double header in the NFL is an all-NFC battle between the Green Bay Packers and the Carolina Panthers at what is forecasted to be a snowy Lambeau Field by the time this contest kicks off.
The Packers have already won the NFC North title but they have bigger things on their mind here not least the number one seed in the NFC which they are battling with the New Orleans Saints for. Carolina Panthers are going nowhere from a competitive point of view this season.
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers head into this match with a 10-3 record for the season with just one of those three defeats coming against a team with a losing record highlighting the quality of their play and how tough they are to beat. The other indication of that is what our eyes tell us about the play of Aaron Rodgers with the stats backing up his fine play. This has been his best season in a Packers jersey so far and that bodes very well for the Wisconsin outfit.
In an ideal world Green Bay would like their defence to be going a little better but to be fair to that unit when their offense is delivering the sort of quality and point total that it is the focus on the defence is probably a little overrated. It might be the thing that catches them out in the postseason and if conditions do make life tough for the offense here then it will be interesting to see if their defence can win the game.
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Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers have had a difficult rebuild season. They certainly haven’t been helped by the injury to Christian McCaffrey and his absence has hurt the offense very hard indeed. That said though, they will be disappointed with their 4-9 return for the season and they will be looking for a strong finish to find something that they can take into next term for them. They have nothing to lose here so hopefully from their point of view they free up and deliver a strong primetime performance.
The Panthers go into this match off the back of just one win in their last eight matches and although the schedule hasn’t always been kind, losses to the Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons don’t really do much for their record. It is easy to say but they are in the middle of a combination where their offense isn’t really firing and their defence isn’t really showing up much better either. A lot more is needed if they are to knock off the Packers here.
Betting
I’m going to go with a player performance bet in this match as we don’t truly know how conditions will be and how they will affect both teams as a result. The bet I like is for Aaron Jones to rush for more than 62.5 yards in the game. I like this for a couple of reasons. The first is that the Packers will need their run game to manage the clock when they get to the postseason and certainly have the chance in the snow to utilise their run game and take the risk out of the passing game.
The other reason why I like it is because it wasn’t so long ago that Ronald Jones was rushing for nearly 200 yards against this Panthers defence when Carolina met Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the main there is a feeling that the Panthers’ run defence is creditable but when it has a mare it has a real mare. With potentially more emphasis on running the ball here I expect another Jones to fill his boots and go past 62.5 yards.
Tips
WON – Back A.Jones – Over 62.5 rushing yards for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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