PLAYER NOTES
–DT Kenny Clark is tied for the team lead with five sacks. The team’s first-round pick in 2016, Clark had 4.5 sacks during the final five games of last season, meaning he has 9.5 sacks over his last 14 games. “As far as the sack numbers, I am happy about where I’m at,” he said. “I just want to continue to be a lot more disruptive in the pass consistently. I feel like I’ve been disruptive all year but I want to continue being disruptive and keep being a playmaker for the team.”
–WR Davante Adams is tied for second in the NFL with nine touchdown receptions. He’s eighth with 62 receptions and 11th with 787 yards. “He’s a top player in this league,” QB Aaron Rodgers said. “He’s put himself in those conversations as best receiver in the NFL, I think he really has. The credit that he deserves, it’s going to come. But the real respect is the coverage that he faces. He doesn’t face a lot of one-on-ones. He’s getting help, so we’ve got to find ways to keep moving him around in different spots and getting him the ball. He’s such a dynamic player.”
–The Packers ended Sunday’s game against Miami without four defensive starters: CB Kevin King (hamstring), CB Bashaud Breeland (groin), S Kentrell Brice (ankle) and OLB Nick Perry (knee). Brice almost certainly won’t play; the others’ availability will be determined during the team’s Wednesday practice in Seattle. Only Breeland was on the field at the start of Tuesday’s practice. He was limited participation.
–TE Jimmy Graham, who spent his past three seasons playing for Seattle, did not practice Tuesday because of a knee injury. He is expected to play. Graham is second on the team with 33 receptions.
–ILB Blake Martinez, the team’s leading tackler, played through an ankle injury to record a team-high nine tackles last week. He was limited participation on Tuesday.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: DT Kenny Clark isn’t a household name, not at a position manned by the likes of the Rams’ Aaron Donald, the Eagles’ Fletcher Cox and the Bengals’ Geno Atkins. But Clark has put himself in the mix as one of the best interior defensive linemen in the league. Not only is Clark second on the team with 40 tackles – that’s more than the three players listed above – but he’s tied for first with five sacks, second with six tackles for losses and second with eight quarterback hits. According to Pro Football Focus, Clark ranks eighth among interior linemen with 32 pressures. Offensively, the Seahawks have one of the best running games in the league. On the other hand, they are worst in the league in sack percentage. If the Packers are going to spring an upset, a big game by Clark would help.
GAME PLAN: Did the Packers find a winning formula against Miami? Or was it a winning formula only because it was Miami? Offensively, the Packers went with running back Aaron Jones early in the game and he delivered. He had 54 total yards on the opening drive and all 71 yards on the next drive, with Green Bay scoring a pair of touchdowns to lead 14-3. With quarterback Aaron Rodgers struggling with accuracy, Jones might be the Packers’ most reliable threat on offense. Moreover, Seattle ranks 29th in yards allowed per carry.
Defensively, every team’s cliche response is the game plan starts with stopping the running game. It’s true with Seattle, which has a league-high run rate of 51.1 percent. If Green Bay can bottle up the running back trio of Chris Carson, Mike Davis and Rashaad Penny, who have combined for almost 1,100 rushing yards, then it can turn loose its pass rush. The Packers are No. 1 in sack percentage on defense; the Seahawks are No. 32 in sack percentage on offense.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH:
–Packers LT David Bakhtiari and RT Bryan Bulaga vs. Seahawks DE Frank Clark. This is no longer the “Legion of Boom” defense but Seattle enters the game ranked ninth in the league in points allowed. The one big-time game-wrecker is Clark, who leads the team with eight sacks and three forced fumbles. Clark will line up against both tackles in hopes of finding a matchup that can lead to a big play on quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Bakhtiari is one of the game’s elite offensive linemen and, when healthy, Bulaga is one of the better right tackles.
–Packers DC Mike Pettine vs. Seahawks QB Russell Wilson. Under former defensive coordinator Dom Capers, Green Bay generally had its way with Wilson. While Wilson ranks No. 2 all-time in passer rating, he has a rating of only 75.8 in five career regular-season matchups against Green Bay. That doesn’t include the 2014 NFC Championship Game. While Wilson helped lead the Seahawks to a stunning overtime victory, he threw one touchdown and four interceptions in that game. In three consecutive losses, all at Lambeau Field, he threw three touchdowns vs. six interceptions. Wilson probably welcomes a chance to face someone other than Capers. For this season, he has 21 touchdowns vs. five interceptions and a rating of 110.2.
