HEADLINE

Rodgers, Flacco looking to hit Super strides

Field Level Media

September 19, 2019 at 4:24 am.

Aaron Rodgers and Joe Flacco are Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks.

For now, they’d settle on a super game.

Rodgers will lead the undefeated Green Bay Packers into a Week 3 home contest against Flacco and the winless Denver Broncos on Sunday at Lambeau Field. The Rodgers-led Packers attack is tied for 26th at 15.5 points game. The Flacco-led Broncos attack has been even feebler, ranking 28th at 15.0 points per game.

Green Bay hired Matt LaFleur as head coach in hopes of turning around Rodgers, in particular, and the offense, in general. Other than a 21-point barrage to start last week’s win against Minnesota, the offense has been spinning its wheels. Its 21.1 yards per drive ranks better than only the woeful Miami Dolphins.

First-year Broncos coach Vic Fangio knows Rodgers well after spending the last four years coordinating the defense of the rival Bears and another four years coordinating San Francisco’s defense. While Rodgers ranks only 23rd in completion percentage and 13th in passer rating, Fangio knows Rodgers can get hot in a hurry.

“He’s so good in many different ways,” Fangio told reporters. “We just have to try and make him be a normal human and not the Superman he can be many times.”

Flacco has been accurate and the Broncos are fifth with 42.0 yards per drive but they have only two touchdowns to show for it. The root of their problems is a 30th-ranked red-zone attack.

“I think we’ve been in two very low-possession games, so when you hurt yourself when you get into that field-goal range or you don’t quite get into field-goal range, that’s how that’s going to be,” Flacco said. “Obviously, you’re going to play some games throughout the year that you don’t score a ton of points and you have to win them that way. I think this past Sunday was one of those games. When you look at those stats after two games, it’s tough to really tell much about it. I think we’re definitely gaining the confidence that we can be a really good offense, we just have to go out there and really start to do it.”

Both offenses face big challenges this week. For Flacco, it’s facing a defense that ranks second in the league in points allowed. For Rodgers, it’s facing Fangio and the premier edge-rushing duo of Von Miller and Bradley Chubb.

“They mix a lot of their personnel,” Rodgers said. “They won’t match every time. A lot of teams will match a nickel to sub and base against base personnel. But they’ll do some mix-matches. They’ll do base against nickel or base against sub. They’ll go nickel against 12 personnel. They’ll run five or six defensive linemen, rush-type guys, on the field, which we saw last year when he was in Chicago. So, he’s a fantastic coach. I’m happy for him getting the opportunity after so many years being a great assistant in the league. I haven’t spent a lot of time with him, but I have a ton of respect for the way he’s gone about his business during his career.”

Injuries are an issue for both teams. For the Packers, who play Philadelphia next Thursday, their 16-man injury report had LaFleur take the unusual step of scrapping Wednesday’s practice. One of Rodgers’ top targets, tight end Jimmy Graham, wouldn’t have practiced because of a groin injury. For Denver, right tackle Ja’Wuan James (knee) didn’t practice. Last year’s leading tackler, Todd Davis, has been out for a month with a calf injury but was a full participant.

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