The showdown Sunday night versus the undefeated Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers has many storylines to take in. The most glaring one is, of the course, the two quarterbacks. Peyton Manning versus Aaron Rodgers gets the headlines but the two quarterbacks will have their hands full with their opposing defenses.
“I got plenty of guys on the other side of the ball that I’m worried about,” Rodgers said Wednesday when asked about playing against Manning. “[Darian] Stewart and [T.J.] Ward, [Aqib] Talib, [Chris] Harris Jr., [Bradley] Roby, [Danny] Trevathan, [Brandon] Marshall, DeMarcus [Ware], Von [Miller], Derek Wolfe, [Sylvester] Williams and [Malik] Jackson and Kilgo if he plays and Antonio [Smith]. You know I got a lot of guys I got to think about.”
Of all the defensive players, three guys that will be under the microscope will obviously be Talib, Harris and Roby. Despite the fact that the Packers have been a balanced offense, ranking eighth in rushing and 22nd in passing, Rodgers will be the focal point and take his shots at the Broncos defensive backs throughout the game.
“He [Rodgers] is an excellent quarterback with a quick release. He gets all of his guys involved. He gets the o-line involved with the snap count and things like that. He’s a great quarterback. He’s doing everything right. No window is too small. He’s making almost every throw out there. Every throw he wants to make, he’s basically making it. It’s going to take a lot of tight coverage and a lot of pressure,” Talib said Monday.
Rodgers is once again playing at an MVP level. He has thrown 15 touchdowns to only two interceptions has an average passer rating of 115.9. It is his pocket awareness and ability to extend plays that defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and his defensive backs are focusing on as they prepare.
“We’ve told our defensive backs that you have to cover them twice. You have to cover on the first time he drops back for 2.5 seconds, then when he starts scrambling, you have to keep covering the guy.”
The Broncos top three cornerbacks have been stellar throughout the season. Harris ranks fourth overall on Pro Football Focus among cornerbacks, while Talib and Roby come in at 23rd and 25th respectively. The three cornerbacks account for six of the team’s nine interceptions. The big plays they have made in recent weeks, Harris’ and Talib’s interceptions for touchdowns in particular, have caught the eye of Rodgers.
“They’re great players, excellent players, Pro Bowl players. Aqib [Talib] is playing the position at the highest level and so is Chris [Harris]. Those guys are fantastic athletes. They do it a little differently but they are both very effective so you have to be very smart with the football,” he said Wednesday.
Harris is the only Broncos cornerback that was around for the last matchup between these two teams in 2011 and it happened to be his first game as a major contributor on defense. Harris remembers the moment well.
“I remember playing my rookie year, playing against Green Bay. Aaron Rodgers came right after me the first three plays. That is just who he is. He will find a guy who he wants to target and he will go after them the whole game,” Harris said Thursday.
With that in mind, Harris admitted that he had already warned Roby, the second year cornerback, that it will likely happen to him Sunday. Roby, who has player well since his arrival to the NFL, understands that he will be a target on Sunday and is ready for the challenge.
“He probably will,” Roby said Thursday of being possibly targeted by Rodgers. “That would be the smartest move you know, to go out there and attack the third corner. He is a smart player. He is really a matchup guy. He might think the matchup I’m on will be to his advantage. That just means more opportunities for me. I’ll be ready.”
Rodgers may have to look to multiple spots on the field to find Roby, as Phillips has shifted him to safety for some stretches of plays and it should continue Sunday. His playmaking ability has allowed his coach to get him on the field more.
“He’s done real well when he has been in there. That is why we have confidence in him. We can play him at corner or we can play him at safety some. It has been really versatile for us to give teams different looks and play man-to-man with our safety when Roby is playing or let him play back in the zone,” Phillips stated Thursday.
The Packers have been dealing with several injuries to their wide receivers, including the season-ending injury to Jordy Nelson prior to the regular season and several nagging injuries to Ty Montgomery (ankle) and DaVante Adams (ankle). As a result, they brought back former Packer, James Jones to the team and Randall Cobb, who presents the Broncos with the biggest catching threat has continued to play well. Harris expects to get the bulk of the coverage on Cobb.
“They line him up in the backfield. They line him up everywhere so that will be a good challenge to go against him,” Harris said of Cobb. “He’s their go-to guy right now. I’ll definitely be on him.”
Clearly both teams hold a lot of respect for each other and acknowledge the good starts by both franchises. Despite their record and impeccable statistics Harris still feels his defense is not getting their just due and will be looking to make it known on national television Sunday night.
“We definitely feel we don’t get a lot of respect still. People still don’t believe us so this is a perfect game to go out and prove it.”
As for Rodgers, he has been masterful at not making late-game mistakes. According to the Packers media relations department, Rodgers has not thrown an interception in 18 of his last 22 regular-season games, including seven of the last eight, and the team is 17-1 in those games. Although he has seen what the Broncos have done to opposing quarterbacks this season, his plan is simple. When asked how to avoid late mistakes like Derek Carr and Josh McCown late in the game Sunday he quickly replied, “Don’t throw it to the defense. Try and throw it to our guys.”
While Rodgers may be the best quarterback in the NFL right now, that simple plan is easier said than done. The Broncos defense has already made some good quarterbacks look foolish at the worst times. Both sides of Sunday’s contest will be tested, and chances are, one of them will make a big mistake for all to see and a “L” may accompany said team as a direct result.
Email Sam at sam@milehighsports.com and follow him on Twitter @SamCowhick