Oakland Raiders: Previewing Week 7 from a Green Bay Packers perspective

We sat down with Dairyland Express’ Paul Bretl to gather a perspective on the Oakland Raiders/Green Bay Packers Week 7 meeting from the enemy’s perspective.

The Oakland Raiders are set to face perhaps their toughest challenge yet when they travel to Lambeau Field to take on the 5-1 Green Bay Packers.

The Raiders are fresh off their bye week having been victors of their last two games — both upset matchups away from home.

Victories over the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears have helped the team forget about their struggles against the Minnesota Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs earlier in the season. But those struggles may return this week.

Green Bay is playing some of the best football in the NFL right now, even despite last week’s officiating controversy. Led by a resurgent Aaron Rodgers, a dangerous running game, and a stout front-seven, the Packers look to be one of the favorites in the NFC.

And if the Raiders are to pull off the upset, it’s going to take all hands on deck to get it done.

When scouting an opponent, it’s important to put yourself in their shoes. It could be crucial to analyze a matchup from the enemy’s perspective and that’s exactly what we set out to accomplish this week.

More from Las Vegas Raiders News

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• Raiders: Bryan Edwards out, Henry Ruggs doubtful for Sunday
• Raiders: Damon Arnette re-injures thumb, could be headed to IR
• Raiders fall short in letdown Week 3 loss to the New England Patriots
• Raiders: Game breakdown and prediction for Week 3 at New England Patriots

We sat down with Dairyland Express’ Paul Bretl to get an idea of exactly what is going through Packers’ fans minds ahead of this Week 7 meeting with the Raiders.

Paul offered his perspective and analysis on just how confident he is that the Packers can come away with the victory. He also took an in-depth dive into some key matchups and players to watch ahead of this Week 7 game.

Here are the results of our discussion.

1. Who are some Packers players who don’t get the media attention that Raiders fans should know about?

"“It is not a sexy position by any means but I’m not sure many non-Packer fans are familiar with rookie guard Elgton Jenkins. Last season, amongst the many issues that Green Bay had on offense, was at the guard position. But this year the second-round draft pick has really helped solidify the left side of the offensive line. Since taking over as the starter in Week 3, according to Pro Football Focus, Jenkins hasn’t given up a sack or a quarterback hit yet this season. Even with all the changes that have taken place in Green Bay in this past year, the name of the game is still keeping Aaron Rodgers upright and that is exactly what Jenkins has done and at a very high-level.On the defensive side of the ball, defensive tackle Dean Lowry is a name to watch for. He doesn’t make a ton of flashy plays like the Smith Brothers will but he’s gotten better every year that he’s been in the league. In fact, just this past offseason, Green Bay awarded him with a contract extension. When it comes to getting after the quarterback, Lowry has 13 pressures this season but his biggest contributions have come in recent weeks as a run-stopper. And with Josh Jacobs coming to town, Lowry will have to bring his “A” game once again.”"

2. How has the Packers’ passing game managed to remain so effective without Davante Adams? Is it all Aaron Rodgers or are young receivers such as Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Allen Lazard really the future?

"“While Allen Lazard is still a bit of an unknown, I do believe that MVS could be a very good number two receiver on this Packers team in the future. However, to answer your question, since Adams has been out, any sort of effectiveness that Green Bay has had in the passing game is due to Aaron Rodgers.Over the last two games, Rodgers is completing 16-of-31 passes to his receivers for 226 yards. And as underwhelming as those numbers are, if we take Lazard’s fourth quarter from Monday Night out of the equation, they get worse. Against Dallas and Detroit when throwing to receivers not named Lazard, Rodgers is completing below 50 percent of his passes for just 161 yards. Even the big completions that have been made are more so because of Rodgers near perfect passes rather than the receivers actually getting open. Hopefully Adams is back soon.”"

More from Golden Gate Sports

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• 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
• Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
• 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
• 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve

3. Who is the biggest X-factor for the Packers in this game?

"“I’m going to choose two X-Factors and that would be the Green Bay running backs Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams. Establishing the run is key for this offense under Matt LaFleur and the last two weeks with each back having a 100-yard rushing game, it has made things much easier for Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the offense. If either Jones or Williams can get going, it is going to lead to some big plays in the passing game and make this Green Bay offense difficult to stop.”"

4. What matchup worries you the most in this game?

"“Josh Jacobs verse the Packers run defense is my biggest worry. The last two weeks, the Green Bay run defense has been much better as they held Ezekiel Elliott to just 62 rushing yards and Kerryon Johnson to an average of only 2.6 yards per carry. When defensive coordinator Mike Pettine is able to make opposing offenses one-dimensional and Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith can pin their ears back to get after the quarterback, it leads to sacks and turnovers.However, prior to those two weeks, the defense had been gashed by Minnesota, Denver, and Philadelphia. With Jacobs coming to town off of a very nice game against a stout Bears’ defensive front, slowing him down is going to be a challenge and a big key to this game for Green Bay.”"

5. The Raiders are fresh off upsets over both the Colts and the Bears away from home. But do you see any way that they could find similar success on the road in Lambeau?

"“Yes, I do think the Raiders can come away with the win at Lambeau. To do so they’ll have to take Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams out of the game and force Rodgers to rely on his young receiving core that could very well be without Davante Adams once again as well as Geronimo Allison. On offense if Jacobs can have similar success to Dalvin Cook and Phillip Lindsay as well as not turn the ball over, this could end up being one of those games that comes down to the wire.”"

Sunday’s game could go one of two ways. The Raiders could either come out firing on the road in a tough environment and play Green Bay tough until the final whistle. Or they could come out flat, fall behind quickly, and never recover.

Let’s hope for the former, rather than the latter.

Thanks again to Paul for joining us and be sure to check out all of his amazing work over at DairylandExpress.com!