Packers: Two players key to victory vs. Patriots in Week 9

Aaron Jones and Jaire Alexander are key for the Green Bay Packers in Week 9 against the New England Patriots.

After a crushing defeat, the Packers sit third in the NFC North and need to start turning things around.

As they head to face the Patriots Sunday night, a victory is of the upmost importance if the Pack have any aspirations of finding themselves in the playoffs.

If they want to leave Foxborough with a win, the Packers will hope to see these things happen Sunday night.

Run Aaron Run

While he isn’t the Aaron that most people associate with the Packers, Aaron Jones certainly is a player to watch come Sunday night. With Ty Montgomery shipped out of town, Jones looks to be the lead back in Green Bay.

Many fans have called for Jones to get more carries, as he seems to have been the most consistent back throughout the season. Though he has only carried the ball 44 times, he is averaging 6.2 yards per attempt.

The 23-year-old will look to take advantage of an increase in carries through the second-half of the season and should see some success against the Patriots defense.

Though they are the fourth-best scoring defense in football, the Patriots sit 14th in the league against the rush, with opposing teams averaging 105.5 yards per game.

While Aaron Rodgers himself may be as healthy as he has been all year, having a balanced attack will be critical to a Packers victory. Coming into the lead-back role Sunday night, Jones must be the linchpin to a balanced offensive game plan for the Packers.

Jaire continues to show out

Jaire Alexander had the game of his young career last week against the Rams, and this week will try to help a young Packers secondary slow down Tom Brady.

Against the high-powered Rams offense, Alexander was seen all over the field, as he amassed seven tackles and five pass deflections.

It was this performance that caught the eye of Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who told the New England media during the week: “This guy is a really good football player, and I think he’s got a great future in the league,”

That kind of praise doesn’t come from Belichick often, and is indicative of the kind of talent he believes Alexander has.

This week Alexander will likely line up against Josh Gordon. Gordon has an incredible amount of talent when he is able to get onto the field and since joining the Patriots seems to have found some stability.

In the five games that he has played with Brady and Co., Gordon is averaging 15.6 yards per catch and has looked comfortable within the Patriots offense.

If Alexander is able to continue to grow off his breakout performance last week and contain Gordon, he should allow his teammates the opportunity to succeed.

He is quickly becoming a leader within that young secondary, and Sunday night should allow him to take another step towards being an elite corner in the NFL.