Packers: Falcons, Cardinals can make it a perfect Week 1 for Green Bay
Green Bay Packers fans should cheer on the Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals in Week 1.
It’s already been a great start to the new season for the Green Bay Packers, defeating the Chicago Bears in their own stadium on Thursday night, while limiting their offense to just three points.
Now it’s over to the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions to attempt to join the Packers with a 1-0 record.
Minnesota hosts Atlanta. That won’t be an easy game. Both teams fell short of expectations in 2018, but the Falcons get defensive stars Keanu Neal and Deion Jones back fully healthy this season, which will make a difference for Dan Quinn’s team.
The Vikings could be without Stefon Diggs, who is questionable with a hamstring injury.
At home, this is still a game the Vikings will expect to win. But it won’t be easy.
The Lions are on the road against Kyler Murray and the new-look Cardinals. Arizona’s depth at cornerback could be a concern up against Detroit’s wide receivers, as ESPN’s Mike Clay noted:
Okay, so as of now the Cardinals will go into Week 1 with 2nd round rookie Byron Murphy, Tramaine Brock and Chris Jones as it's only 3 CBs. They'll be trying to slow Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones and Danny Amendola. Yikes.
— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) August 31, 2019
The Lions will be expected to win, but we can hope Kyler Murray has a great NFL debut.
Now, if the Falcons and Cardinals do both win on Sunday, it would put the Packers one game ahead in the NFC North race. It’s early, of course.
But Week 2 would become very interesting.
The Bears travel to Denver to take on their former defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. The Broncos’ defense is still among the best in the NFL, and Fangio knows a lot about Matt Nagy’s offense. That will be a very tough game for the Bears, especially considering how their offense struggled in the season opener.
It doesn’t get much easier for the Lions, either. They host the Los Angeles Chargers, who are contenders in the AFC.
If the Packers can get the job done at home against the Vikings (again, won’t be easy), they could potentially sit two games ahead of all three division rivals entering Week 3.
Maybe that’s getting a little carried away. First, the Falcons and Cardinals need to win on Sunday.