5 Things to Watch in Packers vs Giants: Are Offensive Line Changes Afoot?
5 things to watch as the Packers take on the Giants in London.
By markoldacres

The Green Bay Packers are overseas for their first ever international regular season game, as they take on the New York Giants in London.
In the first ever NFL UK game between two winning teams, the Packers will come in as heavy favourites over the Giants, who have started the season surprisingly well under new head coach Brian Daboll.
Here are five things to watch as the Packers face the Giants at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Stop the run… but seriously this time
After putting his injury woes in the rear-view mirror, Saquon Barkley looks his old self again, and leads the NFL in rushing through four weeks.
It’s no exaggeration to say Barkley is the main reason the Giants are 3-1, and stopping the former Penn State running back has to be the Packers’ top priority.
Green Bay’s run defense has been suspect in the early season, and whether the blame rests on Joe Barry’s play-calling or a lack of execution by the players, the Packers will have to step things up on Sunday to keep Barkley in check.
Simply put, if the Giants can’t run the ball effectively, they can’t win this game. A great deal of focus will be on Barry’s defense and how they adjust after allowing Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson to keep the Patriots in the game last week.
How healthy is Daniel Jones?
Jones had no injury designation on New York’s final injury report, meaning he’ll play on Sunday.
With backup QB Tyrod Taylor dealing with a concussion, he kind of had to give it a go this week unless he was completely compromised, but the unknown factor surrounding Jones is whether or not his mobility will be impacted by his ankle injury.
The former first-rounder relies heavily on his ability to move in order to have success, and if he is reduced to a pocket passer, the Packers defense will be licking its chops.
Will AJ Dillon get going?
The Packers have the luxury of possessing two top running backs, which allows them to balance out the workload. That will be just as important as Green Bay’s players battle jetlag this week.
Dillon has carried the ball nine more times than Aaron Jones this season, but has been less effective, with an average of 3.7 yards per rush and a long of just 14 yards.
It feels like Dillon has been close to breaking a big run on multiple occasions, so it may just be a matter of time before Quadzilla gets warmed up. Can he make his mark in London?
Will there be changes to Green Bay’s offensive line?
It’s obvious Elgton Jenkins has struggled at right tackle so far this season, but it’s tough to tell whether this is a result of him working back to his full form after the ACL injury, him just not being suited to the position, or a bit of both.
Yosh Nijman may be a more natural tackle than Jenkins, but the Packers have been reluctant to try him on the right side.
While the Packers are clearly still searching for their ‘best five’, they may choose to stick with the status quo in an unusual week. However, Matt LaFleur at least admitted they have considered making a change along the O-line.
The London atmosphere
Packers fans in Europe have waited a long time to get the chance to see their team play in person, and with plenty of fans also coming over from the US, there’s a chance this resembles a true Packers home game rather than a neutral site matchup.
If that is the case, Green Bay will have a significant advantage on Sunday. Here’s hoping the British fans know not to do the wave while the Packers are on offense.
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Mark Oldacres is a sports writer from Birmingham, England and a Green Bay Packers fan. You can follow him on twitter at @MarkOldacres
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Comments (11)
splitpea1
October 08, 2022 at 03:49 pm
The first thing I'll be watching is the alarm clock...jeez, there's barely enough time to sleep off the booze! Can't wait to watch TV in mid-morning, a last resort activity when there's a blizzard outside in winter.
I'm sure everybody remembers the Detroit playoff game in 1994 when we literally shut out Barry Sanders on 13 carries. It's just a fantasy that we could come anywhere close to duplicating that performance this time, but a similar attitude and tackling effort would go a long way here.
On offense, I don't know what to expect; really the only thing I care about is that when the Stock Report comes out, everybody isn't buying Daboll and dropping MLF like a hot potato (I know, some already have). We should be able to handle this team without an excess of drama, please.
Coldworld
October 08, 2022 at 04:16 pm
I hope our European and European based Packer fans who are able to go really enjoy the experience.
My guess is no Nijman at RT yet. I think that conversion needs time and no real practices have taken place this week as well. At this point I still think they want insurance for Bakh.
murf7777
October 08, 2022 at 05:02 pm
I’m going to watch whether we win in the trenches and if we can win the turnover battle. If we do those two things we should win big. GPG
PeteK
October 08, 2022 at 06:36 pm
No sacks by any Giant outside defenders so Bak and Jenkins should have a successful game.
brenner
October 09, 2022 at 12:56 am
Would like to see Nijman at RT even for a qtr with Jenkins at g and see what happens.
Packers1985
October 08, 2022 at 08:56 pm
I am expecting this is the game where everything will click for packer's offense. Expecting some heavy doses of completed deep passes and will see the first passing TD for Watson.
Gb win by 7 points.
27-20 GB
Go Pack Go
dblbogey
October 08, 2022 at 10:30 pm
7 and 8 in the box, lots of man to man coverage. Stop Barkley and you win. I hope Barry is a good enough coach to adjust this time to stop the run.
Tundraboy
October 08, 2022 at 11:46 pm
Let's hope. But I would not be shocked to see the Giants try a few shots to set us up for all Barkley afterwards if they grab a lead. The inability to adjust concerns me, especially this week. I'm hoping that they don't come out flat. They do it far too often at home, but maybe they will feel less pressure or be that much more motivated to impress their overseas fanbase. It is to me sort of home game for them.
brenner
October 08, 2022 at 11:48 pm
Agreed. Let jaire and Stokes play man all game. If amos can't go play rasoul at s.
Ya_tittle
October 10, 2022 at 04:49 pm
Idiot coaching staff left Newman out there. Cost us three points. Maybe more.
SinceLombardi
October 10, 2022 at 08:42 pm
“Simply put, if the Giants can’t run the ball they can’t win this game”
Looks like someone left the Joe Barry effect out of their equation.