Green Bay Packers: 5 Bold predictions vs. Broncos, Week 3
5. Smith records multiple sacks
As the Packers made a stark turn from their ways of the past by being aggressive in free agency this offseason, two of their prized signings were edge rushers Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith. And through the first two weeks of the 2019 season, the pairing of new arrivals have been quite good with each recording eight total tackles and combining for 2.5 sacks.
More from NFL Spin Zone
- Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
- Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
- Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
- Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
- Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens
Against the Broncos, however, I expect one of the two players — if not both — to truly have a breakout performance. For the purposes of making a prediction, we’ll say it’s Za’Darius Smith. However, if it’s Preston Smith, that wouldn’t be surprising either. What matters is that the Packers pass rush is going to have a big day against Denver’s offense.
Through the first two weeks of the season, the Broncos offensive line has been relatively troublesome. Though they only allowed two sacks against the Bears last week, they have been penalized for quite a few holds (particularly Garret Bolles) and haven’t been protecting Joe Flacco in any great way.
When you have two edge rushers the caliber of the Smiths as Green Bay does, this is a matchup that they can feast on. They should continuously try to get after the immobile Flacco and really cause him problems. At the end of the day, Za’Darius Smith will notch at least two sacks on the day and really help propel the Packers defense to a monster day at the office.