The Green Bay Packers head into their third-straight road game against the Philadelphia Eagles this Monday night.  I'm sure many Packers fans are cringing at the fact that the team is being paraded in front of a national television audience in the midst of one of their worst stretches in the last few decades.  Since leaving Lambeau Field following their loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the Packers have given up over 40 points in consecutive weeks and have looked awful doing it.

What can we expect against an Eagles team that has been up and down this season, but is capable of dominating a game at any time?  Let's take a look at some of the things that will likely factor into the answer to that question.

Rants

Secondary is Primary

It has become obvious that the Packers secondary is the biggest area of weakness.  Opposing offenses have feasted on Green Bay corners since their victory against the Chicago Bears over a month ago.  The Eagles and rookie quarterback Carson Wentz are certainly capable of keeping with that trend.  Although Philadelphia ranks just 25th in total passing yards per game with 222, the Packers defense seems to be what fixes other teams' ails this season.  With a depleted secondary that lost Demetri Goodson last week and was forced to use their return designation on an undrafted free agent cornerback in Makinton Dorleant, the Packers have their work cut out for them.

The Eagles have come up big at times this season behind Wentz and a cast of very talented receivers that feature Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor and Dorial Green-Beckham.  Tight ends Zach Ertz and Brent Celek also lurk and just when you thought you were done cringing, don't forget about the very shifty pass-catching back Darren Sproles.  It's a huge mismatch in favor of the Eagles.  That can be said nearly every week and the Packers have certainly been stricken with some of the worst fate when it comes to injury at the cornerback position.  This has almost single-handedly put general manager Ted Thompson front and center of the argument against his gambling on the development of players that no other team drafted to play one of the most important positions.  The loss of Sam Shields and Damarious Randall has severely hurt the defense.  Quinten Rollins has regressed and continues to battle a groin injury that has to still be ailing him.  Beyond that it's Micah Hyde, Josh Hawkins and Dorleant, who hasn't played a single snap this season.

Sitting here writing this, I don't see how the Packers can avoid giving up another 40+.  This is probably the biggest key to keeping this game competitive on the scoreboard.

Make A Play. . Anyone?

I can sit here and litter this piece with a bunch of stats, but the bottom line is that the Packers just need someone, anyone to step up and make a play.  One play.  When was the last time someone in a Packers uniform did something special on the field?  Most of you are still thinking.  For those who still believe in and want to see something big from this Packers team, that's all it can take to ignite the team.  A big play.  A turnover.  A big stop.  An explosive play on offense.  And one that hopefully isn't' followed by a penalty.  

This team is in such disarray that head coach Mike McCarthy is talking about how his team is getting closer and closer to actually taking the ball away.  That used to be a given with his Packers teams.  Long gone are the days of Charles Woodson, Tramon Williams and Nick Collins terrorizing opposing quarterbacks every single week.  The ball is not bouncing Green Bay's way at all right now.  They just need someone to make a big play.  When a team is bad or struggling, those things that are easy to take for granted just don't happen or don't come easily at all.  

Triage

It's talked about every week as more and more players go down for the Packers.  Injury woes.  I'm one of the last who turns to injuries as an excuse.  It certainly matters and that's not lost on me.  But every team deals with injuries and some are just better-equipped to handle the attrition.  The Packers are no strangers to losing players and this season, the cupboards have shown not to be stocked too well.  What was hailed as another deep and young roster during the preseason is now just young, too young, to handle the task of being the next man up.  

While it may validate some of the woes the Packers are dealing with, it doesn't change the fact that the loss of so many key players is causing this team to have one of its worst seasons in nearly a decade.  The scary part is that there are still another five games to get through and try to look respectable.

Raves

"Find A Way"

After four-straight losses, it's hard to come up with any big positives.  Quarterback Aaron Rodgers put up a rating of 115 last week and didn't throw any interceptions.  That used to be a given, but like I said, I'm scrounging for something to cling to.  If nothing else, Rodgers hasn't been the biggest of the problems for the Packers the last few games.  If there is to be any hope for this season for Green Bay, it still rests on the shoulders of Rodgers.  At this point, there's not enough around him to do their part to manufacture a win, but should this team decide to put together a solid effort that knocks our socks off, Rodgers will have to be atop the stat sheet.

It's clear that the Packers can't run the ball so expect to see another game where Rodgers airs it out 40-50 times.  Perhaps another week of Jared Cook will produce more than we've seen in a while.  The receiver group matches up fairly with Philadelphia's secondary so it's not impossible that this game is a true shootout.  The problem is the Packers just aren't playing well nor with any confidence right now.  Can they keep up?  "Chuck and jive" is their only hope in this game.

So much has been made about what's missing from this team that is keeping them from the column.  A stale message from the coaching staff, a lack of leadership, a lack of play makers, injuries.  They're all a part of the equation.  The Packers just need to find a way.  That's so generic and has no substance.  But right now, so do the Packers.  If I were in charge of talking to the team before the game, I would probably just look at them and say, "find a way on three" and bring the team in for breakdown.  For those hoping they can somehow eek out a big road win, I hope someone has the magic words. 

Going Home

Regardless of what happens in Philadelphia, the Packers will head back home the following week for the next two weeks.  This year's schedule was certainly laid out strangely, giving the team some long stretches of road and home games.  It hasn't mattered in how the team has played, but at least those who have been waiting to make a trek to Lambeau Field finally have some football to look forward to.

Man, is that all I can come up with to be excited about right now?  Yikes! 

On a side note, there is still time for those interested in helping Adam Czech' family.  We established a GoFundMe account less than a week ago and have already generated over $27,000 to a goal of $45,000.  I'm amazed at the support we've shown to Adam and his wife Julianna and their two boys, Edward and Reginald.  Here is the link to the website and please help, if you can, or share it with any who might be wanting to:  https://www.gofundme.com/adamspack.