1. Class of 2020 QBs Face Off

Believe it or not, Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (26th overall) and Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (sixth overall) were part of the same draft class, but the two have taken wildly different paths ahead of the Week 11 showdown. In what has turned out to be a star-studded draft class, Herbert stands above all in terms of Weighted Career Approximate Value, according to Pro Football Reference. Case in point, the Oregon product has amassed 16,438 passing yards, 111 passing touchdowns, and only 40 interceptions in 58 career games. His total passing yardage is the most in league history through the first four seasons of a career, ahead of Peyton Manning (16,418) and Dan Marino (16,177). Not too shabby. Simply put, Herbert is one of the best gunslingers, and players, in the game today, and the Packers have not faced a quarterback anywhere close to his caliber so far this season. 

Love, meanwhile, is in his first full season as a starter, after sitting for three years behind quarterback Aaron Rodgers. While Love has shown flashes that he can be the “guy” for the Packers, he has been inconsistent through the first nine games and is second in the NFL in interceptions (10). He also ranks 25th in Adjusted Yards gained per pass attempt (6.1) and 26th in passer rating (80.5). Look at any of the quarterback statistics, and chances are they don’t look good for Love. The lack of consistent production from his weapons on the outside is not doing him any favors, though. 

Love set a career-high in passing yards last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, throwing for 289 yards. Will he be able to build upon that performance against a Chargers’ secondary that is allowing a league-worst 291.2 yards through the air? 

2. The Chargers’ Run Defense Much Improved

Chargers head coach Brandon Staley has been at the helm since the start of the 2021 season and in each of his first two seasons, the defense was horrendous at stopping the run. They ranked 30th (138.9 rushing yards allowed per game on average) in 2021 and 27th (144.2 rushing yards allowed per game) in 2022. This season, however, has been a step in the right direction as the unit is 12th, allowing an average of 102.0 rushing yards per game. They were tied for sixth before getting shredded by the Detroit Lions on the ground last week to the tune of 200 yards on 31 carries (6.5 yards per attempt) for three touchdowns. In terms of winning at the point of attack, there is still room for improvement; Los Angeles ranks 20th in ESPN’s Run Stop Win Rate. They finished 23rd in 2022. 

The Packers’ rushing attack has been subpar through the first nine contests, averaging 102.1 rushing yards per game (21st), although they outpaced that average last week as they finished with 116 yards. They currently sit 17th in Run Block Ratings Composite. 

Running back AJ Dillon started the season about as bad as one could in a contract year. Through the first four games, he carried the rock 44 times for 118 yards, an average of 2.7 yards per carry, with zero rushing touchdowns. However, the last five games have been a different story. While he has only scored once, he has produced 59 carries for 258 yards, an average of 4.4 yards per carry. 

3. Packers Own All-Time Series

These two teams first met on October 12, 1970, the Packers’ debut appearance on Monday Night Football, according to the Dope Sheet. Green Bay came away victorious, 22-20, and have come away victorious several times thereafter. The Packers are 10-2 overall against the Chargers, including a 7-1 record over the last eight games. The most recent victory for the Chargers was in 2019 in a game that took place at Dignity Health Sports Park as the team was in a holding pattern until construction was finished on SoFi Stadium. 

In case you want to take a stroll down memory lane, the 2019 Week 9 showdown was a big ole stinker for the Green and Gold. The Chargers sprinted out to a 19-0 lead with under four minutes remaining in the third quarter and held Rodgers to 161 passing yards, his second-lowest total of the season and his fifth-lowest total for his career up until that point when he played an entire game. 

4. Keenan Allen Has Been En Fuego
 

Cornerback Jaire Alexander missed last week’s contest with a shoulder injury and did not practice on Wednesday due to the same injury. He returned to practice Thursday as a limited participant. Thus, there is certainly a chance that defensive coordinator Joe Barry & Co. will be without their All-Pro cornerback when they face off against one of the best wide receivers in the game, Keenan Allen, who was also limited in Thursday’s practice. The Cal product is tied for first in receptions (73) among qualified pass catchers, fourth in yards (895), and tied for fifth in touchdowns (6). He torched the Lions’ secondary in Week 10, corralling 11 receptions for 175 yards and two touchdowns. He also averaged a season-high 12.5 yards per target. 

Keenan Allen caught 7 of his 8 targets against zone coverage for 118 yards and 2 touchdowns en route to a team-leading 11 receptions for 175 yards in Week 10.

Justin Herbert has generated +39.3 EPA targeting Allen against zone this season, the most of any QB-WR duo in the NFL.… pic.twitter.com/1fek1uAO4q

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) November 13, 2023

If Alexander is sidelined for the second consecutive week, the matchup with Allen (assuming he plays) will be a great test for rookie cornerback Carrington Valentine. The seventh-round pick showed immense potential during the preseason, so much so that he secured a spot on the initial 53-man roster, but he took his lumps in the beginning portions of the season as most rookies do. He has been a different cat (pun intended since he went to Kentucky), though, since taking over one of the starting spots after the organization traded Rasul Douglas to the Buffalo Bills. 

In the two games since the Rasul Douglas trade, Carrington Valentine has been targeted 10 times.

He's given up just two receptions with two pass breakups for a passer rating allowed of just 44.58.

An exciting start to the career of a hidden gem. pic.twitter.com/wsLmLYvLg2

— Tyler Brooke (@TylerDBrooke) November 14, 2023

5. Elevated Heart Rates For Fans of Both Squads

Ideally, the NFL team that you root for either gets blown out or demolishes the opposition. That way, you don’t have to deal with potentially dangerous spikes in your heart rate as the game draws to a close. These two teams have caused their fans’ heart rates to skyrocket week in and week out. 

Six of the Chargers’ nine games have been a one-score affair, and four of the team’s five losses have each been by fewer than four points – a two-point loss to the Dolphins, a three-point loss to the Titans, a three-point loss to the Cowboys, and a three-point loss to the Lions. 

Five of the Packers’ nine games have also been a one-score affair. Green Bay is 1-4 in those contests, with the only victory coming against the New Orleans Saints in Week 3 when kicker Blake Grupe pushed a 46-yard field goal wide right. 

6. A Different Look

For the third straight season, the Packers will don their green-on-green alternate uniforms, which are inspired by the franchise’s “fit,” as the kids say, from 1950 to 1953. The Packers began rocking the uniforms in 2021, a 24-10 victory versus Washington. They came up empty last year, suffering a 27-10 loss to the New York Jets. 

If I may share my personal fashion opinion, I originally thought they looked like a generic jersey that you see a professional football player wear during an insurance commercial to avoid any trademark infringement claims by the NFL. They have since grown on me. And that will be my last fashion opinion while writing for CHTV.