The Green Bay Packers are starting to play their best football as the weather gets cold, which is exactly what they want to do. They are still fighting to make up ground in a historically good NFC North, where they currently sit in third place at 8-3. The Minnesota Vikings are 9-2 and the Detroit Lions are in the lead at 10-1.
The Packers have won six of their last seven games, only dropping a contest against the Lions on Nov. 3. After a blowout win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, the Packers have a short week to prepare for a date with the Miami Dolphins on Thanksgiving night.
This contest looked like it would be smooth sailing for the Packers just a few weeks ago when the Dolphins were struggling to get wins, but Mike McDaniel and company have now won three games in a row and are right back in the playoff picture. Tua Tagovailoa is playing some of the best football of his career since returning from a concussion and this Dolphins offense looks like it will be very difficult to stop right now.
To make matters even more difficult for the Packers, they may be without two of their top linebackers on Thursday night. Edgerrin Cooper (hamstring) and Isaiah McDuffie (ankle) both did not practice on Tuesday, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. That makes their status for Thursday night very murky.
McDuffie has not missed a game this season and is third on the team with 61 total tackles. Cooper ranks fifth on the defense with 52 tackles, but did not play against the 49ers on Sunday due to his injury.
Linebacker injuries could hurt Packers against Dolphins
If you're ever going to have a banged up linebacker core, the Dolphins are not the team that you want to play against. Mike McDaniel and this Dolphins offense have made a living over the last few years by feasting on below average linebackers.
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McDaniel uses all of his speedy weapons, such as Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Devon Achane, to put linebackers in conflict and give them a lot of responsibility in coverage. When that happens, those guys are usually overmatched by the speed and athleticism of the Dolphins' skill position players.
The Packers' linebackers already struggle in coverage. They're a more slow-footed group that plays a little bit better in the run game and can get beat through the air at times, but that problem has a chance to get even worse if Cooper and McDuffie are unable to play on Thursday.
The silver lining for the Packers is that this game will be played in the cold, where Tua Tagovailoa and this Dolphins offense have struggled mightily over the last few years. If the passing game is limited by the weather, the Packers should be able to survive and come out with a win.
