Aaron Rodgers

NFL countdown: Packers vs. Seahawks

Published Sep. 18, 2015 12:30 p.m. ET

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This week at Lambeau Field, in front of a national television audience on Sunday Night Football, the Green Bay Packers take on the Seattle Seahawks.

Packer fans, you remember the Seahawks, right?

The team Green Bay hasn't beaten since 2009. The team that won on the infamous Fail Mary game in 2012. The team that shellacked the Packers, 36-16, in the 2014 season opener. And, of course, the team that was down 19-7 with less than three minutes to go in the NFC Championship Game last season, came back to force overtime and eventually beat Green Bay to advance to the Super Bowl.

Those Seahawks.

Well, Golden Tate, of the Fail Mary touchception, is gone. And so is Brandon Bostick, who botched the Packers' recovery of Seattle's onside kick last season. Jordy Nelson and Bryan Bulaga are injured, and Kam Chancellor is holding out. Green Bay coaches and players insist this is a new season between different teams and the nightmarish memories of how last season ended are gone.

You can bet the Packers, who are 3.5-point home favorites, have no plans to lose a fourth straight game and third in a year to the Seahawks. Likewise, however, Seattle lost its season opener last week and certainly doesn't want to start the season 0-2. So who will prevail Sunday night? Let's take a closer look at this monumental matchup.

3 THINGS TO WATCH

-- Will Aaron Rodgers and his receivers find success against a depleted Seahawks secondary? In the two games between these teams last year, Rodgers completed 62.6 percent of his throws, averaged 183.5 yards, one touchdown and 1.5 interceptions per game and had a combined passer rating of 68.7. For the season, the 2014 MVP had a completion percentage of 65.6, averaged 273.8 yards, 2.4 touchdowns and 0.3 interceptions per game and finished with a 112.2 passer rating. Rodgers couldn't pass against Seattle, and his receivers couldn't get open. But the Seahawks' vaunted secondary looks a whole lot different this season. Chancellor -- the organizer and communicator of the defensive backfield -- is still holding out, while fellow safety Earl Thomas is hampered by a lingering shoulder injury. Cornerback Byron Maxwell is in Philadelphia and has been replaced by underwhelming Cary Williams on one side, while elite corner Richard Sherman -- usually an island on the outside -- spent last week's game in the slot and ineffective against the Rams. With nickel back Jeremy Lane hurt, Seattle's extra corners, DeShawn Shead and Marcus Burley, don't scare anyone. The Packers, who showed last week that their passing offense can still be potent without Nelson, need Randall Cobb (who could be covered by Sherman in the slot), Davante Adams and Week 1 hero James Jones to step up and show that Green Bay can throw on the Seahawks.

-- Can Green Bay's offensive line slow Seattle's edge rushers? Last year, Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett terrorized the margins of the Packers' offensive line, with each defensive end registering a pair of sacks in the two games. Both those guys are back, plus outside linebacker Bruce Irvin (6.5 sacks in 2104), whose speed rush behind Bennett can wreak havoc in the backfield. Left tackle David Bakhtiari was hobbled in the preseason but played well in the opener against the Bears, whose significantly less-talented defense didn't get a single sack or quarterback hit. The Seahawks' front, specifically off the edge, presents a much more uphill battle. The Packers are also without right tackle Bryan Bulaga, who suffered a knee injury in Thursday's practice. With reserve tackle Don Barclay, coming off his own knee injury from last year, playing against Seattle, it could be ruinous for Rodgers and the Packers.

-- Will Rodgers run against the Seahawks? In the last three games against Seattle, Rodgers has rushed a combined three times for 29 yards. For a quarterback as mobile and dangerous on the run as he is, that's a weapon wasted -- of course, much of that has to do with the Seahawks' stifling defense. In the NFC Championship Game last year, Rodgers' calf was badly injured, which hindered his scrambling ability. Now healthy, he rushed eight times for 35 yards against Chicago, which extended plays and opened up offensive options. Rodgers knows the importance of his ability to run; the Packers need him to do it effectively on Sunday.

2 THINGS TO REMEMBER

-- Home field matters. Much has been made -- including in the above paragraphs -- about these teams' recent history and the Seahawks' dominance of that history. But the Packers' struggles have been in Seattle, where the stadium and its rabid crowd create a powerful home-field advantage. The last time the two teams met in Green Bay, however, in 2009, the Packers won 48-10. Head coach Mike McCarthy sported a "Get Loud Lambeau" shirt this week and is counting on the fans that helped his team go 9-0 (including playoffs) in Green Bay last year to give the Packers a home-field advantage of their own.

-- Marshawn Lynch. He's still there and he can still obliterate a defense. Especially one as poor against the run as the Packers' has been. Lynch ran for 267 yards on a 5.9-yard average and three touchdowns in the two games against Green Bay last year. And the Packers' win last week against the Bears, in which they allowed 141 yards and a score to Matt Forte, didn't exactly assuage concerns about their run defense. The loss for the season of inside linebacker Sam Barrington (ankle) makes it even more vulnerable. The Seahawks may have added gifted tight end Jimmy Graham to their passing offense, but stopping -- or at least slowing -- the Beast Mode attack of Marshawn Lynch is still the defensive key for the Packers on Sunday.

1 KEY MATCHUP

Seahawks returner Tyler Lockett vs. Packers special teams

The Seahawks no longer have an indomitable defense, but their offense is much improved. The Packers' offense is very good, but their defense -- while filled with playmakers -- has issues. This will likely be a close game and it very well could come down to special teams. If that's the case, Green Bay's fate may rest in its ability to contain Lockett, Seattle's dynamic rookie returner. Last week against St. Louis, Lockett -- a third-round wide receiver and returner, just like Green Bay rookie Ty Montgomery -- scored on a 57-yard punt return. During the preseason, Lockett returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown and a kickoff 103 yards for another score. Meanwhile, even after firing special teams coach Shawn Slocum after last season, the Packers' units have not exactly been the toast of the NFL. Their coverage units will, like every team's, have trouble containing Lockett; but if they don't, it could determine the outcome of the game. If Montgomery, who had 41- and 46-yard kickoff returns of his own last week, can break a big one for Green Bay, that could turn the tide, too.

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