Green Bay offense vs. San Diego defense

	PACKERS OFFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	Run	23
	Pass	3
	Tot. Yds.	4
	Scoring	15
	Int's allowed	7
	Sacks allowed	12
	CHARGERS DEFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	vs. Run	1
	vs. Pass	19
	Total yds. allowed	9
	No. of INTs	8
	No. of Sacks	13
	Turnover differential	+1

Brett Favre was not his usual resilient self last week against the Broncos, digging his team into a hole even he couldn't get out from. Favre's 7-for-23, three interception outing resulted in the worst single game rating of his career (9.6). Favre sprayed the ball around the field all afternoon and was rarely in sync with his receivers. Playing without the services of ROT Earl Dotson killed Favre's protection, as Mike Wahle shifted over from his left guard spot and was abused all afternoon. The Broncos didn't blitz nearly has much as the Packers expected they would but the protection was so bad that they were forced to hold RB Dorsey Levens in for blocking purposes. Dotson will play on Sunday, which should shore up some of the OL's problems but look for Green Bay to use Levens more as a dump-off option than an emergency blocker this week if the Chargers start putting pressure on Favre.

Offensive coordinator Sherm Lewis desperately needs to find a way to get the tight ends involved in the passing game. Starter Tyrone Davis, who has run some lethargic routes the past couple of weeks, has bruised ribs and might sit in favor of Jeff Thomason. Regardless of who gets the majority of the snaps, Favre can't continue ignoring the position because it will allow the Chargers to ignore the middle of the field and sit on the WR's crossing routes underneath.

Last week, the Broncos embarrassed the Packers up front, holding Levens to just 12 yards on 10 carries. San Diego must take a page from the Broncos game plan and take away Levens' cutback lanes. An interesting matchup to watch in the trenches will be LDT Norman Hand versus ROG Marco Rivera. Hand, who spearheads the No. 1 run defense in the league, was dominant last week against Seattle, registering seven solo tackles while holding Rickey Watters to just 2.6 per carry and a long of seven yards. Rivera is a fighter that usually holds his own against run-stuffing DT's like Hand but his job will be complicated by the Chargers' multiple blitz looks.

San Diego suffered a huge blow this week when SS Rodney Harrison was listed out for Sunday's game, which will put even greater pressure on fill-in MLB Tracy Simien to stop the run.

Last week, Green Bay's run defense was the worst it has looked all season, allowing Denver rookie Olandis Gary to run for 123 yards in just his second start. The good news for Thomas' defense is that the Chargers are having similar problems of their own on the other side of the ball. San Diego rested RB Natrone Means against the Lions in hope of having him near full strength last week. That was hardly the case, as the team was held to 49 yards on 21 carries. Means, who is stilling running on tender ankles, has not hit the hole with any authority this season so look for increased roles for Fletcher and perhaps even Kenny Bynum. The Packers wore down last week in the second half and they could do the same thing this weekend after another long flight back to the West Coast. A key for Green Bay on Sunday will be how well they wrap up and tackle the ball carrier. FS Darren Sharper has embarrassed himself the past couple of weeks with careless tackling and a defense cannot afford to have their last line of defense miss open-field tackles.