Big Cat Country previews the Jaguars’ upcoming game against the Packers.

Welcome to Big Cat Country’s staff roundtable! This week, we’re previewing Week 8’s matchup between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Green Bay Packers at EverBank Stadium.

The Jaguars are 3.5-point underdogs, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Question 1: What’s your biggest concern about the Jaguars this week?

Dillon Appleman: That the Packers prove to just be a much better football team. After the small amount of hope from a win against a bad Patriots team last week, the worst thing that could happen is that the team follows it up by being thoroughly outplayed from start to finish by the Packers. Everybody wants to win but at the very least you want to look competitive against good teams. A blowout loss may be the final blow to this iteration of the Jaguars.

Travis Holmes: Turnovers. The Packers have the most defensive turnovers in the league (17) while the Jaguars have the second-fewest (3). The only other defense in the top five in turnovers that Jacksonville has faced, Chicago, forced two fumbles and secured an interception against the Jaguars. They’ve lost the turnover battle in four games this year while winning it just once. Jacksonville must win the turnover battle on Sunday to win the game, and I’m not sold that they can.

Gus Logue: The Jaguars rank dead last in completions, yards, yards per attempt, and passer rating allowed against play action this season. Green Bay’s Matt LeFleur is going to have his way with Jacksonville’s linebackers and other middle-of-field defenders. If the Jaguars can stop the run on early downs and get out to an early lead, that’d be a big preventative measure.

Henry Zimmer: As usual, the biggest concern for me is how the Jags will defend the pass. The Packers can pass seemingly against anyone and have a very solid quarterback in Jordan Love. If Drake Maye was able to carve the Jags to open last Sunday’s game, it worries me how well Love might be able to.

Question 2: If you could ‘steal’ a player from the Packers and place them on the Jaguars for the rest of the season, who would it be?

Dillon: Xavier McKinney. The Jaguars’ defense has come down with a league-worst 1 interception through seven weeks of the 2024 season, so adding a ballhawk like McKinney could cover a lot of issues on the backend of this defense. McKinney leads the league with 5 interceptions and seems to save them all for the biggest moments of games.

Travis: While I believe this answer has to come from the Packers’ secondary, I will go against the Jaire Alexander grain and select Xavier McKinney to give him his flowers. McKinney has opened this season having an All-Pro-level year with his 5 interceptions (first), 6 passes defensed (13th), 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery, and an elite-level 90.5 PFF grade (fourth). With the play of the Jaguars’ safety group under heavy scrutiny, adding a ball-hawk like McKinney could cure a few ills for this defense that’s struggling to create turnovers.

Gus: Alexander and McKinney are good answers, but Romeo Doubs is my favorite player on the Packers. I was impressed while watching him at the 2022 Senior Bowl and he’s turned into a dependable “glue guy” type receiver. Doubs can be trusted to run a variety of routes from a variety of formations in a variety of personnel packages; that type of player is valuable for a young quarterback.

Henry: Unsurprisingly, I would also steal a corner this week with that corner being Jaire Alexander. He would upgrade this unit tremendously and at least give the Jags a solid option to shut down one receiver.

Question 3: Who will be the biggest X-factor on Sunday?

Dillon: Evan Engram. The Packers have given up some big games to the higher volume tight ends they’ve faced in 2024 and Engram has always been Trevor’s safety blanket against good secondaries. I think we could see double-digit targets for the veteran TE.

Travis: Christian Kirk will be the biggest X-factor on Sunday for Jacksonville’s offense. The Packers’ safety duo of McKinney and Evan Williams may be a problem on Sunday, especially with Alexander in the mix. Green Bay’s defense has given up the eighth-fewest explosive plays over the past four games, and they rank 11th in pass defense. Alexander will likely spend much of this week’s matchup shadowing Brian Thomas Jr., which isn’t great news for Jacksonville after Alexander just held Stefon Diggs to 0 yards on 1 target in Week 7. Can the offense pivot well if BTJ has a quieter day? Will Kirk carry the load for this receiving room with Thomas Jr. getting extra attention?

Gus: Josh Hines-Allen. He hasn’t made a lot of noise this season, especially relative to his historic 2023 campaign and his teammate Travon Walker’s performance. But Hines-Allen is still generating pressure and affecting games more than his box scores indicate. It’s only a matter of time until Jaguars fans are reminded of who the defense’s alpha is. Gimme a strip-sack, 41!

Henry: The biggest X-factor this week will probably be Love at the end of the day. He puts some frustrating tape out there if you are a Packers fan (see his pick-6 against the Rams) but also can throw off his backfoot like the Aaron Rogers days of old. What Love will we all see on Sunday will be the major factor in who wins and who loses.

Final score prediction?

Dillon: Packers 30, Jaguars 20

Travis: Packers 33, Jaguars 20

Gus: Jaguars 24, Packers 20

Henry: Packers 34, Jags 18

What are your Week 8 predictions, Jaguars fans? Let us know in the comments!