Aaron Rodgers praises toughness of his veteran teammates

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At running back, if Jamaal Williams remains out, rookie Dexter Williams likely will be active on game day for the first time. At receiver, it’s wide open for opportunities after Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Geronimo Allison, who would move up in the pecking order in Adams’ absence.


Jake Kumerow has missed the last two games with a shoulder injury but is back at practice this week. Allen Lazard and rookie Darrius Shepherd both saw the field at crunch time last week against the Eagles.


“We’re all hungry. We’re all looking to make plays. We all feed off each other’s energy, too. If one guy makes a play the other guys get excited for him,” said Kumerow, who has the most extensive rapport of the three with Rodgers, such as it is, dating back to last year.


“One of the things I’ve been trying to do since I got here is get on the same page with him, and to do that, you have to pay attention to detail and do it right in practice for you to get the opportunity in the game.”


The Packers are hitting the road for the first time since Week 1, but their offense is in much better shape than it was for the opener. Numerous missed chances led to just 27 points against the Eagles, but consistently productive drives and Rodgers’ 422 passing yards were significant improvements over the season’s first three games.


Green Bay’s defense was the star of the opening three victories and the offense was in position to reclaim the spotlight last Thursday but came up just short. The unit improved on third downs but took a step back in red-zone and goal-to-go situations, areas that require constant focus no matter who’s in the lineup.


Rodgers emphasized getting key playmakers involved in the game early, as the Packers did last week with Adams and tight end Jimmy Graham. For this week, that could mean running back Aaron Jones and some combination of Graham, Valdes-Scantling and Allison in the passing game.


However it shakes out, the priority is not to regress on offense after taking the first month of the season to find a productive rhythm.


“We’d like to be scoring 30 a game,” Rodgers said. “That’s the goal with this offense is to be explosive and put points up and take pressure off the defense. Last week we needed to outscore them, and we didn’t get the job done.


“A loss is definitely a loss, but the most important thing is seeing growth, and I thought we showed some of that last Thursday. We moved the ball efficiently, but again, we’re going to be our biggest critics. Myself and our offense have got to play better in the red zone and be able to put good teams away when you get down there. You’ve got to get touchdowns.”