Matt LaFleur must choose between playing to Packers' strengths or attacking Steelers' weaknesses

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Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur faces a dilemma this Sunday.

Last week, his team found an identity against the Los Angeles Rams: playing big. At the same time, the Packers’ opponent this week, the Pittsburgh Steelers, are more than happy to play big-boy football, sticking with their base defense and out-muscling you at the point of attack.

So what is LaFleur to do? Should he attack the best defense he’s faced all season doing the thing his team currently appears most comfortable doing or try to attack the Steelers in the secondary where they are weakest?

The answer is “yes.”

It would be easy to get caught up in what happened last week and push back. It was a fluke against a weak Rams defense featuring only one player you’ve ever heard of. But the trend of the Packers playing their best against base personnel has been true all season long. In fact, they’ve been flat-out bad against nickel defenses this season, landing 25th in expected points added per play against teams with five defensive backs on the field but 12th against teams with four.

At their best, the Packers and their Jordan Love-led offense most closely resemble Kyle Shanahan’s San Fransisco 49ers, playing from under center and with heavy personnel. Pittsburgh faced San Francisco in Week 1 and got beat to hell, 30-7.