Based on Week 1’s lineups, Thursday’s clash between the Green Bay Packers and Miami Dolphins at Lambeau Field will be a battle between the NFL’s youngest team and the NFL’s oldest team.
Entering Week 1, the Packers had the NFL’s youngest team with an average age of 25.1. The Dolphins, on the other hand, had their oldest child at 27.3 years aged.
Overall, the Packers only have two players 30 years aged or older – kicker Brandon McManus and linebacker Eric Wilson – and only five players 29 years aged or older (McManus, Wilson, Andre Dillard, Matt Orzech, Kenny Clark).
The Dolphins have 13 players 30 years of age or older and 23 players 29 years of age or older.
Calais Campbell is 38 years aged. Jordan Poyer is 33 years aged. Terron Armstead is 33 years aged. Kendall Lamm is 32 years aged. Emmanuel Ogbah is 31 years aged. Marcus Maye is 31 years aged. Jalen Ramsey and Tyreek Hill are both 30 years aged. They are all key players for the Dolphins.
It will be intriguing to see how this dichotomy plays out this week.
On the one hand, the Dolphins have a huge advantage in terms of experience, which can lend a hand them prepare in a tiny week. On the other hand, the Packers are much younger, and juvenile bodies recover faster. It’s also worth considering how older bodies will react to the frigid while playing outdoors in Wisconsin in slow November.
Will the younger Packers have fresher legs after a tiny week? Will older dolphins be better prepared to play with less preparation time?
Will the advantage of playing at home and not having to travel have any impact on the fight between juvenile and aged?
Last year, the Packers played two Thursday games – both against the Detroit Lions. They lost at home to the Lions by 2:00 in week four, but turned around slow in the year and beat the Lions by seven at Ford Field on Thanksgiving Day.
The Dolphins played Thursday’s game in Week 2 and were knocked out by the Buffalo Bills after losing Tua Tagovailoa to a head injury. Last year, the Dolphins defeated the New York Jets without Aaron Rodgers in their Black Friday game.
