Who will sack the quarterback without Micah Parsons?That could be the season-defining question.The Green Bay Packers went winless without Parsons last season. While they’re fortunate to face mediocre passing games to start the season, they could be destroyed if the pass rush gets stuck in quicksand without Parsons to create mayhem.With a “strong nine-month rule” as he comes back from a torn ACL, Parsons isn’t expected to hit the practice field until before the Week 4 game at the Buccaneers. So, that presumably means Parsons will be out for Week 1 against Kyler Murray and the Vikings, Week 2 against Geno Smith and the Jets, Week 3 against Tua Tagovailoa/Michael Penix and the Falcons and Week 4 against Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers.Parsons will need a training camp to get ramped up. That means Week 5 against Caleb Williams and the Bears, Week 6 against Dak Prescott and the Cowboys and Week 7 against Jared Goff and the Lions – much, much stiffer challenges in terms of quarterbacks – will be in jeopardy, too.Without a pass rush, the Packers could be buried in a hurry – whether it’s against a journeyman quarterback like Smith or a prolific passer like Prescott.Here’s a look at the early stretch of games. For this story, the clean-pocket ranking is from PFF and is based on the 41 quarterbacks who had at least 67 under-pressure dropbacks (Murray’s number) and the skill-position ranking is from ESPN.com’s Bill Barnwell.Week 1: at Minnesota VikingsQuarterback: Kyler MurrayHow important is it for a quarterback to play from a clean pocket? When pressured, Murray’s passer rating last season with the Cardinals was 65.6. From a clean pocket, it was 97.0. That’s a 31.4-point difference, which is fairly typical. The league medians were 99.2 from a clean pocket and 69.7 when pressured, a difference of 29.5. Murray completed 73.8 percent of his passes, which ranked 10th.Skill-position ranking: 8th.With Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Jauan Jennings, the Vikings might have the best receiver trio in the NFL. Saddled with atrocious quarterback play, Jefferson still caught 84 passes for 1,048 yards but scored only two touchdowns. Addison scored 19 touchdowns his first two seasons but had only three last year. Jennings scored nine touchdowns for the 49ers last year.Week 2: at New York JetsQuarterback: With the Raiders, Geno Smith was 23rd with a clean-pocket passer rating of 98.9, a 39.4-point improvement over his under-pressure mark. His nine interceptions were tied for the most in the league but his 75.6 completion percentage was seventh.Skill-position ranking: 12th.The Jets have two proven playmakers in receiver Garrett Wilson, who topped 1,000 yards each of his first three seasons but missed most of last season due to injury, and running back Breece Hall, who had 1,065 rushing yards last year and three consecutive seasons of more than 1,350 total yards. The Packers might be fortunate to get the Jets early before tight end Kenyon Sadiq and receiver Omar Cooper, a pair of first-round picks, are too comfortable.Week 3: Atlanta FalconsAtlanta Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) shown on the field during minicamp. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectQuarterback: Tua Tagovailoa or Michael PenixWith the Dolphins, Tagovailoa was 30th with a clean-pocket passer rating of 95.8; he was third in 2023 at 112.0. He tied Smith with nine interceptions. When he’s rolling, he’s as good as anyone, though, ranking second in NFL history in completion percentage. Penix, who was Atlanta’s first-round pick in 2024, was 20th in clean-pocket rating at 99.3 but 11th in yards per attempt. For both passers, their clean-pocket rating was about 30 points higher than when pressured.Skill-position ranking: 4th.The depth isn’t great but having Bijan Robinson as the No. 1 running back, Drake London as the No. 1 receiver and Kyle Pitts as the No. 1 tight end can present all sorts of problems.Week 4: at Tampa Bay BuccaneersQuarterback: Baker MayfieldMayfield was 25th in clean-pocket passer rating at 98.4. That was 27.7 points higher than when pressured. In 2024, though, he was sixth with a 110.9 rating and first by a wide margin with 36 touchdowns.Skill-position ranking: 22nd.The Buccaneers lost longtime star receiver Mike Evans and will counter with receivers Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin and running back Bucky Irving. That means Mayfield will have to do a lot of baking.Week 5: Chicago BearsChicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) is pressured by Green Bay Packers defensive end Kingsley Enagbare. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectQuarterback: Caleb WilliamsWilliams was 19th with a clean-pocket passer rating of 99.4, which was 30.6 points higher than when facing pressure. The playoff game is particularly telling. With a clean pocket, Williams’ passer rating was 90.0. When pressured, it was 34.9. His 66.2 completion percentage from a clean pocket during the regular season was one of the worst in the league, but he did throw 20 touchdowns vs. six interceptions.Skill-position ranking: 15th.Chicago has an exciting young quartet with receivers Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III, tight end Colston Loveland and running back Kyle Monangai. Loveland destroyed the Packers in the playoff game and Burden finished third in the league in yards per route and passer rating when targeted.Week 6: Dallas CowboysQuarterback: Dak PrescottOne of the most prolific quarterbacks in the NFL, Prescott was 12th in clean-pocket passer rating, his 106.7 rating being 23.2 points higher than when pressured. He threw 25 touchdown passes (tied for third) with five interceptions. Skill-position ranking: 7th.The Packers don’t have a No. 1 receiver. The Cowboys have two with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. Pickens finished third in the NFL in receiving yards and Lamb was 10th. Tight end Jake Ferguson, with 82 catches, is a stud. Javonte Williams had a breakout season in the backfield with 1,201 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.Week 7: at Detroit LionsDetroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff throws a pass while not being pressured by the Packers. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectQuarterback: Jared GoffGoff and Jordan Love are the ultimate clean-pocket merchants. Goff’s 121.7 passer rating from a clean pocket trailed only Love and the Patriots’ Drake Maye, and was 51.1 points higher than when pressured. Only Matthew Stafford (38) threw more clean-pocket touchdowns than Goff (32). When Green Bay won at Ford Field last year, Goff’s clean-pocket rating was 146.5 compared to 91.1 when pressured.Skill-position ranking: 1st.The Lions also have a pair of No. 1 receivers with Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams. St. Brown finished fifth in receiving yards and tied for second in receiving touchdowns and Williams was eighth in receiving yards, third in yards per catch and second in passer rating when targeted. Oh, and running back Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 1,223 yards and 13 touchdowns with a 5.0-yard average and added 77 catches for 616 yards.Week 8: Carolina PanthersQuarterback: Bryce YoungWith a game at Lambeau Field, this could be the return date for Parsons. Young from a clean pocket was 32nd with a 94.2 rating. That’s 31.1 points higher than when pressured.Skill-position ranking: 28th.Tetairoa McMillan had a banner rookie season with 70 catches for 1,014 yards and seven touchdowns. The Panthers lost running back Rico Dowdle in free agency so will be counting on former 1,000-yard rusher Chuba Hubbard to carry the load. SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY PACKERS NEWSLETTERAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow