GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Last year, after the Green Bay Packers completed the regular season with hardly any long-term injuries to significant players in Matt LaFleur's first season as coach, he chalked it up to mostly one factor: luck.

That was his initial analysis in January.

With an offseason to study it, he came to a similar conclusion, using the same word when asked about it on the eve of training camp this summer.

There's another four-letter word he might use this year: @#$%!

The Packers already have played without 14 primary starters for at least one game, and 12 of those players have missed multiple games -- led by opening-day starting right guard Lane Taylor, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 1.

By comparison, Taylor was also lost last season in Week 3 to a season-ending biceps injury. But after that, the most significant injury the Packers suffered the rest of 2019 was Davante Adams' turf toe, which cost him four games (and the Packers won all four on the way to their 13-3 regular season and appearance in the NFC Championship Game).

According to the injury-tracking website Man-Games Lost, the Packers had the eighth-fewest injuries during the 2019 regular season. Digging deeper, it valued the Packers' injury issues as the fourth lowest in the league in a measure it calls "lost approximate value," which measures the impact of injuries based on the quality of players from their previous season performance.

If LaFleur's mantra on injuries was, "I think a lot of it is luck," as he said heading into this season, then is it simply a case of bad luck this time around?

So far this year, the same site has the Packers near the middle of the league -- at No. 14 -- in overall injuries but ninth in the "lost approximate value" category.

"I think there's a lot of variables and circumstances around it," LaFleur said this week. "I know it's kind of gone around the league it sure seems, so I don't know if the lack of an offseason has anything to do with that. But we're trying to manage it as best we can."

The list of opening-day starters or players who would have been Week 1 starters and have missed multiple games includes: Taylor (seven and counting), tight end Josiah Deguara (six and counting because he is out for the season after a torn ACL), linebacker Kamal Martin (six), linebacker Christian Kirksey (five), receiver Allen Lazard (five), cornerback Kevin King (four), defensive tackle Kenny Clark (three), left tackle David Bakhtiari (three), right tackle Billy Turner (two), running back Aaron Jones (two), kick returner Tyler Ervin (two) and Adams (two).

"To be 6-2 right now with the injuries that we've had and the circumstances feels really good," Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said.

It's been especially hard on the offensive line, which has had four different starting lineup combinations in the first eight games. Last season, the Packers used only two different starting combinations on the line (plus a third in the playoffs when right tackle Bulaga fell ill).

The Packers have started three different players at right tackle: Turner, Rick Wagner and Elgton Jenkins. Meanwhile, Jenkins, an all-rookie selection last year at left guard, has played every position on the line this season except right guard. He actually played three different spots (left guard, left tackle and center) in last week's win over the 49ers. They were already without Bakhtiari in that game and then lost Wagner to a knee injury. Jenkins moved to left tackle, and Turner moved from left tackle to right tackle and rookie Jon Runyan came in at left guard.

As far as the skill positions go, Adams, Lazard and Jones have not played together since the second half of the Week 2 game against the Lions, when Adams left with a hamstring injury. He missed Weeks 3 and 4. Jones missed Weeks 7 and 8 because of his calf injury, and Lazard hasn't played since his core muscle injury in Week 3.

With their top running back and their top receivers on the field together again, the Packers can keep defenses from loading up on one or other.

"The easy answer to eliminate a lot of big plays from bigger-time receivers is the shell," Adams said of the coverage he could see if teams don't respect the run game. "Obviously you go 2-high [safeties], you go Cover-2, that makes it a lot more difficult, it kind of slims down the options for us. But on the flip side of that, you got Cover-2, it just allows for better running lanes, and if you do that with [Jones] out there, you're going to be in trouble. So I'd say we kind of balance each other out and keep these defenses honest."

The Packers' injury numbers might not look so bad if they weren't so conservative, especially with soft-tissue injuries. Adams went public with his frustration over being held out of the Week 4 game against the Falcons, and Turner expressed something similar while he missed the first two games because of a knee injury. But both players have come back healthy and on top of their games.

Yet here are the Packers at 6-2 at the midway point of the season heading into Sunday's game against the struggling Jacksonville Jaguars (1-7). It could be worse, however, like what has happened to the team that beat the Packers in the NFC title game last year. The 49ers lead the NFL in total injuries, according to Man-Games Lost, and have more than twice as many as the Packers.

Then there's this: the Packers could be getting healthier. Lazard and Kirksey are in their third week of practice since being designated to come off injured reserve and could play this week. Bakhtiari should be close to a return from his chest injury, which is believed to be broken ribs. And if King can return, it could help the secondary if fellow cornerback Jaire Alexander doesn't clear the concussion protocol this week after dropping out of the Week 9 game against the 49ers.

"We've kind of weathered some spots in our schedule without a lot of guys, as opposed to other years when we're trying to get young guys maybe up to speed and get them going by the end of the year," Rodgers said. "Maybe this is the year we're getting our guys back at important times and getting them back in the fold for the stretch run, and hopefully that's the case starting this week."