Thoughts from the Green Bay Packers at the Minnesota Vikings (12/29/2024)

Here are some of my thoughts from today's 27-25 Green Bay Packers' loss at the Minnesota Vikings:


If Green Bay wants to have a chance in the playoffs, they need to stop beating themselves. Some mistakes, like the first-half Josh Jacobs' fumble and the pass interference against Keisan Nixon are unfortunate but forgivable. Others, like giving your opponent a second chance on a missed field goal by being offsides or not lining up properly when trying to convert on third and one, aren't.

I am going to include Head Coach Matt LaFleur in the above comment as well. Yes, hindsight is 20/20 and I would have a different opinion if they picked up the 1st down. However, had Green Bay kicked the field goal rather than going for it on fourth early in the game, the game's outcome might have been different.

All things considered; the defense played pretty well tonight. The secondary is beaten up and other key players, like Quay Walker, were out while facing a loaded offense. The defense gave up some big plays as a result of being outgunned but did pick up some key stops to try to keep the Packers in the game.

The Packers' passing game remains inconsistent. Part of the problem, in my opinion, is Jordan Love isn't given much of a chance to get in a rhythm because there's too much emphasis on trying to get that big play downfield. Let him get in sync with his receivers first and earn those deep plays by forcing the defense to cover the shorter routes that keep the chains moving and make the defense pay for blitzing. In other words, they should have been doing what they did when they were trailing late.

It would also help if Green Bay had a true number one guy at receiver. All you need to do is watch how much impact Justin Jefferson had on the game for the Vikings, even when he wasn't getting the ball. The Packers just don't have that. They have a lot of "good" receivers but nobody that truly scares anyone, especially since Christian Watson can't stay on the field and Jayden Reed, the team's leading receiver, has had just one catch, five targets and six yards in Green Bay's last two division games.

I was also surprised the receivers weren't involved in the run game. Last week, multiple receivers had rushing yards. This week, they were forgotten. Even if there isn't a lot of success with jet sweeps and end-arounds, it is one more thing for the defense to defend and possibly opens up big plays.


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You can find my thoughts from last week's game here:

Thoughts from the Green Bay Packers Versus the New Orleans Saints (12/23/2024)

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