Photo by Evan Siegle - packers.com
Jordan Love vs the Vikings October 29, 2023
Jordan Love vs the Vikings, October 29, 2023
The Packers have scored 29 points combined in the first halves of their seven games this season, one of the worst totals in NFL history. That trend continued, as Green Bay was only able to muster a last second 30-yard field goal from Anders Carlson in a pathetic first half against Minnesota on Sunday. The second half wasn’t much better as Green Bay scored their lone touchdown, a one-yard pass from Jordan Love to Romeo Doubs, on fourth down.
The Vikings entered the game missing star receiver Justin Jefferson, but rookie Jordan Addison (7 catches, 82 yards, 1 TD) and tight end TJ Hockenson (6 catches, 88 yards, 1 TD) were outstanding while picking up the slack. The Vikings’ offense was creative, using pre-snap motion and play-action to spring their receivers wide open, while the Packer receivers struggled to get out of their own way.
Perhaps the most disappointing thing about the Green Bay offense is the lack of basic execution. The team committed 11 penalties for 99 yards, receivers frequently ran incorrect routes for the third week in a row, and every Packer pass catcher suffered multiple drops. The lack of physicality at the catch point has become an epidemic for the Packers, who are now 9-for-43 on contested catches this season according to Zach Kruse of The Packers Wire, with both Christian Watson (0 of 8) and Jayden Reed (0 of 7) failing to pull in a single contested target on the season. Even Romeo Doubs, the shining star of the team on contested catches, has only pulled in 5 of 13, which is still below the league average rate of 41%.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
Deep Shot
That lack of contested catch ability burned Jordan Love badly in the third quarter on third and eight when he hit Jayden Reed directly in the hands on a deep shot over the middle, only to see Viking safety Josh Metellus casually take the ball away for an interception. He returned the pick 43 yards, setting up a Cousins-to-Addison 20 yard score on the next play, putting the game out of reach. It should have been an easy catch for Reed, and kept the game close. While the entire offense has been a huge disappointment at every position, the receivers have been the worst of the bunch. While it often takes a few years for young receivers to learn the ropes of the NFL, this unit is making basic mistakes. Christian Watson looked to be a star in the making at the end of the 2022 season. This season, he has routinely run the wrong route, and seems to have no idea what he’s doing the majority of the time, to say nothing of his substandard hands.
Perhaps keeping at least one veteran would have helped, but that has not been the case for the offensive line, which was completely unable to open any running lanes for Aaron Jones or AJ Dillon, and routinely blew assignments in pass protection. Center Josh Myers continues to have breakdowns on the interior of the line, blowing up potential big plays.
Green Bay’s defense was good enough to win, but Joe Barry’s group is still struggling to get off the field on third down, as they allowed Minnesota to convert nine third downs of eight yards or more. “Third and longs” are supposed to be wins for the defense the majority of the time, but Barry’s defenses consistently lack any sense of urgency on third down, and often his personnel groupings fail to match the down-and-distance scenario. Every week the Packers seem to rush two or three on third and long, or send out lighter, nickel personnel against a heavy front on third and short.
The Vikings got back into the playoff hunt with this win, but they may not stay their long as they lost starting quarterback Kirk Cousins for the year with an Achilles’ tear. They could look to add a veteran like Ryan Tannehill during Tuesday’s trade deadline, but if not, they will be relying on rookie Jaren Hall out of BYU.
On a positive note for the Packers, they inked star edge rusher Rashan Gary to a team friendly, four year contract extension, which will pay him $96 million in new money. Gary is in his first season back from an ACL tear and has been as effective as ever. The Packers will be happy to have him through his prime.
