Cover 3: Quick takeaways after Packers win over the Vikings
After every Green Bay Packers game, we will talk about three points that defined the matchup. The Green Bay Packers finally had a complete game. The offense played at a high level, and Jordan Love elevated everything around him, but the defense also took advantage of a favorable situation. A solid 33-10 win over the […]
After every Green Bay Packers game, we will talk about three points that defined the matchup.
The Green Bay Packers finally had a complete game. The offense played at a high level, and Jordan Love elevated everything around him, but the defense also took advantage of a favorable situation. A solid 33-10 win over the Minnesota Vikings put the team in position to reach the playoff with another win over the Chicago Bears next week, in the regular season finale.
Let’s analyze the main points of the Packers rivalry win on primetime.
Jordan Love is him
The biggest goal of the Packers season was to find out if Jordan Love was their answer at quarterback. They obviously go to week 18 trying to reach the playoffs and that would be extremely important to give this young team experience, but let's not forget that the main objective is reached: Jordan Love is the Packers franchise quarterback.
And the two games against the Minnesota Vikings are the exact showing of Love's development throughout the season. In week 8, he was overwhelmed, nervous, indecisive.
On Sunday, Love showed how talented and creative a thrower he is. The best example was the first touchdown throw to Jayden Reed. To take advantage of the timing of the play, Love was willing to throw without his feet on the ground, and the ball placement was simply perfect.
"His poise," Packers head coach Matt LaFleur told NBC during halftime when asked what stood out the most about the quarterback's play. "He's standing there and making plays."
Love also had a rushing touchdown. His running ability creates another dimension to the Packers offense, that it had in the prime years of Aaron Rodgers but were lacking over the last few years.
The most impressive thing about what Love has done is the surroundings. It's an inexperienced group, and the Packers didn't have their left tackle one (David Bakhtiari), wide receiver one (Christian Watson) and tight end one (Luke Musgrave). Dontayvion Wicks didn't play either, and Jayden Reed left the game at halftime.
It's a bunch of first- and second-year players, and Love finds a way to make everything around him better.
It's early, but the Packers should be comfortable about their future at the most important position in football.
Defensive adjustments
Credit where credit is due. This was the best gameplan designed by Joe Barry in a long time. It's obviously easier to pull it off when the opposing quarterback is as bad as Jaren Hall was in the first half, but facing bad quarterbacks hadn't necessarily been a recipe for success for the Packers defense.
And the adjustments to this specific matchup were clear, taking advantage of an inexperienced quarterback. There was more man coverage, more post-snap secondary disguises, blitzes from linebackers and even cornerbacks.
"Our defense came to play," LaFleur said during halftime. "And that's what we expected from them."
A fun example was when rookie defensive tackle Colby Wooden aligned at the edge and got half a sack. Barry showed willingness to build a gameplan to maximize the Packers defensive personnel.
One specific player deserves recognition: Corey Ballentine. He had an interception and, when isolated in coverage against Justin Jefferson, had solid results.
Aaron Jones elevates the Packers ceiling
When Aaron Jones is fully healthy, the Green Bay Packers offense reaches a different level. It's not that AJ Dillon is bad, but Jones is a much more explosive runner. He always generates more yards than what the offensive line gives him, and his efficiency makes everything easier for the offense. He finished the game with 20 carries for 121 yards.
Jones himself converts first downs or put Jordan Love in a better position to do so. His down by down effectiveness is a big reason to keep him beyond 2023 and see what happens.
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