Sunday Six-Pack: Game Ball, Lame Ball, Turning Point from Packers’ Loss to Vikings
GREEN BAY, Wis. - The Green Bay Packers entered Sunday's game against Minnesota hoping to snap a three-game losing streak.
They'd talked for the last three weeks about finding answers in regards to their slow starts and poor finishes.
They got another slow start, gaining 15 yards in the first quarter. They were lucky to score any points in the first half. Anders Carlson's initial field goal attempt to end the first half hit the upright, but that was nullified by an offsides penalty to give him a mulligan.
Carlson made good with his second attempt, and the Packers trimmed their halftime deficit to 10-3.
The second half has been where the Packers have made their hay. Instead, the Vikings took the opening possession right down the field to make the score 17-3. That lead would be one they would not relinquish.
The Packers had their chances in the second half but the offense failed to ever really make the game competitive, losing 24-10.
As our gift to you - here's a six-pack of thoughts coming out of Green Bay's fourth straight loss.
Game Ball: Preston Smith
Preston Smith's entrance into the stadium was fitting for the season.
Fit with a Michael Myers mask from Halloween, Smith was hoping to hunt down Kirk Cousins.
Smith sacked Kirk Cousins early in the fourth quarter to all but end a Vikings drive that ended in a blocked field goal. He sacked Jaren Hall and forced a fumble to give the Packers a second chance to climb back into the game.
In addition, he made a play in coverage against TJ Hockenson. Smith is one of the Packers' veterans on the roster. He's one of their highest-paid players.
In conjunction, he's one of the players the Packers need to start making more plays.
He took a step toward that on Sunday. He gets the game ball.
Lame Ball: Jaire Alexander
Jaire Alexander is one of the highest-paid players on the team. One of his trademarks is his trash-talking ability.
Lately, however, he's had a lot more talk than action.
To be fair, Alexander is playing with a bad back, but any coach will tell you all excuses go out the window once a player steps between the white lines.
Alexander was given an opportunity he often says he wants. Alexander was in coverage on Jordan Addison on a couple of key third downs in the first half.
He was beaten more than once. Addison had five catches for 56 yards in the first half. A majority of which came with Alexander in coverage.
Following Jordan Love's interception on the team's first possession of the second half, Alexander gave up a touchdown to the rookie to make the score 24-3.
The Packers are a historically young offense, but Alexander is not a young player.
After the team's 17-13 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in early October, Alexander said the defense needed to make sure they were being accountable to themselves.
The Packers need more from Jaire Alexander
Photo by Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today Sports Images
"I think at this point it's pretty obvious that the defense has to not give up any touchdowns," Alexander said.
"I think that's the part of being self-critical of our defense because the offense is pretty young and they're still figuring out their mojo, so the defense, we gotta do more to score and stop them from scoring."
Alexander said it. He needs to back up his words.
Pivot Point: Jordan Love Interception/Addison Touchdown
The Packers came into the second half only trailing by seven. That felt like a miracle considering how the first half went.
Kirk Cousins led the Vikings right down the field for a touchdown to give the Vikings a 17-3 lead early in the third quarter.
Jordan Love, looking to give the offense a spark, threw deep down the middle of the field looking for Jayden Reed. Reed had the ball taken away from him by Vikings safety Josh Metellus. Metellus returned the ball to Green Bay's 20 and the Vikings smelled blood.
Given the chance to make a game-changing play of their own, the Packers' defense fell flat on their face.
Cousins found Jordan Addison for a 20-yard touchdown and a game that could have been close turned into a blowout.
Play of the Game: Karl Brooks Channels Dikembe Mutumbo
With the Packers trailing 24-10 in the fourth quarter, Minnesota's Greg Joseph came onto the field looking to give the Vikings a 27-10 lead.
A deficit of that size would have all but ended the game.
The Packers had seized a little momentum with Preston Smith and Kenny Clark sacking Kirk Cousins on consecutive plays.
Joseph's kick was swatted away by Karl Brooks and into the hands of Jonathan Owens.
The blocked kick was a brief glimmer of hope that the Packers could make a game out of it.
Instead, Jordan Love threw a fourth-down pass into double coverage that was easily knocked away by Camryn Bynum, and the Vikings snatched away any momentum that Brooks might've given the team.
Can Anyone Make a Play?
Much has been made about the Packers' inability to get off to a fast start.
Their offense continued that trend today with another nightmarish first quarter.
Jordan Love and company got the ball to start the day and went three and out in a way that perfectly encapsulates the 2023 Packers.
Their first two plays gained nine yards setting up third-and-1.
Love and his receivers weren't on the same page on an RPO that turned into a circus catch by Romeo Doubs after Love escaped the clutches of Josh Metellus.
The play was wiped out by an illegal man downfield penalty on Rasheed Walker.
The ensuing play was a 3rd and 6 where Love got the Vikings' defense to jump offsides.
Love threw deep to Jayden Reed, but overthrew him by four yards.
A third-and-1 run was stuffed, and the Packers were forced to punt.
Good fortune smiled on the Packers as the Vikings' first offensive drive resulted in a missed field goal.
As has been the case for most of the year, however, the Packers did nothing with it.
Jordan Love's ball placement was not perfect on a second-down throw to Aaron Jones, but the ball hit Jones in the chest plate. A veteran of his stature should have caught the ball.
Love's next pass was incomplete to Luke Musgrave on a pass broken up by Metellus. A good play by the defender, but a microcosm of the Packers' issues.
On the rare occasions that they have an open receiver, nobody is able to make a play when the ball hits them in the hands.
The result? Another goose egg for the Packers in the first quarter.
The stat line is even uglier. The Packers had nearly three times the amount of penalty yards (44) as total yards (15) in the first quarter.
Their slow starts on offense aren't going away, and it would be fair to say they're getting worse.
Looking Ahead
The Packers will be at Lambeau Field again next week to take on the Los Angeles Rams.
The Rams have not won at Lambeau Field since Sean Mcvay became the head coach, losing two regular season games and one playoff game since 2020.
That was obviously a different era of Packers' football. Save for one game, those teams had Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams. This team does not have something to lean on like those teams did.
The Rams are a different group than the ones that came into Lambeau Field for those games as well. They're paying the piper for going all in to secure a Super Bowl. To their credit, they did.
They still have some star power. Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and Aaron Donald will all make their way to Lambeau Field next week.
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