Packer Central

Packers Report Card: Bad Grades Everywhere In Loss to Vikings

Low marks are all over the report card this week as the Green Bay Packers dug a 28-0 hole, which was too deep to climb out of in a 31-29 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Jacob Westendorf

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur argues a call with field judge Aaron Santi during the second quarter of Sunday's loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur argues a call with field judge Aaron Santi during the second quarter of Sunday's loss to the Minnesota Vikings. / Mark Hoffman/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – Jordan Love was back in the lineup.

That’s where most of the good news stopped for the Green Bay Packers.

A missed field goal by Brayden Narveson on the first possession felt like an omen for what was to come for most of the day.

The Packers trailed by as many as 28 points in the first half, which would have been their second-largest halftime deficit in a Lambeau Field game had the Vikings not handed them a touchdown on a muffed punt.

After trailing 28-0, the Packers scored the next 22 points.

Ultimately, they made too many mistakes to deserve to win. Eight penalties and four turnovers, including three interceptions from Jordan Love, led to a disappointing 31-22 loss at Lambeau Field.

The weekly Packers report card, as can be expected in a game that was 28-0, is full of low marks.

Pass Offense

Jordan Love and the passing game failed to move the ball with any consistency while the game was close.

They made a play here or there, but their offense resembled the group that stumbled through most of the first half of the 2023 season more than the group that set the league on fire in the second half.

The final numbers look good. The Packers tallied 465 total yards, but a good portion of those came after the game was in hand.

Yes, Love was playing with an injury, but this is now two subpar games this season.

Love threw three interceptions and got away with other plays that could have resulted in turnovers, as well.

His biggest mistake was an ill-advised throw on his first interception to Christian Watson. Adding injury to insult, Watson missed the rest of the game with an ankle injury.

Love’s decision-making and accuracy have been spotty through his two games.

His third interception of the day essentially ended the game, an arm punt on an all-out blitz on first-and-10 that Byron Murphy could have waved for a fair catch.

Love has thrown four interceptions through two games and could have had more.

Obviously, he’s earned the benefit of the doubt in some situations, but with the NFL’s worst pass defense on the schedule next week, it’s not too much to ask for the $220 million man and this highly touted offense to play much better than they did today.

The receivers also must play better. They were credited with five drops, though Love’s ball placement did them no favors. After making every play for Malik Willis, they need to make more plays for Love.

Grade: D

Rush Offense

With Green Bay down two scores after two possessions, the run game became a bit of an afterthought.

When they were able to run, they found some success against a stingy Vikings defense. They just weren’t able to get that many opportunities.

Their best run of the day came from Emanuel Wilson. The 23-yard run to the 11 was nullified by, you guessed it, a holding penalty on Tucker Kraft.

Penalties have been devastating to the run game. They took a touchdown off the board two weeks ago against Indianapolis, a 23-yard run by Jacobs against Tennessee and the 23-yarder by Wilson.

Their final tally for the game was 19 carries for 86 yards, but it’s hard to have much of an impact on a game where you’re trailing by multiple scores for most of the day.

Grade: C-minus

Pass Defense

With cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and Carrington Valentine inactive, it was a big ask of Eric Stokes, Keisean Nixon and Corey Ballentine to handle Vikings receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.

To compensate, the pass rush, which devoured Will Levis a week ago, was going to need to have a repeat performance against Sam Darnold.

In the first half, the Packers were neither able to rush Darnold nor cover Minnesota’s receivers.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?

The result was a 28-0 deficit late in the first half. Darnold diced up the secondary with three touchdown passes in the first half, including 29 yards to Jordan Addison against Ballentine and 14 yards to Jefferson in the right corner of the end zone vs. Nixon.

They did slow things down a little bit with Xavier McKinney getting his fourth interception in four games. He’s the first Packer to accomplish that in team history.

Nixon and Edgerrin Cooper combined for a game-changing play when Nixon strip-sacked Darnold with the Packers trailing by 14. Cooper recovered Darnold’s fumble, and Love found Kraft two plays later to make the score 28-22.

The Vikings took the field with the Packers’ home crowd in full-throat. With one more stop, the Packers would have the ball with a chance to take the lead. Instead, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell dialed up two plays for his best player.

Jefferson had receptions for 17 and 27 yards to set up a field goal to make the score 31-22.

Essentially, whenever Minnesota had to have something, it got it.

The turnovers save them from a failing grade, but not much else went right in this phase of the game.

Grade: D  

Rush Defense

Aaron Jones got to smile after the game because his new team beat his old team.

Jones did not light up the scoreboard, but certainly looked like the player that was one of the best Packers in recent memory.

He finished the game with 22 carries for 93 yards. He did not find the end zone, but did average more than 4 yards per carry.

The Vikings finished with 122 yards on the ground. Most of their damage was done through the air which saves the unit from a worse grade.

Grade: C

Special Teams

Green Bay’s best play of the first half came from this group.

Daniel Whelan may find himself as the NFC’s representative as the punter in the Pro Bowl if he keeps kicking like this.

His 74-yard punt late in the first half would have been enough to flip the field and keep the Vikings from putting together a late drive for more points in the first half.

Instead, Myles Gaskin muffed the punt, and Bo Melton recovered it at Minnesota’s 3.

The drive would finish with Green Bay’s first touchdown of the day.

The kickoff-return game was nonexistent again. Five Vikings punts garnered 1 return yard. Jayden Reed let a shanked punt roll to give the Packers poor field position.

However, the story of special teams is the same as it was a year ago.

The kicker.

Brayden Narveson is tied for the league lead in missed kicks, and would have the outright lead if not for last week’s miss being nullified by a Titans penalty.

General manager Brian Gutekunst said he wanted to learn to be more patient with specialists, but the failure to find a proper successor to all-time leading scorer Mason Crosby was a detriment to this team last season and the first four games of this season.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur gave Narveson a ringing endorsement after the game.

“I’ve got a lot of confidence and won’t blink if we have to put him out there in another situation,” he said.

Grade: D

Coaching

After two weeks of brilliance, this part of the team, like the rest of the team, laid an egg on Sunday.

LaFleur was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, which could have cost his team a touchdown late in the first half.

“I’m embarrassed that I got an unsportsmanlike penalty,” LaFleur said; officials told him he was “too demonstrative” in wanting a timeout.

Anything that defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley dialed up, his good friend Kevin O’Connell seemed to have the answer.

Ditto for the LaFleur and Brian Flores matchup.

Whenever either Minnesota’s offense or defense needed to make a play, they found a way to do so. If this game focused solely on the coaching battle, it was a win by decisive knockout for O’Connell and Flores over LaFleur and Hafley.

LaFleur said the Vikings’ defense was a headache to prepare for.

If that’s true, this week is a full-fledged migraine for LaFleur and his team.

The only thing saving this grade from an “F” is the fact LaFleur was able to get his team to get within one score in the fourth quarter.

They could have laid down, as some teams in the past have, but did not.

Grade: D

More Green Bay Packers News

Jordan Love was rusty in return to lineup | Lack of composure | Game story: Vikings 31, Packers 29 | Packers stock report | Live Updates | Jordan Love is back | Cornerbacks elevated | Packers-Vikings: Reasons why they’ll lose |Mark Bavaro? Yes, Mark Bavaro | Xavier McKinney worth every penny

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Jacob Westendorf
JACOB WESTENDORF