Stock Report: Packers Crash and Burn as Comeback Falls Short Against Vikings

As it turns out, the only good news of the day the Packers received was when they learned jordan Love was going to be active. From there, they were outclassed in every sense of the word against the Vikings.

Sep 29, 2024; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones (33) rushes with the football as Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Preston Smith (91) defends during the second quarter at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The news before the game was an inspiring lift, followed by a gut punch.

Jordan Love was back. The quarterback returned after missing the last two games with a knee injury.

The gut punch was that the Green Bay Packers were going to have to face Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison without two of their top four cornerbacks.

Jaire Alexander had a groin injury added to his designation late in the week and was inactive, ruining the chance for a heavyweight fight between him and Jefferson.

Plus, Carrington Valentine missed his second consecutive game with an ankle injury.

Ultimately, it didn’t matter if Love or Alexander played. The Packers were absolutely outclassed in a 31-29 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

The Vikings scored at will. They bent, but ultimately didn’t break against Green Bay’s offense while building a 28-point lead.

The 28-point lead was its largest halftime margin at Lambeau Field since 1973.

The only Packer smiling by the end of the game, was the one who said earlier in the week he’d always have a "G" in his heart.

Of course, that’s because Aaron Jones and his team were the big winners.

Here is our weekly stock report.

Rising

Xavier McKinney

The Packers’ defense was outclassed for most of the day by Sam Darnold and the Vikings’ offense, but their best player on defense made history.

With the Vikings driving midway through the third quarter, Darnold threw deep down the left sideline.

Jumping in front of the pass was Xavier McKinney.

McKinney is now the first Packer to have an interception in each of his first four games with the team.

They don’t give out Defensive Player of the Year awards in September, but McKinney might be the winner of NFC Player of the Month.

Daniel Whelan

Whelan was responsible for Green Bay’s biggest play of the game.

With the team backed up deep in its own territory, Whelan unleashed a punt that officially went for 74 yards.

The kick was high enough to confuse reserve return man Myles Gaskin, and he muffed the punt.

The recovery on the play came from Bo Melton, putting the Packers deep in Minnesota territory, setting up their first touchdown of the day.

Bo Melton recovered a fumble thanks to the Wisconsin sun 💯 pic.twitter.com/EHs3w10oFW

— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) September 29, 2024

Falling

Brayden Narveson

Is it the curse of Mason Crosby?

Whatever it is, the Packers have not replaced their all-time leading scorer since they opted to let him leave in favor of Anders Carlson last season.

Carlson flamed out after a tough year, and is currently out of football.

His competition in training camp, Greg Joseph, had a strong debut with the Giants last week.

Both of those men were cut in favor of Narveson.

Narveson had missed a kick in each of his first three games. While last week’s miss was wiped away by a holding penalty, the memory remains.

Narveson missed two more kicks against the Vikings. That’s officially four in four weeks.

After the game, coach Matt LaFleur gave Narveson a vote of confidence, as did special teams coordianator Rich Bisaccia last week.

Penalties

The Packers entered the game ranked fifth in the NFL with penalties.

They did not get off to a good start in that regard on Sunday with five first-quarter penalties. They were all costly.

A false start by Elgton Jenkins made a third-and-long even longer.

An offsides penalty gave Sam Darnold a free play, where he found Justin Jefferson.

A pass interference penalty by Eric Stokes gave the Vikings the ball near the goal line.

Add it all together, and the Packers trailed 14-0 at the end of the first quarter on their home turf against a divisional opponent.

At some point, the Packers need to clean up their penalty issues. They were OK to get by against the Titans and Colts, teams that came into the day with one win between them. It is different facing a high-quality division rival like the Vikings.

The final tally on the day was eight penalties for 68 yards, and each one felt more costly than the last.

Dontayvion Wicks

A tough day at the office for Green Bay’s offense got off to a rough start when they were facing a third-and-14 in the red zone.

Love found Wicks over the middle of the field for a play that could have been a touchdown. At minimum, he would have gotten a first down.

The pass was a little low. Wicks got his hands on the ball but could not make the play. Instead of a first down, or potentially a touchdown, the Packers had to kick a field goal that was missed by Narveson. Later, Wicks failed to make the play on a fouth-down bomb that went through his hands in the end zone.

Wicks’ production has not matched the offseason hype, though he at least finished strong.

With Christian Watson’s ankle injury sustained late in the first quarter, they’ll need more from Wicks.

Keisean Nixon

With the Packers trailing 14-0 in the red zone, they desperately needed their defense to force a field goal and stop the bleeding.

The Vikings ran a jet sweep to Jordan Addison, who was one-on-one with Nixon. Nixon got an arm on him, but nothing else, as Addison walked into the endzone to give the Vikings a 21-0 lead.

Later in the first half, Nixon was matched up with Justin Jefferson on the boundary.

That’s probably not how Jeff Hafley drew things up earlier in the week, but Jaire Alexander not playing meant the next man up was Nixon.

Nixon’s coverage was not bad, but he failed to turn and find the ball. By the time he found it, Jefferson had spun it in celebration, and the Vikings led 28-0.

DARNOLD AND JETTAS. ARE YOU KIDDING???

📺: #MINvsGB on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/7ueoBJbPGE

— NFL (@NFL) September 29, 2024

Nixon hasn’t been able to take advantage of the new kickoff rules. Nixon came into the day with one return opportunity on the year, and it was ill-advised during the final seconds against the Eagles.

If he’s not going to be able to contribute on special teams, they’ll need him to be better on defense, especially when Alexander is not in the lineup.

Matt LaFleur

This isn’t your typical story that will say the team did not show up, didn’t come to play, etc.

The Minnesota Vikings are a good team and are paid to play professional football.

This is about one of the biggest mistakes that Matt LaFleur has made to date.

With his team scuffling all through the first half, they were given some life when Minnesota’s punt returner Myles Gaskin muffed a punt that was recovered by Bo Melton at the Vikings’ 3.

A short pass to Romeo Doubs was completed but not in the end zone. LaFleur, while trying to call a timeout, was called for unsportsmanlike conduct.

LaFleur said he didn’t cuss but was “absolutely embarrassed” for not showing the type of composure he preaches to his team. He was “too demonstrative,” is what the officials told him.

Had the Packers gone from the Vikings’ 1-yard line to the 16 and not scored a touchdown, that would have fallen squarely on LaFleur’s shoulders.

Instead, the coach was bailed out by two of his best players. Jordan Love and Jayden Reed connected for the Packers’ first touchdown of the day on the next play.

Despite that, LaFleur earns a low mark for what could have been a catastrophic penalty.

Rashan Gary

The entire pass rush could make this list, but at some point, the Packers’ big-money players have to play like it up front.

Gary was not part of the barrage of sacks that took place in Tennessee a week ago.

The only sack he’s been credited with this season was on a play where Lane Johnson was clearly surprised by the snap.

Otherwise, Gary’s impact plays have been few and fart between.

Gary is being paid to be a premier pass rusher. For the Packers to reach their ceiling, he needs to play like it.

Jordan Love

Yes, he was playing at less than 100 percent.

Yes, Minnesota's defense is really good.

Yes, his receivers failed to do him many favors throughout the course of the day.

The reality is, Jordan Love was not good on this day. Knee injury or not.

Quarterbacks are expected to rise above when things around them are not going well.

The reality is, through two games, Love has thrown four interceptions, including three against the Vikings.

His accuracy has been spotty and the decision-making has left a lot to be desired, as well. He did finish with a career-high four touchdowns but also threw three interceptions.

Love has earned the benefit of the doubt. The big plays have been there, as well. The hope in Green Bay is that with another week of health and reps that he'll play better, but much more should be expected of someone that was just given a $220 million contract this offseason.

More Green Bay Packers News

The #Packers made it (a little) interesting but didn't have enough answers in a 31-29 loss to the Vikings.

Here's our early game story.https://t.co/dbrdDgppf6

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 29, 2024

Live Updates | Jordan Love is back | Cornerbacks elevated | Packers-Vikings: Reasons why they’ll lose | Packers-Vikings: Reasons why they’ll win | Packers-Vikings Friday injury report | NFC North power rankings | Mark Bavaro? Yes, Mark Bavaro | Xavier McKinney worth every penny | Jordan Love limited, with a twist | Grab an aspirin | “New” player on practice squad | A lot of love for Aaron Jones | Vikings’ Brian Flores raves about Matt LaFleur | Aaron Jones says thank you | Packers and penalties: Do they matter? | How to watch and what to watch | Packers-Vikings matchups