The Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings are battling at a blustery Lambeau Field on Sunday.
Managing editor Zach Kruse and contributor Jack Wepfer provide thoughts, reactions and analysis from the NFC North showdown:
Jack: Well, Zach, we’re about to get started here. In my pre-game prediction, I thought the Packers would pass all over this depleted Vikings’ secondary. However, the winds look to have different plans. It could be nasty, which at a minimum will limit the downfield passing game. I think the underneath stuff, crossers, mesh, etc., will be a bit tougher as the Harrison Smith-Anthony Harris safety duo the Vikings feature will have less to worry about over the top. Even so, I think the Packers take care of business, but it might just take a more workmanlike effort.
Score update: Packers 7, Vikings 0
Zach: Impressive first drive. Got the run game going with Jamaal Williams, and everything the Packers do on offense is based off of the run. Matt LaFleur got Aaron Rodgers on the move and created short but easy throws. Good to see LaFleur getting aggressive on fourth down in this wind, too. Rodgers didn’t have much trouble get the ball where he wanted it in this wind. Davante really cooked Jeff Gladney to finish it off.
Jack: Well that was encouraging. The Packers moved the ball methodically. The Vikings are not at all interested in pressing the Packers’ wide receivers, and it’s made for a couple of easy pitch-and-catch receptions for Davante Adams. As far as I can tell, LaFleur wants to win between the tackles; I’m guessing he feels good about the interior matchups along the offensive line.
Score update: Packers 7, Vikings 7
Jack: Vikings’ game plan on offense is to feed Dalvin Cook, which shouldn’t come as much surprise. So far, the Packers’ defense hasn’t been able to stop him. He converted a big third-and-eight on a dump-off pass, and then he immediately runs untouched for a touchdown.
Zach: Will Redmond has to make that third-down tackle in space. It really was a four-point miss. Packers look a little soft up front early. Cook produced 57 yards on seven touches on that first drive. Maybe the wind isn’t going to be much of a factor.
Jack: Knee-jerk hyperbolic reaction on that touchdown: the Packers’ defense struggling to stop the run in a cold-weather game at home sort of encapsulates who they are and who they’ve been. I’m not sure this is a mentally tough unit. We’ll see how they react the rest of the way, but we have see this sort of passiveness in big games when adversity hits.
Zach: Very scary injury for Vikings cornerback Cameron Danztler. Reminds me a little bit of Nick Collins’ neck injury.
Zach: Certainly an interesting first quarter. Essentially one drive a piece. I think the Packers have a good plan on offense, and it sure looks like A.J. Dillon is going to get some run here to start the second quarter.
End of the first quarter: Packers 7, Vikings 7
Jack: A note on Dillon: last year LaFleur hammered the running backs on “hitting their landmarks.” On the 2nd-and-20 on the second drive, Dillon had an easy gain of eight, but I think he gets more if he hits his landmark before cutting in order to stretch the second and level defenders. These are the little details that I think he can easily fix as the season goes on.
Zach: I do like Dillon coming back after dropping his first target and producing a nice little catch-and-run. He definitely looks like a back that needs volume to get comfortable. Impacting the game as a receiver sure looks like a prerequisite for running backs in this offense. Nice sign for Dillon.
Zach: The Packers are really doing a nice job of manufacturing offense. Pushing the ball down the field might not be possible today. Steady gains are working here. Oh, and the Packers should challenge this fourth-down spot.
Jack: Jamaal Williams doesn’t get the first down near the end zone in the second quarter, but the effort to fight for that extra foot is commendable. Whereas Jones is slippery, Williams is feisty.
Score update: Packers 14, Vikings 7
Jack: Oh look, another easy touchdown for Davante Adams!
Zach: A couple of things: Matt LaFleur is cooking up great stuff down inside the 5-yard line recently. This is clearly something he emphasized after some early struggles to start 2020. He’s using all kinds of misdirection to free up his best players. Also, the Packers are managing the wind wonderfully. Rodgers has completed 11 passes for 78 yards and two scores. They’ve rushed for 73 yards. Long touchdown drives (13 plays, 15 plays). Three third-down conversions, two on fourth down. The wind is a factor but the Packers have found the right counters to the elements.
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