The Green Bay Packers knew exactly what the Minnesota Vikings were going to do with Dalvin Cook on Sunday at Lambeau Field.
And they have a pretty good idea of what’s coming on Thursday night in San Francisco.
The foresight only adds to the failure of the Packers run defense during Sunday’s 28-22 loss to Cook and the visiting Vikings, and the collapse spells real trouble for the team’s return trip to Levi’s Stadium in four days.
“We knew exactly what they were going to do in terms of riding him. Just with the conditions out there. It was pretty windy,” coach Matt LaFleur said Sunday. “We never put them in a situation where they had to drop back and throw the football, or at least not too many times. That’s something that we better get it fixed and we better get it fixed fast because I have a pretty good idea what’s going to happen on a short week on Thursday in San Francisco as well.”
Cook rushed for 163 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries. He added another 63 receiving yards, including a 50-yard touchdown on a screen play. Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins threw just 14 passes, providing a flashback to last year’s NFC title game when the 49ers only attempted nine passes.
Gusty and blustery conditions in Green Bay limited the passing game, so the Vikings kept handing the ball to Cook, and the Pro Bowl running back kept chewing up yards.
LaFleur said a bunch of missed tackles contributed to Cook’s big day. A first viewing suggests he’s right. Missing more against the 49ers – who blew out the Packers in January on the back of a devastating run attack orchestrated by Kyle Shanahan and executed by Raheem Mostert – could produce the first two-game losing streak in the LaFleur era.
The 49ers rushed for almost 400 yards in the two games against the Packers last season, including a 285-yard explosion in the NFC title game.
“The formula’s been written. We have got to step up and get it fixed. If not, we’re going to continue to get these kind of results,” LaFleur said.
Overall, the Packers have allowed 1,063 rushing yards in the six losses since hiring LaFleur to start the 2019 season. That’s 177.2 per game.
Up next is the 49ers, who won’t have Mostert – he’s on injured reserve – but will have Shanahan, who built the run scheme that bamboozled defensive coordinator Mike Pettine and the Packers defense last season. The 49ers entered Week 8 ranking in the top 10 in the NFL in run attempts, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and yards per carry.
The Packers have three days to figure out how to prevent a sequel, both to Sunday’s implosion and the debacle at Levi’s Stadium in January.
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