The Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings will do battle on Sunday at Lambeau Field. The Week 4 showdown isn’t just a key NFC North matchup early in the 2024 season, but it’ll also mark the return of Packers quarterback Jordan Love from a left knee injury.
Can Love unlock the Vikings’ smothering defense? Will Aaron Jones sting the Packers in his return to Lambeau Field? Who will score a huge division win in late September?
Here are a few quick thoughts before Sunday’s showdown:
— The return of Aaron Jones to Green Bay has been the talk of the week, and understandably so. But don’t discount the motivation of Josh Jacobs to steal the show in Jones’ return. The Packers made a difficult decision to release Jones and quickly transition to signing Jacobs. You can bet Jacobs wants to reward the faith with Jones in the building on Sunday.
— I can’t wait to see how Matt LaFleur and Kevin O’Connell attempt to make life easier for their quarterbacks against talented defenses featuring aggressive schemes. LaFleur and O’Connell are NFL Coach of the Year favorites early on, largely due to their work with the quarterback position. Jordan Love will be back for LaFleur, but he must still protect his quarterback in his first game post-injury. Can LaFleur slow the game down for Love and provide easy throws early? That will be telling.
— Both teams have rookie kickers. Brayden Narveson is 9-for-11 on field goals and 6-for-6 on extra points. Will Reichard is 5-for-5 on field goals (long of 58) and 10-for-10 on extra points. Conditions at Lambeau Field should be near perfect on Sunday. Will either of these rookie kickers miss a big kick in a big spot in a big divisional game?
— The Vikings reportedly prepared for Malik Willis to get a few looks on Sunday. Will LaFleur have a wrinkle or two ready in terms of getting Willis on the field and throwing a curveball at the Vikings?
— This is a big Josh Myers game. Brian Flores is going to position potential blitzers all over the defensive front and force the Packers to make the right protection calls. Myers and Love must work together to get Flores’ blitzes blocked up. The same goes for the running backs. There are going to be 4-5 snaps on Sunday where Josh Jacobs or Emanuel Wilson must know the protection and get a blitzer blocked. In the run game, Myers will have his hands full getting Harrison Phillips moved off the ball.
— Can’t have penalties on Sunday, especially on offense. Staying on schedule against the Vikings is so pivotal. If the Packers are consistently facing second- or third-and-long, Flores and the Vikings will feast. Minnesota already has 10 sacks on second or third down when the offense needs seven or more yards to convert.
— Watch for Love to use his cadence pre-snap to get the Vikings to show their hand. Minnesota is among the best defenses in football at disguising the look. Cadence is a way to imitate the snap and get the Vikings to rotate early or show blitzers, giving Love a better picture before the snap.
— Sam Darnold has been very good under pressure, but consistency under pressure is very difficult for quarterbacks. The Packers have the horses up front, especially on the interior, to keep Darnold pressured. At some point, Darnold is going to make a big mistake from a disrupted pocket. He’s been close to a few turnovers in recent weeks. On Sunday, Devonte Wyatt and Kenny Clark need be game-wreckers. Watch for a bunch of inside stunts in attempt to collapse the pocket.
— The Vikings’ play-action passing game has been deadly. Kevin O’Connell is really going to test the linebackers and safeties to be disciplined with their eyes on Sunday. The Packers are a vision-based defense, and the play-action game can get people moving the wrong way.