Packers-Vikings: Assessing and Dissecting the Packers' Performance

In my preview of this game, I talked about how the media was focusing on the matchup between The Traitor and The Understudy. Meanwhile, the real matchup was the Packers sorry offensive line and the Vikings elite defensive line.

I was half-wrong—both were the story.

Aaron Rodgers and The Traitor dueled it out, with both registering passer rating well over 100. Rodgers had the lower percentage (.703 vs. .774) and just two scores to counter his first two turnovers of the season; The Traitor had three TDs and no picks. This led to a lower rating, but he also threw for 113 more yards in just six more attempts.

However, the Packers let him get sacked an astounding eight times for 42 yards. For the second year in a row, Rodgers was sacked for a safety in Minnesota.

Jared Allen alone had 4.5 sacks, mostly attributable to Darryn Colledge, who was filling in for the injured Chad Clifton at left tackle. It is no small wonder that the Packers are working out former right tackle Mark Tauscher to see if he has recovered enough from his knee injury to play. (The Vikings allowed no sacks.)

Here is how the Packers ranked by unit:

Quarterback: A-

Two of the sacks were attributable to Rodgers holding onto the ball too long. As I mentioned, he had his first turnover, but still only one against a pretty good team. His 384 yards were 56 better than his previous career high in week two against Detroit last season. And he did it all while running for his life.

Running Backs: B+

The Packers ran the ball for only 82 yards, but primarily because they ran it only 17 times. That is a 4.8 yards average against the defense that has been the best in the league over the past three seasons against the run. Ryan Grant had 11 carries for 51 yards (4.6 average) and four catches for 50 yards (12.5) to continue his improvement in the passing game. DeShawn Wynn had three touches for 21 yards and John Kuhn two for five.

Receivers: A-

They got open quickly and made plays after the catch, with only one drop I can recall.

Donald Lee turned a screen pass into a 16-yard gain by pulling away from, splitting, and hurdling defenders; he also had three other catches for 12 more yards. JerMichael Finley’s performance (six catches for 128 yards and a touchdown) was extraordinary, however, making me renew my plea to just make him the team’s starting tight end.

The corps showed depth, with Jordy Nelson had three catches for 47 yards and the other score, and James Jones having a 34-yard reception. Starting wide receivers Donald Driver and Greg Jennings had four for 55 and three for 31, respectively.

Offensive Line: F

No team has ever won anything significant with a line this bad, and any player’s sacks accumulated against this line should not be counted. True, they were up against arguably the best defensive line in football (thanks to a Vikings fan getting to overrule the league policy on banned substances!), but they have to do better than this (20 sacks in four games).

Defensive Line: A-

In a 3-4, the defensive line is responsible for gap control. They occupy blockers and let the linebackers get the sacks and tackles. Yet the five linemen who played had ten tackles and six assists, and should receive most of the credit for holding the best running back in the league to 55 yards on 25 carries (2.2-yard average)—and 63 yards on 30 carried overall—as well as some credit for Peterson’s fumble.

Linebackers: C-

Sure, this unit forced and recovered a fumble that was returned for a touchdown, and the five players generated 19 tackles and 14 assists. But there were no sacks and no other turnovers, and the backs and tight ends accounted for 11 of the Vikings 24 catches and 87 of their 271 yards.

Defensive Backs: C+

Once again, this stout unit (three Pro Bowl players) had mixed results. They had 15 tackles and an assist (led by Al Harris’ six and one, respectively), but gave up an average of 16.3 yards per catch and nearly 200 yards overall to the Vikings wide receivers. More importantly, they failed to generate a turnover against the most prodigious turnover machine in NFL history. 

Special Teams: C-

Mason Crosby hit his only field goal attempt and both extra points, and put two of his six kicks into the endzone, resulting in one touchback; two of his four kicks that did not go into the endzone were onside kicks. The Vikings returns were poor, as well, averaging just 17 yards with none of 20-plus. By contrast, Green Bay averaged a solid 24-plus yards on five returns.

The punt team was not so good, however, with just a 30-yard net because of 24- and 18-yard returns allowed. The Packers punt returns were even worse—two for no yards.

The bottom line, however, is that I was encouraged by the Packers play in this one. The offensive line and new defense will only get better. The Traitor will only get worse as the season wears down his old arm.

Yet the Vikings only secured victory against the Packers in their final minute on their home field. Meanwhile, the Bears only lost to the Packers because of a horrible game by their quarterback.

This division will be interesting well into December, and that should make any football fan salivate.