The Green Bay Packers offense is going to look quite different for the Minnesota Vikings in comparison to the first time these two teams met, when Green Bay put up only 10 points.
Entering Week 8, the Packers were in the midst of a three-game losing streak and struggling to move the ball and put up points, especially in the first half. Green Bay entered their first matchup with Minnesota having gone four straight games without eclipsing the 20-point mark, and that eventually grew to six.
With the ultimate goal being to determine if Jordan Love could be the Packers’ quarterback in 2024 and beyond, that felt like a nearly impossible task at times through the first half of the season with all the chaos going on around him. The pass protection was shaky, and there wasn’t much of a run game to lean on. In the passing game, Green Bay routinely dealt with dropped passes while pass-catchers were running the wrong routes. And, of course, Love had his own growing pains to navigate as a first-time starter.
“It’s tough to evaluate anyone when it’s not going right,” said GM Brian Gutekunst during his in-season availability following the Minnesota game. “But at the same time, we spend all day looking at what’s going right, what’s not going right. As we move forward, there’s a lot of season left. We need to see these guys grow, and I expect to see these guys grow. But it can make it difficult when the whole unit is out of whack to evaluate any individual.”
However, here we now stand in Week 17, and this Packers offense looks completely different and has been one of the more efficient units in football over the last month and a half, ranking fourth in DVOA over the last six games, trailing only the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams and Baltimore Ravens.
All of the issues mentioned previously have greatly improved. Love ranks ninth in dropbacks from a clean pocket since Week 9. The run game, although not dominant, is much improved and consistently generates positive plays, keeping the offense ahead of the sticks and helping to open up opportunities in the passing game, specifically off play-action.
At receiver, we have seen the emergence of Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks as go-to options for Love, along with Christian Watson hitting his stride prior to injury. Not to mention Tucker Kraft at tight end contributing as both a blocker and pass-catcher and someone who Matt LaFleur called one of the most improved players on this Packers team.
During that previously mentioned six-game stretch, Love ranks seventh in completion rate, fifth in passing yards, third in touchdowns, and has thrown only one interception. This offense has gone from being one of the worst at throwing the deep ball to one of the most productive.
Packers quarterbacks coach Tom Clements credits Love’s improved decision-making as the catalyst behind his improved play, but it also helps to have some stability around him as well.
“We’re definitely operating at a much higher level,” said Matt LaFleur on the changes in the Green Bay offense following the win in Detroit. “Jordan’s doing a really nice job. The guys around him are helping that situation as well. Certainly, the guys up front are doing a really good job of pass protection. Then, when you have Christian Watson out there, and making plays on the ball, guys like Malik Heath making some contested catches, certainly it’s going to help your quarterback function at a higher level.
“I just think that the mindset is a little bit different. We, as coaches, have a much better idea of what these guys are capable of doing and trying to really put them in positions for success. But ultimately, they have to go out there and execute, and that’s what our guys have been doing.”
Along with better execution overall, from a schematic standpoint, LaFleur and the offense will also be able to throw more at Minnesota. The improved all-around play has allowed for greater versatility on offense, with more looks and concepts thrown at opposing defenses to keep them guessing and off balanced, giving LaFleur the opportunity to go deeper into his playbook.
The Minnesota defense will provide another challenge for the surging Green Bay offense. This season, the Vikings are allowing just 19.9 points per game, the 10th-best mark in football. This is also an aggressive group under defensive coordinator Brian Flores, ranking first in blitz rate, top 10 in pressures and forced fumbles, along with doing a really good job of disguising coverages to cause pre and post-snap confusion for the offense.
Minnesota is going to test the progress that the Packers have made since the two teams last met, but this time, Green Bay should be able to return the favor with their current level of play on offense.
They’re not afraid,” said LaFleur of the Vikings’ defense prior to their Week 8 matchup. “Sometimes, it’s going to look like a punt rush, and you’ve got to have a plan for that and go out there and execute that plan, but it does present a lot of challenges. Those guys are fast; they’re physical.
“I mean everybody knows about (Danielle) Hunter and what he’s able to do but then when you combine that with guys on the back end like Harrison Smith has been a thorn in kind of everyone’s side for years. Just his ability to disguise. He may be on the line of scrimmage and then go back and play either deep player, deep third, or a deep half. He’s all over the map. It’s just a very good defense. They’ve got some experience there. Hicks does a great job. So they’ve got a lot of pieces and they do a good job schematically and they want to apply pressure.”
