The Green Bay Packers’ 2022 regular season opener is just days away. It doesn’t get much bigger than this as they are prepared to play one of their biggest rivals in the Minnesota Vikings, who are also presumably their biggest threat to the NFC North crown.
The Packers have won the division three straight years under head coach Matt LaFleur. Meanwhile, the Vikings would love to hold that distinguished title for the first time since 2017. Their hope is that the hiring of Kevin O’Connell to lead a talented offense will produce a similar result to the one LaFleur had at the start of his regime in 2019.
It goes without saying, but Green Bay could use a better start than the one they had last season. The Packers lost to the New Orleans Saints 38-3 to start their season but still ended up with 13 wins thanks to another MVP season from Aaron Rodgers. However, their offense is taking a big hit with the loss of Davante Adams.
For the time being, Green Bay plans on being a defensive football team. This defense is seemingly loaded at every level and will need to hit the ground running, with their first test being an offense featuring two talented pass catchers and one of the premier running backs in the league.
Coaching will be important in this game, but there are also a ton of good matchups that will help decide the outcome. Let’s highlight four in this season’s first edition of key matchups.
Packers CB Jaire Alexander vs Vikings WR Justin Jefferson
This one is a no-brainer. Jefferson is one of the best receivers in the league, and Alexander just signed a brand-new contract that made him the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL. You can probably recall Jefferson’s first game against the Packers last season while Alexander was still on injured reserve. The young receiver exploded for 169 yards on eight catches and added two touchdowns to hand Green Bay their second loss. Alexander was forced to watch from the sideline as rookie Eric Stokes had a welcome to the NFL moment. Now healthy, Alexander is ready for whatever the Vikings throw at him. No one knows if he will follow Jefferson all over the field, but regardless, there should be plenty of reps between these two, so keep your eyes glued to the TV.
Packers OTs vs Vikings OLB Za’Darius Smith
Smith added fuel to the fire this week after his comments to Tyler Dunne of Go Long. Smith wasn’t happy with the way things ended with the Packers when he returned from a back injury that sidelined him for almost the entire 2021 season. According to Smith, Green Bay essentially gave him the cold shoulder once he returned, which prompted him to sign with a division rival in the offseason. Smith was a great player for Green Bay, racking up 26 sacks in his first two seasons. It will be interesting to see how much juice he has left in the tank coming off a serious injury just before turning 30. However, the Packers still aren’t sure who will be blocking Smith. The team is hopeful that David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins will be ready to go, but if not, that job will be in the hands of Yosh Nijman and Royce Newman. Nijman and Newman are serviceable backups but are nowhere near the level of Bakhtiari and Jenkins. Smith and Danielle Hunter could be in for big days if Green Bay is without their starting offensive line.
Packers Edge Rushers vs Vikings OTs
Preston Smith and Rashan Gary had standout performances against the Vikings a year ago. Smith was the Packers’ top-graded defender by Pro Football Focus in the first meeting after totaling six pressure and two sacks. Smith did most of his work against Christian Darrisaw, who will again be the starting left tackle on Sunday. Meanwhile, Gary was super disruptive in the Week 17 matchup as PFF credited him with eight pressures, one sack, and four hurries. Gary also did most of his damage against Darrisaw but could see a lot of time across from Minnesota’s starting right tackle Brian O’Neill. O’Neill allowed four pressures but didn’t give up a single sack in two games against Green Bay last season.
Packers Run Defense vs Vikings RB Dalvin Cook
Cook was pretty average against Green Bay last season. He totaled 99 yards on 29 carries for 3.4 YPC. As a receiver, only six catches went for 29 yards. The Packers were able to limit Cook in 2021, and perhaps that is a credit to the emergence of De’Vondre Campbell. The All-Pro linebacker is back for his second season and has plenty of help coming along with him. Campbell has a new running mate in first-rounder Quay Walker, whose another sideline-to-sideline playmaker. Stud defensive tackle Kenny Clark will once again be tasked with clogging up the middle, but this time, he has a couple of new friends to help. Green Bay added another run stopper in Jarran Reed during the offseason and used their second of two first-round picks on defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt. The Packers are returning many of the same players to the 11th overall run defense from 2021, with some new pieces that could elevate them to the top 10.
