Green Bay Packers: 3 reasons they beat Minnesota Vikings in Week 2

The Green Bay Packers were able to leave Lambeau Field with a victory over the Minnesota Vikings because of these three reasons.

1.  “We Got a Defense.”

Aaron Rodgers’ word may very well become a calling card for the season. The box score won’t be nearly as dominant as last week’s performance against the Chicago Bears, but the Green Bay Packers‘ defense carried the day again in Week 2. They gave up more than 400 yards, but it never felt like they were not in control of the game.

The Packers started fast, jumping out to a 21-0 lead. The defense did it’s part early as well, keeping the Vikings off the scoreboard. The defense continued its dominant play early in the first half. Outside of a 75-yard-run by Dalvin Cook, they were dominant for much of the first half. They were the beneficiaries of two turnovers when Preston Smith got an interception and Dean Lowry recovered a Kirk Cousins fumble. The offense was unable to add to their lead following any of four turnovers the Packers defense gave them throughout the day.

It was certain to be frustrating, but the Packers defense needed to make one more stop late in the game. The Packers led 21-16, with the Vikings driving deep inside of Packers’ territory. A touchdown may have won the game for Vikings. Last week the hero was Adrian Amos. This week the hero was Kevin King. King tracked a pass from Kirk Cousins intended for Stefon Diggs and intercepted it in the back of the endzone. That was the final possession of consequence for the Vikings. The Packers’ offense is going to try to find its way through the beginning of the season. They’ll need the defense to step up. For the first two games, they have.

2. Fast Start

The Packers’ offense in the first quarter looked more like their 2014 version. It would have been easy for fans to think that their offense was firing on all cylinders. Obviously, the game did not finish that way, but the fast start was more than enough for the Packers’ defense.

Their first series was a thing of beauty. Rodgers hit Davante Adams on a deep ball off of play action to start the game. A creative swing pass to Aaron Jones picked up a couple. They came back to that play as a fake to throw a screen pass to Jamal Williams. Another touchdown went to Geronimo Allison on a seed from Aaron Rodgers. Their final touchdown of the day came early in the second quarter with a short burst from Aaron Jones. It was 21-0. It probably should have been worse than that, but that’s not how the game went. The Packers will need to work on sustaining their early success.

3. Matt LaFleur

Yes, the Head Coach was a net positive for the Packers today. The challenge late in the fourth quarter left something to be desired, but if nothing else, I will always credit the Head Coach for playing to win instead of playing not to lose. As great of a Head Coach as Mike McCarthy was in his tenure, there were moments where he would sit on the ball. Late in the fourth quarter, with the Packers’ defense gassed, Matt LaFleur had a decision to make. He could run the ball and force Minnesota to use their remaining timeouts or he could put the ball in the hands of his quarterback. LaFleur chose the latter. Doing so, for all intents and purposes, won the game for the Packers. It’s that type of aggressive play-calling that is going to be necessary as he continues to grow as a Head Coach.