Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings: 5 Burning Questions

How will the run defense perform against Dalvin Cook?

We all remember how last season ended, and with no major offseason additions to the interior defensive line, it’s fair to wonder whether or not this Green Bay Packers’ run defense has improved. And right off the bat, they’ll be up against a running back who had a big game against them in 2019.

Dalvin Cook would miss the Week 16 matchup between these two teams, but in Week 2, he’d rush for 154 yards on 7.7 yards per carry. Now, I will point out that about half of those yards came on one run, and on his other 19 carries, the Packer defense did a much better job of slowing him down, but 154 yards is still 154 yards.

Despite the lack of offseason moves at this position, I do believe that the run defense will be improved. We will see more Za’Darius Smith and Rashan Gary inside, and Kingsley Keke seems poised to take a step forward as well. Add in Christian Kirksey at linebacker, and the return of Raven Greene and Green Bay should be better against the run in 2020.

However, let’s see if that holds true in Week 1.

Will Aaron Jones have another big game?

Aaron Jones had several big games in 2019, but two of them came against the Minnesota Vikings. In those two games, Jones would total 270 rushing yards at nearly six yards per rush with three touchdowns. He’d also add another 40 yards through the air.

Contrary to what Anthony Barr had to say, the lights were, in fact, not too bright for Jones.

In both the passing game and run game, Jones is going to be featured once again. So let’s see if he can put on another show for us this Sunday.