Green Bay Packers v. Vikings: 3 Big Things from Last Second Loss

Lack of practice time shows but Green Bay Packers passing game finds a rhythm

Due to injuries and stints on the reserve/COVID list, Aaron Rodgers and several of his receivers have not had much of an opportunity to practice together as of late. This past Friday was Rodgers’ first practice since prior to the Arizona game on October 28th.

Friday also marked the first time that Rodgers and Marquez Valdes-Scantling had been on the practice field together since the team prepared for their Week 3 matchup in San Francisco. Not to mention that it was the first time that Rodgers and Davante Adams had shared a practice field since October 25th, and Rodgers still hasn’t practiced with Allen Lazard since October 26th.

"“If you trace it back, I mean, shoot, we haven’t really practiced a whole bunch,” LaFleur said via Sports Illustrated prior to Week 11. “Basically, the week before Arizona was all walk-through, so it’s not like he was getting a ton of time with these guys, and then we had different receivers the last time he played. And then you’re getting all these guys back [while Rodgers was out with COVID] so, naturally, there was probably a little bit of a dip in terms of from our passing game, but I think it’s everybody."

Even for MVP quarterbacks like Rodgers, who has a tremendous connection with his receivers — especially Adams — as we saw against Minnesota, particularly early on, practice time still matters. Rodgers was inaccurate through much of the first half, especially downfield, he was holding on to the ball as if he didn’t trust what he was seeing, and in a few instances, it looked like he passed up some easy completions.

Fortunately, Rodgers and the offense really started to find a groove before half within their hurry-up offense, and it carried over to quarters 3 and 4. We saw fewer shot plays downfield and more of the quick passing game with Rodgers getting the ball out of his hands. There was a better run/pass mix on several of the drives — and having fewer penalties helped — play-action, boots, as well as more motion to keep defenses guessing on what was coming.

In fact, according to NFL NextGen Stats, when Rodgers got rid of the ball between 2.5 and 4.0 seconds, he completed 16 of his 19 pass attempts for 303 yards and two touchdowns. Overall, it ended up being a very nice day for Rodgers, who finished 23/33 for 385 yards at 11.7 yards per attempt and four touchdown passes. He also had a passer rating of 148.4.

However, it doesn’t look like the issue surrounding a lack of practice time is going to be solved this week. After the game, Rodgers mentioned that his toe injury is “very, very painful,” and he called it “a little worse than turf-toe.” As a result, once again, Rodgers may not practice much this week.

"“We’ve got to get back out on the practice field,” said LaFleur via SI. “We need those guys to continue to work on the timing portion, making sure that the details of our route depths and our assignments are on point because, I think right now if you just look at as a whole, there is opportunity out there for us.”"