5 burning questions ahead of Packers and Vikings Week 1 matchup
By Paul Bretl
How will the Green Bay Packers defense hold up against the Minnesota playmakers?
From the defensive front to the safeties, there really doesn’t appear to be a weakness on this Green Bay Packers starting defense, or at least among the starters. Aaron Rodgers has also echoed similar sentiments this summer.
By season’s end, the Packers very well could have one of the top defenses in the NFL. However, they are going to be tested right out of the gate against a Vikings offense loaded with playmakers.
Running back Dalvin Cook and wide receiver Justin Jefferson are two of the best in the NFL at their respective positions. The Vikings also have the uber-reliable Adam Thielen at receiver, along with KJ Osborn, as well as a potential breakout candidate in Irv Smith at tight end.
Minnesota will also be implementing a more quarterback-friendly offense under new head coach Kevin O’Connell, who most recently spent time working under Sean McVay in Los Angeles, just as Matt LaFleur did. When playing within structure, Kirk Cousins has been a very efficient passer.
O’Connell will likely utilize a lot of pre-snap motion as well as playing up-tempo to help achieve that illusion of complexity he has talked about (as has LaFleur over the years). This illusion of complexity keeps opposing defenses guessing with play designs that look alike but are actually quite different, along with running similar plays from a variety of personnel.
New Vikings defensive coordinator Ed Donatell is also implementing a version of Vic Fangio’s system, which is what the Packers utilize under Joe Barry. This, of course, is not an apples-to-apples comparison as each team will have their own wrinkles, but the Vikings’ offense has been going up against a defense with similar principles all summer.
On the flip side, the same could be said for the Packers’ defense that has gone up against LaFleur’s offense during training camp, which does overlap with O’Connell’s. Ultimately, given some of the familiarities, it’s going to come down to which team can execute and make the best and quickest adjustments.
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Overall, this matchup will be a good measuring stick for where the Green Bay defense currently stands, and if they are going to slow this Vikings’ offense down, it all begins with the play from the interior defensive line group.