3 Big Things from Packers lackluster loss to the Vikings

Big Thing No. 2: The defense forgets about Justin Jefferson and underwhelms

There was a lot of hype surrounding this Green Bay Packers defense entering the season, and things, unfortunately, got off to a very disappointing start.

Winning at the line of scrimmage was going to be a must for the Packers; however, that often didn’t happen. With the help of the quick passing game at times, Kirk Cousins was sacked only once by the Packers. Green Bay also somewhat quietly allowed 126 rushing yards at 4.5 yards per carry.

With this Joe Barry defense that plays lighter boxes, the Packers’ first priority is stopping the passing game and eliminating the big play, so they may never put up gaudy run defense numbers. But, in addition to not being able to slow the run game, they didn’t slow the Viking passing attack either.

Trying to contain Justin Jefferson should have been the top priority for the Packers; however, that wasn’t the case. Jefferson finished the game with nine receptions for 184 yards with two touchdowns, and at times, it looked like they had forgotten about Jefferson.

The Packers played heavy zone coverage, which led to miscommunications, mismatches, and Jefferson was able to find space quite easily. At various points, Jefferson had Quay Walker on him, Darnell Savage, as well as nobody on one instance.

With the zone coverage looks, Jaire Alexander was rarely lined up on Jefferson–another head-scratching move. Instead, he was often on the other side of the field. The Packers have arguably the best cornerback in the NFL, but they didn’t use him as such.

Now, with how well the Vikings moved Jefferson around pre-snap, even if the Packers had Alexander shadowing Jefferson, doing so on every play would have been a challenge. But it was evident early on that Jefferson was carving up this zone coverage scheme, but there was a lack of adjustments early on from Barry.

Perhaps the most frustrating part of all of this was that the Packers didn’t appear to have a plan for Jefferson. They did not match up Alexander against him; they didn’t try to bracket him or even have a safety nearby and over the top to help. Doing any of this likely wouldn’t have stopped Jefferson — he’s just that good — but it could have helped limit his impact.

While credit absolutely needs to be given to Jefferson and Kevin O’Connell for the game plan and the execution, the capacity in which Jefferson was utilized wasn’t surprising. O’Connell comes from Los Angeles after working under Sean McVay, and we saw Jefferson play the Cooper Kupp role for the Vikings. Obviously, slowing Jefferson and knowing what’s coming are two different things, but to put it simply, the Packers looked unprepared for what they saw.

Overall, the Vikings scored 23 points, which isn’t a ton by any means. But with an offense trying to find its way, this defense can’t let games get out of hand early. The game plan, the execution, and the adjustments all have to be better moving forward.