Packers must overcome coverage breakdowns this time v. Vikings
By Paul Bretl
The first time the Green Bay Packers and the Vikings met this season, Justin Jefferson went for 184 yards on nine catches with a pair of touchdowns as Minnesota cruised to a 23 to 7 victory. It was a performance by the Packers’ secondary that was littered with miscommunications and coverage breakdowns.
"“There were plays that for whatever reason the communication was off and the execution was off, and then we’ve got guys covering for another guy and that’s how bad things happen,” Matt LaFleur said following the game via Packers.com."
Just as the Rams frequently do with Cooper Kupp, Vikings’ head coach Kevin O’Connell does a good job of moving Jefferson around the formation pre-snap, which contributed to some of the Packers’ blown assignments. In addition to worrying about where Jefferson is, the Packers will also have to be concerned with Dalvin Cook, TJ Hockenson, and Adam Thielen as well, which can further complicate matters. Jefferson should take priority, but having that many players who can hurt a defense can contribute to the breakdowns.
These breakdowns in coverage due to miscommunications are something that the Packers have battled all season. Even in the first half of the Miami game, which resulted in several big plays for the Dolphins, LaFleur said afterward that a big difference between the first half and the second half, where the defense held Miami scoreless, was that there weren’t any miscommunications on the back end.
LaFleur and Joe Barry were also heavily criticized after the Minnesota game for not having Jaire Alexander follow Jefferson. Perhaps we see more of this in specific situations, but I wouldn’t expect it for the entire game. For one, LaFleur said after the Week 1 loss that it’s difficult to do that for four quarters unless the team is committed to playing man-coverage, and as we all know, this is a zone-heavy defense under Joe Barry. So I wouldn’t expect any major changes in that regard. Jefferson also takes about one-third of his snaps from the slot, and Alexander has very rarely lined up inside this season, not to mention that without Eric Stokes, Green Bay doesn’t really have another boundary cornerback option with experience.
While from the outside looking in, this can be a frustrating approach, again, just last week, we saw it work for the Packers as long as every player is on top of their responsibility. Against a Miami offense that has one of the most explosive passing games in football, led by Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill, Green Bay was able to hold that unit scoreless in the second half. This included just 81 passing yards for Tua Tagovailoa and 66 combined receiving yards for Hill and Waddle, who oftentimes had multiple defenders in their area when targeted. So again, I would expect a lot of cover-2 from the Packers in an effort to keep everything in front of them and to limit the explosive play.
There are changes to the gameplan that Barry can absolutely make, some of which may include not providing so much space underneath, having a plan for those dreaded crossing routes, and perhaps a few more double-teams on Jefferson, although when that happens, there are several other skill players on this Minnesota offense that can hurt Green Bay. However, with that said, if there are going to be miscommunications and coverage breakdowns like we saw in Week 1, it doesn’t much matter what Barry dials up.
In addition to all 11 being on the same page, capitalizing on any turnover opportunities will be a must. This season, Kirk Cousins has thrown 11 interceptions, the fourth-highest total in the NFL. Pressuring Cousins will be vital as well, as that can help create those turnover opportunities, along with taking away longer developing routes, as well as less time in coverage for the Green Bay defenders. Sound tackling will also be a requirement. All three of these things are key elements that contributed to the Packers second half performance in Miami.
At the end of the day, there likely is no stopping Justin Jefferson; we just hope that the Packers can limit the number of big plays and not let him take the game over again. And doing so begins with not having any coverage breakdowns like we saw so often in Week 1.
"“Everybody doing their job and then knowing where he’s (Jefferson) at,” said Adrian Amos on trying to contain Jefferson. “That’s big this week, knowing where he’s at and what he’s going to do. We will have some game plan things, and some of it is just our knowledge of being aware at all times.”"