Three Things We Learned From The Green Bay Packers’ Surprising Loss To The Minnesota Vikings

The Green Bay Packers were a 6.5-point favorite before Sunday’s home game with the Minnesota Vikings.

They left Lambeau Field with a 28-22 defeat after being outplayed in many key areas.

The Packers entered the game as the NFC’s No. 1 seed. They left with a 5-2 record and are now tied with Tampa Bay, New Orleans and Arizona for the second-best mark in the NFC.

Here’s what we learned about Green Bay in its unexpected loss to Minnesota (2-5).

1. The run defense is still a mess

Green Bay’s run defense was dreadful in 2019, and it still hasn’t been fixed.

San Francisco ran for a remarkable 285 yards on 42 carries (6.8 average) in the NFC Championship Game. Raheem Mostert, who went undrafted in 2015 and was playing with his seventh NFL team, set a 49ers’ record with 220 rushing yards and ran for four touchdowns that night.

The Packers must have had a similar feeling Sunday, when Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook ran for 163 yards on 30 carries (5.4) and scored four total touchdowns.

Cook became the first player ever to eclipse 200 total yards from scrimmage and score four touchdowns against Green Bay at Lambeau Field. And Cook joined Chuck Foreman (1975) and Ahmad Rashad (1979) as the only players in franchise history to score four touchdowns in a game.

The Packers’ defense ranks 25^th in rushing yards per attempt and opponents know the blueprint for defeating Green Bay is to run, run and run some more.

Interestingly, the Packers head to San Francisco Thursday to face a team that ran all over them on two occasions last year.

“We knew exactly what they were going to do, in terms of, they were going to ride (Cook) and also, just with the conditions out there,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said of the Vikings. “It was pretty windy and we never put them in a situation where they had to drop back and throw the football. Or at least not too many times. So, it’s something that we better get it fixed and we better get it fixed fast because I have a pretty good idea what’s going to happen next week, or on a short week on Thursday in San Francisco, as well.”

2. The Packers desperately need a No. 2 wide receiver

The NFL trading deadline is Tuesday, and it would certainly behoove Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst to add a wide receiver.

The Packers have one of the NFL’s elite wideouts in Davante Adams, who caught three touchdowns Sunday. After that, though, it’s a riff raff group that’s lucky to be on an NFL roster.

With the Vikings playing Cover-2 and shading their coverage towards Adams all afternoon Sunday, it should have been the perfect time for a second wideout to step up. Instead, the motley crew of Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Malik Taylor, Equanimeous St. Brown and Darrius Shepherd combined for just four receptions and 63 yards.

“Well, it’s not a bad question, but it’s not one I can answer,” Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said when asked if he’d like the team to trade for another offensive piece. “We’ve had many conversations about this type of thing over the years.

“I truly understand my role. I’m not going to stomp for anybody, last time I stomped for a player (Jake Kumerow) he ended up going to Buffalo. So … I like the guys that we have.”

3. LaFleur’s dominance is over

Green Bay’s Matt LaFleur began his coaching career with an 8-0 record against the NFC North. The Packers swept the division in 2019, then had wins against Minnesota and Detroit this year.

That put LaFleur fourth all-time in divisional wins to begin a career behind San Francisco’s Steve Mariucci (12), Dallas’ Chan Gailey (10) and New England’s Raymond Berry (9).

That streak came to an end Sunday. In the process, it became crystal clear that the Packers are longshots to finish with the best record in the conference during the regular season.

Seattle (6-1) has an elite offense and an improving defense. Tampa Bay (5-2) is playing as well as anyone in football right now.

Arizona (5-2) is a team on the rise, while New Orleans (5-2) has won four in a row. Meanwhile, the Packers have now lost two of three and are spiraling in the wrong direction.

“This definitely qualifies as one of those games where if you want to be a great team, you’ve got to handle business at home,” Rodgers said after the Minnesota game. “Look, it’s not the same type of home environment. I get it. But it’s 2020 and we’re in a different NFL this year.

“It’s still a game we should win, a team with the trade deadline coming and questions about their coach during the week. Yeah. These are one of the games we need to win. Hopefully it’s just a reality check for us. … We need better performances moving forward.”