The Minnesota Vikings have built a truly special defense. They’re extremely disruptive and not particularly interested in letting opposing quarterbacks get comfortable. Mastermind DC Brian Flores has taken the concept of an aggressive defense to a new level, blitzing on 75.3% of defensive plays this season. The idea is to create confusion, force errors, and keep down-and-distances unfavorable for offenses. And to date, it’s working.
So why hasn’t anyone done this before? Well, because with aggression
comes opportunities. There will be some opportunities on Sunday. Can Green Bay’s offense capitalize? I think so. Here’s how:
To make Minnesota pay for sending extra defenders, Jordan Love needs to get the ball out of his hands quickly. While Love has a reputation this year for the long-developing big play, he actually has the shortest time to throw in the NFL this season (2.60 seconds). If you watched Buffalo’s win over the Vikings on Monday Night Football, you’ll have noticed that Josh Allen threw 16 passes within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. Of those, 15 were completions, and the Bills gutted out a 23-6 win.
The Packers also need the Vikings to at least somewhat respect its running game. That’s easier said than done, though the Packers did finally break 100 cumulative rushing yards against the Patriots last week. While Minnesota’s defense is bordering on generational, they rank 18th in rushing yards allowed. They’ve surrendered at least 134 rushing yards in each of their last three games. Even modest gains on early downs can help avoid the long-yardage situations where Flores’ is most aggressive.
Most importantly, the Packers need to win the turnover battle. Their Week 1 loss to Minnesota was actually extremely competitive for three quarters before a late strip-sack and interception helped the Vikings pull away (I will not complain about refs, I will not complain about refs, I will not com…). While not great, Green Bay’s offensive line is much better now than it was then, particularly at pass blocking. And hopefully playing at Lambeau should make communication much, much easier. That dang horn, man.
I haven’t even mentioned Cousins and the Vikings offense, because I do think the real key to this game is Jordan Love and company overcoming Brian Flores. The Packers don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Their offense works. They just need to stay balanced and focused, and recognize the pressure so they can turn it against the Vikings.
The Vikings are thriving on chaosNo defensive coordinator has ever blitzed as much as Brian Flores, and he’ll blitz Jordan Love with even greater frequency on Sunday. Here are the keys for the Packers.
Packers’ offense vs. Vikings’ defense: What’s different from Week 1?“It’s never easy going against this defense,” QB Jordan Love says
Packers slot CB Javon Bullard plans to play through injury vs. VikingsCornerback Javon Bullard missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday due to knee and ankle injuries, but said he’s planning to play on Sunday.
Matt LaFleur praises Jordan Love as MVP-worthyLove’s success this year goes beyond raw talent. His head coach explains why.
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