The Green Bay Packers defense is looking for redemption after giving up 39 points to Minnesota back in Week 1, and they will now face a new quarterback at Lambeau Field on Sunday after the Vikings traded for old friend Kirk Cousins.
Many of the points surrendered in the season opener came off turnovers which put Minnesota in the red zone, and one touchdown drive was heavily aided by some baffling officiating Jonathan Gannon’s unit will want to show that what happened in Week 1 was a fluke.
Here are three thoughts on the matchup between the Packers defense and the Vikings offense.
Cousins will elevate the Vikings offense
Minnesota had to do something at quarterback with the uninspiring combination of Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz threatening to waste an elite defense as the offense ranked
28th in expected points added (EPA) per pass and 29th in passing success rate.
Kirk Cousins should be a legitimate upgrade over the previous options. His numbers are not gaudy, but he was playing good ball for a Raiders offense lacking talent, ranking 11th in EPA per pass and 8th in success rate. He is in the top half of the league in a lot of different metrics.
The Vikings’ offensive line is solid, allowing the 9th lowest pressure rate in the league, and Cousins should accentuate that, as he does a great job of getting the ball out, ranking 2nd in pressure-to-sack rate. That will be a big difference from Murray and Wentz, who rank 34th and 40th.
Green Bay will be hoping to catch Cousins at a good time as he may take some time getting back up to speed in Kevin O’Connell’s defense having only arrived in Minnesota on Tuesday, but there is no doubt his presence makes this a tougher game than it would have been.
Cisse’s second chance vs. Jefferson
Minnesota cannot run the ball, ranking 29th in both EPA/rush and rushing success rate. They will also be without T.J. Hockenson and Jauan Jennings this week, while Jordan Addison is questionable with a thumb injury.
But Cousins will have Justin Jefferson at his disposal, and that might be all he needs. The Packers secondary held Jefferson in check for much of the Week 1 contest, but he got them eventually, putting up a season-high 92 yards and two touchdowns.
That included a 39-yard score against Brandon Cisse who was making his pro debut. It was a ‘welcome to the NFL’ moment for Cisse, who has gone from strength to strength throughout his rookie season since then, allowing only one more touchdown which came back in Week 2.
Green Bay’s corners will need to bring their A-game on Sunday, and the matchup with Jefferson provides Cisse with another opportunity to show what he has learned in the two months since they last met.
Injury concerns
The Packers are pretty banged up on defense right now. They will of course be without Edgerrin Cooper and Javon Hargrave who started the Week 1 game against the Vikings, and the status of several other key defenders is up in the air ahead of Sunday’s game.
Xavier McKinney popped up on the injury report as a limited practice participant with a foot issue on Friday.
Losing one of the safeties who have been so key to Gannon’s defense could be a big problem, and while Javon Bullard told reporters he will play, he is questionable with ankle and knee injuries after only practicing once this week, in a limited capacity on Friday.
Green Bay’s pass rush has been effective even without Micah Parsons, albeit aided by Gannon’s creativity. Not having Lukas Van Ness – who like Bullard only practiced on Friday and was limited with a back problem – would be a blow as he has been their best edge defender this season.
Elsewhere, it seems Zaire Franklin is one again unlikely to play due to his shin injury, listed as doubtful.
Gannon’s group has managed to not really skip a beat despite some key injuries throughout the year so far, but if all of those players are not available against Minnesota, it could have an adverse effect on their ability to hold the Vikings offense down.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: 3 things on Packers defense vs. Vikings: Cisse vs. Jefferson Part 2
