It’s somewhat of a miracle Jordan Love was able to stand upright and deliver his postgame presser after falling 39-22 to the Minnesota Vikings. Love had to pick himself up off the turf at U.S. Bank Stadium far too often as the Vikings blitzed on 71.7 percent of their defensive plays, per ESPN research.
Even though the Packers have known their Week 1 opponent since May, the offensive line looked completely unprepared to face defensive coordinator Brian Flores, whose defenses have led the league in blitz rate in each of the past three seasons.
“That’s the toughest test you’re going to face Week 1 is to play that defense in that environment,” Matt LaFleur said Monday. “I thought there was some really good stuff, but when your quarterback gets hit
15 times, or whatever it is, that’s too many times.”
For Green Bay, it was the last defense you wanted to face in a season opener where growing pains were expected along the offensive line.
Sunday was Jordan Morgan’s first career start at left tackle. Former undrafted free agent Donovan Jennings made his first career start at left guard in place of an injured Aaron Banks. Sean Rhyan made just his ninth career start at center, while at right guard Jacob Monk was making his second career start. Zach Bako-Bewele, usually ultra-reliable at right tackle, showed the rust of someone coming off a season-ending knee injury.
As a collective unit, the Packers allowed 22 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. They also didn’t create much room in the run game as Green Bay finished with 66 total rushing yards and averaged 3.1 yards per carry.
Continuity in the trenches is often crucial to having success on offense, and it’s something the Packers’ offensive line is severely lacking. LaFleur said Banks’ experience would have definitely helped since he’s faced that defense before. However, Banks missed a significant portion of training camp, and his status for Week 2 against the New York Jets remains uncertain.
Under LaFleur, Green Bay’s philosophy for determining the starting offensive line has been to go with the “best five.” Following Sunday’s performance against the Vikings, you have to wonder if the coaching staff believes that’s the current group.
“It’s a competitive situation,” said LaFleur. “Certainly, whatever we do, we need to make sure that we find continuity as quickly as possible, and I think that’s part of the problem is we’ve had a lot of guys in and out of the lineup. I’m not making excuses. It is what it is. You’ve got to find a way to get it done, but I do think the more guys play together, typically the better they play together.”
If the Packers want to make any changes and Banks isn’t available, they will have to turn to Anthony Belton, Jager Burton, or John Williams. Belton is the only one with any regular-season experience, logging 488 snaps as a rookie in 2025.
Green Bay needs to figure out its best combination as soon as possible if the offense wants to click when it matters most.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Matt LaFleur facing early challenges with Packers offensive line
