5 takeaways from the Green Bay Packers 24-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 8
GREEN BAY − This Green Bay Packers season has been one bad movie, played each week on a loop.
Incompetent offense in the first half. A defense that bends without breaking much but rarely makes game-changing plays. Big deficits in the second half.
And then, suddenly, a jolt of excitement that usually falls short of a win.
The Packers followed the recipe they’ve spent the past month cultivating in their 24-10 loss to the Vikings on Sunday at Lambeau Field.
After trailing 10-3 at halftime, it was never a one-possession game in the final 20 minutes. With Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins knocked out with an ankle injury in the fourth quarter, it still felt like the Packers had a chance.
Even if they really didn’t.
The Packers twice turned the football over on downs inside the red zone in the fourth quarter. Their second attempt came after a Preston Smith sack forced Vikings backup quarterback Jaren Hall to fumble. Defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt recovered the loose ball, giving the Packers possession at the Vikings’ 15-yard line. The offense couldn’t find the end zone from there.
The bottom line was a fourth straight loss that dropped the Packers to a 2-5 record this season. In the big picture, the Packers keep playing the same game – a losing game, trying to climb out of second-half holes – and hoping for a different result.
Here are some quick takeaways from another loss:
Packers first-half drought without a touchdown continues
This is going to be a thing until it stops being a thing. The Packers offense has been so bad in the first half, so incapable of reaching the end zone, first downs are also elusive. The Packers finally got their initial first down Sunday with less than 4 minutes left in the first half, and fans reacted as if the team won the Super Bowl, unleashing maybe their loudest cheer all game. Whether it was mockery or relief, their response felt appropriate. By that point, the Packers trailed 10-0. The offense finally put together a drive, ending with rookie kicker Daniel Carlson’s chip-shot field goal from 30 yards on an untimed down, but the drought continues. It’s now been more than 163 first-half minutes since the Packers scored a first-half touchdown. By the time they play their next game Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, it will have been 49 days. That’s an eternity in the NFL.
Jordan Love still underthrowing his deep ball
It might not have been a touchdown, but Jayden Reed streaked open down the middle of the field in the third quarter. The Packers needed a big play, trailing 17-3. Love had a window, but his pass was badly underthrown. Vikings safety Josh Metellus intercepted it and took off 43 yards the other way. One play later, Kirk Cousins hit Vikings rookie receiver Jordan Addison in stride for a 20-yard touchdown, dropping the Packers into a 24-3 hole. That was pretty much the ballgame. Seven games into his career, Love appears to have only one deep ball. Which is to say, he underthrows almost every deep ball. It’s been an issue since training camp, and it hasn’t gotten better with the calendar soon turning to November. With his inconsistency targeting his throws downfield, the Packers have no deep passing game. Love finished 24 for 41 for 229 yards, with one touchdown and one interception (72.1 passer rating). It’s a major piece missing from this offense – explosive plays directly correlate to points – that is going to keep a low ceiling on him and the Packers offense until it improves.
Jordan Love has plenty of company in struggles over four-game losing streak
Jordan Love isn’t playing well, but he has a lot of company. On the first third down of the game, Love shook off a sack after left tackle Rasheed Walker was beat. The young quarterback kept his composure, dropped a dime to Romeo Doubs down the right sideline, but Walker ventured downfield away from the line of scrimmage too early. A 5-yard penalty wiped out the first down. In the first quarter alone, Aaron Jones and Luke Musgrave dropped passes on consecutive plays, a Jon Runyan holding penalty turned into third-and-long, a missed block on third-and-1 dropped AJ Dillon for no gain, and a roughing-the-passer penalty on Kingsley Enagbare led to a Vikings touchdown. Love isn’t playing well, but just about nobody on the Packers roster is playing well. That’s how you lose four straight games.
Packers bench Rasheed Walker, insert Yosh Nijman at left tackle
During the week, offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said Yosh Nijman was in consideration for snaps at left tackle. It was puzzling how Nijman, who the Packers spent a second-round tender to retain this offseason, had played only 24 snaps in the season’s first six games. Nijman never pouted at his reduced playing time after starting 21 games at left and right tackle the past two seasons, but he acknowledged this week he was itching to get off the sideline. Nijman finally got his chance after Walker was benched and, though he played better than the 2022 seventh-round draft pick, a facemask penalty on Nijman late in the fourth quarter set up a third-and-16 with the Packers trying to cut the deficit to one possession. Walker was inserted at left tackle on the Packers’ next possession after Nijman injured his foot. It might be a coin flip to determine who blocks Love’s blindside next week.
Quay Walker is two hands from becoming a star
Quay Walker is playing OK. Another game with double-digit tackles. He’s been all over the field in his second season, his speed in the second level noticeable. Walker has the tools to be a star linebacker, but it’s clear where he must improve before reaching another level. On the Vikings’ opening drive, Kirk Cousins threw a pass directly at Walker. It was an easy catch that would have given the Packers a short field if it turned into an interception. Instead, Cousins’ pass deflected off Walker’s hands before falling incomplete. Walker returned an interception for a touchdown against Justin Fields in Week 1, but that play hasn’t made his hands any more consistent. He dropped an interception thrown directly at him the next week at Atlanta, and then another Sunday. These are game-changing plays stars make. Walker can be a star, but not until he turns routine catches into interceptions.