Week 8 Packers Winners and Losers vs. the Vikings

The Green Bay Packers are officially 2-5 after their first matchup of the season against the division-rival Minnesota Vikings. For the fifth straight game, the Packers found themselves attempting a massive comeback, and this week’s attempt was yet again unsuccessful as the Packers lost 24-10, a score which is much closer than the game actually seemed. Let’s talk about the losers of today’s game because there are no winners!

Loser: Offensive Line

I, for one, was extremely shocked to see bad play by the offensive line today. Shocked, I tell you! From the very first drive, things were...offensive. Rasheed Walker, bless his heart, drew a flag for an ineligible man downfield, which wiped out a first down after an amazing catch by WR Romeo Doubs. In this same drive, Josh Myers, who is “playing the best football of his career,” failed to block for RB AJ Dillon on what should’ve been an easy conversion, and the Packers ended up punting. For an offense that desperately needs to produce in the first half, these mistakes cannot happen. Rasheed Walker ended up being benched in favor of Yosh Nijman in the second quarter; why it took so long is beyond me. He was then brought back in during the 4th quarter comeback attempt, after Nijman left the game with a foot injury.

Loser: Pass Catchers

On consecutive plays during the Packers’ second drive of the game: Aaron Jones, drop. Luke Musgrave, drop. Three-and-out. In the second half, Jordan Love threw his best deep pass of the game to Jayden Reed, but Reed couldn’t hold onto it, and it turned into a Love interception. This interception promptly turned into a Vikings TD to give them a 20-point lead. Yes, Jordan Love has a lot of work to do, but this does not include catching the ball for his receivers. Even Dontayvion Wicks, the hidden gem who should probably WR2 but is disguised as WR4, had a drop today. In fact, nearly every incompletion was a drop; Love’s accuracy was not the problem today. The Packers seem determined to make this season as difficult as possible for their new QB. On the plus side, I guess this means the defense is getting tons of time on the field to perfect their craft.*

*not play well.

Loser: The Entire Defense except Keisean Nixon

I just don’t know what to say. Soft defensive play against a not-great Minnesota Vikings team is certainly a choice, but then again, the Packers tend to play down to their competition. How many times did Green Bay allow the Vikings to convert on third-and-long? It’s just expected at this point. Keisean Nixon was the only serviceable DB today, making clutch pass breakups to prevent a touchdown as well as force a Vikings punt on consecutive drives in the first half. The Packers could easily have been down three scores at halftime, but thanks to Nixon it was just a 7-point deficit (which immediately turned into a 14-point deficit after the first drive of the second half). Now, I will give credit where credit is due. During the last 6 minutes of the game, after Minnesota QB Kirk Cousins was ruled out with a leg injury, the defense forced a clutch fumble to give the offense a shot deep in Vikings territory. The offense did nothing with this opportunity.

Loser: Me

I haven’t been able to name a real “winner” in weeks. Please. It hurts so badly.

The Packers are at home again next week when they face off against the 3-5 Los Angeles Rams, who were just blown out in Dallas. As Matt LaFleur faces old friend Sean McVay, who will come out on top in this latest matchup?