What Vikings Can Learn from Week 1 vs. Cheese Foe
Sep 11, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings linebacker Danielle Hunter (99) sacks Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports.
Looking to round out their schedule with divisional foes over the final two weeks of the regular season, the Minnesota Vikings travel to Green Bay. The Packers represent the only team in which Kevin O’Connell’s squad has won convincingly, yet they enter this matchup as underdogs.
Opening the regular season against their chief rival, Minnesota looked to set the tone against Green Bay. Things could’ve gone very differently had rookie Christian Watson not dropped a walk-in touchdown early in the game, but from then on, all of the momentum was tilted toward the Vikings.
What Vikings Can Learn from Week 1 vs. Cheese Foe
There’s no denying that Aaron Rodgers would need time to settle in with a receiving corps that left plenty to be desired. While Watson was a 2022 NFL Draft selection, the Packers had opted to part with Davante Adams and left Allen Lazard as the only reliable veteran. Randall Cobb was still in the fold but has undoubtedly aged, and although Sammy Watkins was brought in, his best days were clearly behind him, and he has since been released.
Oct 16, 2022; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports.
Rather than load up for a future Hall of Fame quarterback on offense, Green Bay opted to invest significant salary and draft capital on the defense. Although not to the level of futility we see every week from the Vikings, Green Bay’s defense ranks just 17th in yards per game. They are especially terrible against the run, and their points per game allowed are nearly the bottom third as well.
In Week 1, the Vikings masked defensive secondary issues by bringing down Rodgers. He was sacked four times on the day, and the Packers quarterback threw for just 195…
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