While it was exciting to welcome back Jordan Love into the starting lineup, it was everything but a positive game in Week 4 for the Green Bay Packers. Their 31-29 loss to the Minnesota Vikings highlighted that this team has a lot of work left to do.
Five turnovers doomed the offense from the jump, and while the game was close in the end, the Packers were stuck with two missed field goals in their two-point loss.
Offense
Love was pretty rusty in his return, as he frequently missed some of his targets on under throws. While it can be tied to Love not really stepping into his throws, the offense wasn’t structured in the best way to play to his limitations.
While throwing for four touchdowns, Love also threw three interceptions, trying to take on the Superman role when the team just needed to string together consistent drives. If this is the Love that we need to become accustomed to, then Matt LaFleur needs to talk Love down from this play style, as it leans reckless and is not uber helpful for the offense.
The rushing game was non-existent, as Josh Jacobs and Emmanuel Wilson weren’t given many carries Sunday. While game script had a big role in it, this offense functions better if there is closer to a 50/50 distribution.
The receivers weren’t overly impressive outside of Jayden Reed, who hauled in seven passes for 139 yards and a score. Dontayvion Wicks hauled in two touchdowns and received a game-leading 13 targets, and Tucker Kraft hauled in Love’s fourth TD.
Defense
Jeff Harley’s unit didn’t quite look as strong as the last two games, and playing without two of their top three cornerbacks didn’t help the cause.
With Jaire Alexander and Carrington Valentine both missing Sunday’s contest, Eric Stokes was thrown into the CB1 spot. Needing to cover Justin Jefferson, Stokes was frequently targeted by Sam Darnold, as Jefferson (6/85/1) had a pretty successful game.
Xavier McKinney extended his streak of consecutive games with interceptions to four, picking off Darnold as the Vikings were deep in Green Bay territory.
The pass rush was virtually non-existent, with Quay Walker and Keisean Nixon recording the only sacks. Nixon forced a fumble on his sack, with rookie Edgerrin Cooper scooping up the fumble that led to a Packers TD.
The kicking game woes continue for the Packers, as Brayden Narveson missed two costly kicks that ultimately played a part in the loss. With Narveson having missed at least one field goal in every game this year, it’s fair to say that his time in Green Bay could be ending soon.
Looking to right the ship, the Packers head west to face the Los Angeles Rams in a Week 5 matchup.
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Mike Johrendt has been an avid fan of the Packers ever since he can remember. He is now a writer at PackersTalk and you can follow him on Twitter at @MJohrendt23
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