Last Sunday the Packers traveled to Minnesota in hopes of adding to the win column and keeping the 6th seed in the playoffs. Ultimately, the slow start was too big to overcome, and the Packers were unable to find a way to come back. With the 27-25 loss to the Vikings, Green Bay has now dropped to the 7th seed in the NFC playoff picture.

Prior to the loss to the Vikings, the Packers were the 6th seed in the playoff picture. This loss to Minnesota, along with the Commander’s win against Atlanta, pushed Green Bay to the 7th seed and will now likely send them to Philidelphia in the first round of the playoffs. Minnesota’s win sets them up for a chance at the 1 seed, as the winner of Sunday’s game against Detroit will decide who gets home field advantage.

The only way for Green Bay to propel themselves back into the 6th seed spot is if the Commanders lose to Cowboys on Sunday and Green Bay wins against Chicago. A Commanders loss seems unlikely, as the Cowboys are reportedly looking to give quarterback Trey Lance significant playing time.

Green Bay missed out on a big ‘prove it’ game on Sunday. It seems they are unable to find a way to beat those top teams in the NFC, as they have now been swept by both Detroit and Minnesota, and they have the early season loss to the Eagles.

What went wrong in Minnesota?

Slow Start

The Packers have dug themselves many holes this season against good teams. Earlier this season when Green Bay first matched up against the Vikings, they were down 28-7 at half. A few weeks later they found themselves down 17-3 to Detroit at the half. Their second matchup with Detroit was the same story, down 17-7 at half.

Green Bay found themselves in the same situation Sunday against Minnesota as they were down 13-3 at the half. These slow starts have proven to be too much to overcome against the top dogs in the NFC. The Packers actually opened the game with the ball and were moving down the field well up until running back Josh Jacobs fumbled.

Jacobs stated, “I feel like it drained the energy out of the team just starting early.” In order for Green Bay to have a chance at making a playoff run, these slow starts cannot happen. A slow start against the Eagles in Philadelphia will result in a first-round exit for the Packers.

Inconsistencies in Pass Defense

The Packers run defense did their job Sunday, holding the Viking’s run game to just 69 yards on 26 carries. Holding a team to 2.7 yards per carry is impressive, but the pass defense allowed Sam Darnold to have quite a day.

Sam Darnold would finish the day 33 of 43 with 3 touchdowns and one interception. The Packers pass defense could not keep up with the many weapons in the Vikings receiver room as they surrendered 377 yards through the air.

The Packers were already thin within the secondary and an injury early in the game on Sunday to Zayne Anderson did not help. It was also reported that Jaire Alexander is now out for the season and will have surgery on his knee.

Jeff Hafley has done an excellent job with improving Green Bay’s run defense. The pass defense just doesn’t have enough talent to go around and is too injured for them to defend a team with multiple weapons on offense.

A positive; Carrington Valentine grabbed another interception Sunday, his second in three weeks.

Moving Forward

The Packers will need to win Sunday against Chicago to have a chance at grabbing the 6th seed back from Washington. A win Sunday would mean yet another sweep over the Bears and a win to cap off the regular season.

To win Sunday the Packers must continue to find ways to generate pressure. Caleb Williams has been sacked often this season, and Green Bay needs to continue to apply the pressure on Sunday. The offense will need to find their rhythm and find a way to limit the mistakes. I think Green Bay bounces back Sunday and takes it 34-20.

Cornerback Keisean Nixon stated, “It’s playoff time now. It’s win-or-go-home. So either we figure out how to finish or we go back to the crib. We have to figure it out.” That’s exactly what the Packers must do. If they are unable to find a way to avoid the slow starts against good teams, their playoff run will be short.