Three Overreactions After Packers Beat Vikings, Including Great Trait

“For me, it’s doing my job, right?” Anderson said. “And for our team, it’s playing complimentary football. When we do that, we can beat anybody, when we play together, each phase of the ball. So, it’s just doing my job. I take pride on special teams. That’s what I do.”

On a day when Jacobs was inactive, Love threw for 139 yards and there wasn’t a single offensive play that gained 20 yards, the Packers handed the Vikings – who won at Detroit a few weeks ago, by the way – their second-worst loss of the season.

2. Unleash Christian Watson

When Tucker Kraft suffered his torn ACL, the strength of Green Bay’s passing attack was sidelined, as well.

Through the win at Pittsburgh, quarterback Jordan Love was the biggest beneficiary of yards after the catch per catch in the NFL. Against the Steelers, the Packers piled up an incredible 246 YAC. The following week, Kraft was injured against Carolina. The Packers had 104 YAC against the Panthers, 77 against the Eagles, 33 against the Giants and 63 against the Vikings. That’s 277 yards the last four games – not much more than against Pittsburgh.

There’s no replacing Kraft, obviously, especially with the remaining tight ends. There are two players who could help, though.

One is receiver Jayden Reed, who was designated for return from injured reserve last week. It might be too much to ask for him to play against the Lions on Thursday – the Packers won’t practice this week – but he should be back for the final five games. He ranked sixth in the NFL in YAC per catch last season.

Christian Watson could help, too.

In the 2022 game at Philadelphia, with Jordan Love playing for injured Aaron Rodgers, Watson scored a 63-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. There wasn’t anything special about the play – other than Watson’s breathtaking speed. Watson ran a simple in-breaking route, caught the ball in stride and outran two Eagles defensive backs to the end zone.

The touchdown included 53 yards after the catch. Since his return from a torn ACL, Watson has caught 17 passes in five games and gained 32 yards after the catch. That includes five catches for 49 yards but just 6 YAC against the Vikings on Sunday.

Of 97 receivers to be targeted 24 times (Watson’s number) this year, Watson is 87th with 1.9 YAC per catch. In 2022, of 97 receivers to be targeted 40 times, Watson was fourth with 6.4 YAC per catch.

Watson hasn’t gotten worse. He hasn’t gotten slower. It’s not like he’s incapable of doing those things. With Watson five games into his comeback, it’s time to diversify his route tree and give him some chances on the move to catch a pass and turn on the jets.

It won’t be easy against the Lions. While Detroit gave up 142 YAC in its overtime win against the Giants on Sunday, it yielded 41 against the Eagles in Week 11, 42 against the Commanders in Week 10, 36 against the Vikings in Week 9 in the three games since the bye. In fact, the Lions have given up a league-low 796 YAC, according to Pro Football Reference.

3. The More Things Change …

General manager Brian Gutekunst drafted three linemen last year, including Jordan Morgan in the first round. This year, he signed guard Aaron Banks to a colossal contract in free agency, drafted two more linemen and traded for Darian Kinnard.

Despite the considerable investment with seven new faces, Green Bay’s offensive line is not good enough. It’s not even close to being good enough.

This is the time of year when offenses need to be rounding into form to make a playoff push. Instead, the Packers continue to play musical chairs in hopes of stumbling upon a winning combination when the music stops.

Morgan had played every snap the last three games. On Sunday, he rotated with Belton at right guard for the first half and didn’t play in the second half. It’s quite a feat for a first-round pick to be benched, but Morgan is so out of place at right guard that coach Matt LaFleur, in a hugely important divisional game, decided to give Belton his first career snaps at a new position.

It was a mixed bag for the line. Emanuel Wilson ran for 107 yards, but the Vikings had four tackles for losses on running plays and Jordan Love was pressured on almost half his dropbacks.

A few plays stood out.

On third-and-1 from Green Bay’s 39 midway through the third quarter, Wilson didn’t have a prayer when he was tackled in the backfield by Eric Wilson for minus-2.