Can Joe Barry’s Packers Defense Stop Vikings QB Jaren Hall?

MINNEAPOLIS – The fate of the Green Bay Packers’ season could rest on the play sheet of defensive coordinator Joe Barry.

Can the embattled leader of Green Bay’s flailing defense find answers against the Minnesota Vikings, who will have rookie Jaren Hall at quarterback but premier receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison attacking a shorthanded secondary?

At DraftKings Sportsbook, Hall’s over/under for total yards is 258.5. That’s more than Packers quarterback Jordan Love (251.5), who is one of the hottest quarterbacks in the league over the last several weeks.

At SI Sportsbook, Hall’s individual over/unders are 226.5 passing yards and 26.5 rushing yards.

Hall was a fifth-round pick in this year’s draft. He’s played 22 snaps in the regular season and thrown 10 passes.

Through the air, Green Bay has to contend with the elite duo of Jefferson, who has more receiving yards than any player in NFL history through four seasons, and Addison, a first-round pick who is closing in on 1,000 receiving yards.

The Packers, who will line up without their season-opening tandem of cornerbacks Jaire Alexander (suspended) and Rasul Douglas (traded), are 26th in opponent passer rating for the season and 32nd over the last three weeks.

On the ground, Hall will pose a problem with his 4.61 speed. The Packers have allowed the fourth-most rushing yards to quarterbacks.

“We’ve got to go out there and play with a lot of physicality, hold guys up and get off the field on third downs,” linebacker Quay Walker said. “That’s one thing we can do, and capitalize and get turnovers. It’s easy for me to say that but we’ve actually got to do that.”

The last three weeks, Barry’s defense has been crushed by Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito, an undrafted rookie, Baker Mayfield, a failed No. 1 overall draft pick, and Bryce Young, this year’s struggling No. 1 overall draft pick.

DeVito won NFC Offensive Player of the Week, Mayfield won NFC Offensive Player of the Week and Young might have won the award, too, had Love not rallied the Packers to victory.

They weren’t quite as effective this week. DeVito was benched in favor of veteran Tyrod Taylor and didn’t play in a 26-25 loss to the Rams. Through three quarters, Mayfield had a 48.4 passer rating and the Buccaneers had zero points during a 23-13 loss to the Saints. Young had 67 net passing yards in a 26-0 loss to the Jaguars.

Barry’s defense played well enough to help the Packers to a 30-16 in the fourth quarter against Carolina but collapsed down the stretch in making Young look like the NFL’s next great quarterback.

“That’s our mindset and that’s our want every week, no matter if we’re playing against Patrick Mahomes or Jared Goff,” Barry said of starting fast. “You want to have that type of mindset and that type of attitude every week.

“It’s always very, very important to start fast, no doubt about it. Set the tone early, no doubt about it, which I thought we did that for the most part in this past game. But that’s the thing in the National Football League. You’ve got to play for 60 minutes and you can’t play for 50 or 53.”

Especially against receivers as dynamic as Jefferson and Addison.

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