Report Card: Grades From Packers’ 33-10 Win Over Vikings
The mission for the Green Bay Packers is the same one they faced at this time one year ago.
If the Packers can win a home game against an NFC North opponent, they'll be in the playoffs.
They are in that position because of a dominant 33-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, who also were playing for their playoff lives on Sunday Night Football.
The Packers started fast, jumping out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, and the Vikings could not keep up.
Green Bay's offense piled up 470 yards of offense, and its defense suffocated an offense playing its fourth quarterback of the season.
Because of that, our weekly Packers report is filled with high marks after ringing in the new year with a big victory over a division rival.
Pass Offense
On the broadcast, NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth joked midway through the second half that maybe Jordan Love should pay Collinsworth and play-by-play man Mike Tirico to come to all of Love's games.
Love's last game on Sunday Night Football was a 27-19 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in which Love threw three touchdown passes with all of America watching.
Love might have been better on Sunday. He threw three touchdown passes and ran for another, which gave him a career-high for touchdowns in a single game.
Jayden Reed had a big night with two touchdowns before exiting the game with a chest injury.
That led to extended opportunities for Bo Melton, who made his mark with 105 yards on six catches, including a touchdown to cap a 91-yard touchdown drive to put the game out of reach.
Melton was elevated from the practice squad on Saturday and a relative afterthought after training camp. On Sunday, he became the team's first 100-yard receiver this season.
"I think we have a lot of playmakers," Love said. "We have an unselfish room. Everyone wants to see everyone succeed."
Love and his unselfish group of playmakers finished 24-of-33 for 256 yards to go with his four touchdowns.
Tucker Kraft catches a pass and stiff-arms a Vikings defender to the turf.
Dan Powers USA Today
It wasn't perfect. Love missed a couple of opportunities but continued to make things hurt against a Minnesota defense that was ranked in defensive DVOA and manhandled the Packers the first time these two teams played.
This time, the Packers piled up 470 yards of offense.
"I can't say enough good things about Jordan Love," coach Matt LaFleur said. "I think he's playing at an extremely high level. I think the sky is the limit for him."
The offense is peaking at the right time and might need to be ready for a shootout against Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears next Sunday.
Grade: A
Rush Offense
Before last week's game against Carolina, the Packers had not had an individual 100-yard rusher this season.
Aaron Jones broke the dry spell with a 121-yard game against the Panthers. He had 120 yards against the Vikings, who had ranked in the top 10 with 98 rushing yards allowed per game. The Packers nearly doubled that with 177 yards.
Jones looked as good as he has all season and finally has given Green Bay's offense the balance it’s been seeking.
When the Packers have Jones at his peak, they've been a different offense.
Between injuries and playing on a pitch count, Jones has only been able to have a full workload for three games.
The Packers have scored at least 30 points in all three of those games.
Grade: A
Pass Defense
The Vikings' passing game is as star-studded as they come. Justin Jefferson might be the best receiver in football. Jordan Addison has been one of the most productive rookie receivers.
Before the final meaningless drive of the night for Minnesota's offense, Green Bay’s Bo Melton had outgained the Vikings' star receivers combined.
Jefferson and Addison finished with eight catches for 87 yards and zero touchdowns. Most of their production came after the game was well in hand. High-quality No. 3 receiver K.J. Osborn wasn’t even targeted.
In addition, Corey Ballentine and Preston Smith created takeaways, which have been few and far between for this unit. Six players had a hand in four sacks. Smith had three of the team’s 14 quarterback hits.
Yes, injured quarterback Kirk Cousins’ only impact was blowing the ceremonial Gjallarhorn before kickoff, but that had not mattered in recent weeks. It mattered on Sunday, and it's a big reason that Green Bay is playing for a chance to go to the playoffs in a week.
Whether it was a mirage or an actual adjustment that led to improvement will determine whether Green Bay will make the playoffs.
Grade: A
Rush Defense
Minnesota fell behind so early that its run game was an afterthought for most of the game.
Ty Chandler and Alexander Mattison had 13 carries for 57 yards. Quarterback Jaren Hall, whose legs were a big story line coming into this game, had 4 yards on two carries.
A lot of the credit for the low rushing output is credited to Green Bay's offense, which essentially scored at will for the majority of the game.
Sometimes that is all a struggling team needs.
Grade: A
Special Teams
If there was a downside to the big win, Rich Bisaccia's unit was it.
Jayden Reed, the team's primary punt returner, left the game with a chest injury sustained when he called a late fair catch on a punt and was drilled.
He was replaced by Samori Toure to return a punt at the start of the fourth quarter. Why Toure was on the field instead of former All-Pro returner Keisean Nixon is unknown, but the decision ended in disaster. Toure muffed the punt and set the Vikings up deep in Green Bay territory for its only touchdown.
Anders Carlson missed another extra point, his fifth of the year, which leads the NFL. Explosive Vikings kickoff returner Kene Nwangwu had a 47-yard return to start the second half.
On the bright side, Nwangwu failed to get past the 20 on three of his kickoff returns. Carlson made both field-goal attempts.
The mistakes did not matter. Every game is win-or-go-home at this point. They could prove to be catastrophic, or season-ending.
Grade: D
Coaching
Coach Matt LaFleur's aggression early in the game led to the Packers taking an early lead. They could have led 17-0 if Jordan Love had hit an open Bo Melton on fourth-and-1 deep in Minnesota territory early in the second quarter. That aggression earns positive marks from us.
Overall, this game belongs to Joe Barry. Everyone's favorite defensive coordinator.
Yes, he was facing a team that was playing its fourth quarterback for the season. Neither Nick Mullens nor Jaren Hall are going to be preferred starters for any team in 2024.
That said, Barry gets credit for slowing down Minnesota's passing attack with a makeshift secondary.
Green Bay's defense shut down the Vikings, and may have held them out of the end zone entirely, if not for the decision to replace injured Jayden Reed with Samori Toure on punt returns, leading to Toure’s turnover.
Barry's unlikely to save his job, but he was able to get a big performance in a big game.
Whether it was a mirage or might determine whether the Packers have another game after next week.
Grade: C
