World’s Best Preview: Third-down challenge second to none

Third rate on third down: The Packers were a woeful 2-of-12 on third down at Chicago, that 16.7 percent success rate ranking 31st in the NFL though Week 1. It won’t get any easier against the Vikings, who were sixth on third down through Week 1 (3-of-12 for 25.0 percent) and first each of the previous two seasons.

“If you look at the third downs, the bulk of them were third-and-10 plus last week and that’s tough living, especially when you’re going against a quality defense,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “I think if you look at Mike Zimmer and his past with that defense there, they’ve always been one of the tops in the league in overall defense, but also in third downs because they present so many problems. So, we know that’s going to be a huge key to this game is staying out of those third-and-long-yardage situations.”

Video: What went wrong vs. Chicago?

Pressure package: Last year, Green Bay’s defense was an impressive seventh in sack percentage but a pitiful 30th in quarterback hits with 72. Last week against Chicago, the Packers had 11. Only one team had more. Outside linebackers Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith had three each, according to the official stats. According to SportRadar, Za’Darius Smith had six pressures and Preston Smith had four; according to Pro Football Focus, Za’Darius Smith had 10 pressures – the most by a Packers player since Clay Matthews had 10 in Week 1 of the 2010 season.

“My history, as you know, is looking for the versatility. I think that’s important for a couple different reasons,” Pettine said. “I think if you get guys that are only one-dimensional, it doesn’t take an offense long to figure out that hey, this is what this guy does and they don’t do anything else with him. There’s a lot of things we can do schematically that it’s the exact same call but we just put different guys in different roles. We’re not going to put them in a position that they can’t do, but when you have those guys that are versatile; anytime we can do something that’s for easy that’s hard on the offense, because they do the same thing to us, so anytime we can do that that’s a plus.”

A-plus Adam: Going back to at least 1950, there have been only 13 instances of a player catching 12-plus passes against the Packers, according to Pro Football Reference. The only player to show up on that list more than once is Minnesota’s Adam Thielen. Playing at Lambeau Field on Christmas Eve 2016, Thielen caught 12 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns. In last year’s tie at Lambeau, Thielen caught 12 passes for 131 yards and one touchdown.

“We have a lot of moving parts, a lot of different personnel groups,” cornerback Kevin King said. “A lot of things that look different that might not even be that different, we just have a lot of different people out there on the field. Having guys out there who can play different positions is huge. We have all different types of looks out there. We have seven DBs out there running the same plays when we have four DBs. Guys are interchangeable because guys are smart. We know what we’re supposed to be doing if we’re playing the dime or the nickel. That’s the type of above the shoulders football that we play here.”

Speaking of sacks: Rodgers was sacked five times by the Bears. Since the start of last season, Green Bay quarterbacks have been sacked four-plus times in 10 games. With 11 games, only Houston has subjected its quarterback to more punishment.

Minnesota, meanwhile, recorded four sacks in last week’s win vs. Atlanta. Since Zimmer became coach in 2014, the Vikings have a league-high 26 games of four-plus sacks. Their record during that span is an impressive 21-4-1.

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