Where to begin with this Green Bay Packers team? They looked pitiful in the first half of a prime time game against the Minnesota Vikings. They accumulated less than 100 total yards, while making Sam Bradford look like an MVP candidate in the first half. The second half was better but still had its frustrations. With all that said, here are the Green Bay Packers week two takeaways.
Green Bay Packers Week Two Takeaways
Run Game Needs to Step Up
The Packers run game needs to improve. Aaron Rodgers is arguably the best quarterback in the league. With that said, the Packers need to step up their ground game in order to free up the air for their qaurterback. Eddie Lacy and James Starks combined for just 53 yards on 19 carries. That’s just 2.7 yards per carry. They were struggling so much in the first half, Mike McCarthy used Randall Cobb out of the backfield for a series. This isn’t strange for Cobb as he’s taken snaps at the running back position before.
If they want to return to the playoffs and make a run at a championship, they can’t be a one-dimensional offense. It seems unlikely that McCarthy wont figure out a way to improve the run game, especially with the talented one-two punch of Lacy and Starks.
Defensive Backs Struggle
The Packers defensive backs struggled in this game. They faced off against a Sam Bradford led offense, so it seemed like a pretty good matchup for the underrated Packers defense. Bradford has a career 60% completion percentage. If you’re familiar with Bradford, you know he’s never been a highly successful quarterback. However, he torched he Packers secondary in this game. He finished with 22 completions out of 33 attempts with 286 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Stefon Diggs was literally on the receiving end of Bradford’s great play. He caught 9 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown. He also drew the game winning pass interference call against Damarious Randall. With Sam Shields out due to a concussion, the Packers had no answer for Diggs. They struggled all night trying to keep up with the speedster.
Run Defense Outstanding
One positive that came from the defense was that they completely shut down the run game. A combination of Adrian Peterson, Jerrick McKinnon, and Matt Asiata, ran for just 35 yards on 20 total carries. Clay Matthews moving back to his natural position has been a great move, and along with Julius Peppers, Mike Daniels, and Letroy Guion, the Packers were phenomenal shutting down the run. This is the second game in a row they have stuffed running backs, as T.J. Yeldon ran for just 39 yards in Week One.
Aaron Rodgers’ Poor Play
Aaron Rodgers seems to have carried his 2015 struggles with him into the current season. Rodgers is just 40 for 70 on the year, and has accumulated only 412 passing yards. He also threw an interception, and could have had several more as the Vikings dropped several opportunities. Rodgers fumbled three times, and lost one. He has always been very good at protecting the football, but struggled against a solid Vikings defense
Rodgers is a top quarterback in the NFL. He can and should turn his poor play around. He and Jordy Nelson don’t seem to be completely clicking yet, and once they do Rodgers should be putting up his MVP type numbers again. This team plays their next four games at home and even with a divisional loss tonight, there shouldn’t be too much worry in Packer nation, as the Packers have been a slow starting team in the past. As the former MVP would say, R-E-L-A-X.
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