Vikings at Packers | Key Personnel Battles
It’s that time of year already. Packers week and the yearly trip to Lambeau Field. It’s the Vikings at the Packers in Week 4. After shocking the NFL world with their 3-0 start and climbing into the top 3 of many power rankings. If the Vikings can come away from Green Bay with another win. Talk of the Super Bowl won’t look so premature.
Vikings at Packers | Key Personnel Battles
It certainly won’t be easy. Green Bay is a good team, and Lambeau Field is a difficult place to play. Last season, the Packers had a 7-1 record at home. They did lose their first home division game of the season to the Lions—history repeating itself would be good news for Minnesota. If the Vikings are going to pull this one off, there are some key personnel battles that they will need to win.
Justin Jefferson vs. Jaire Alexander?
Jefferson vs. Alexander is getting plenty of pregame hype. As the injury report hit on Friday, Alexander was designated questionable with a quad/groin injury. Towards the end of last season, in a game at US Bank Stadium, Alexander and his teammates kept Jefferson relatively quiet in a game that saw the Vikings soundly beaten.
By the time this Week 17 matchup rolled around, the Vikings’ season had come off the rails, and with Nick Mullens at quarterback, the Vikings’ offense couldn’t get much going. Jefferson missed the game early in the season, which the Vikings soundly won with major contributions from KJ Osborn, TJ Hockenson, and Jordan Addison—with Kirk Cousins at quarterback.
Jefferson has a legitimate claim to be the best WR in the league, and Alexander has a legitimate claim to be one of the best CBs in the league. These kinds of matchups always generate interest, and while Alexander likes to stoke the fire with the media, Jefferson prefers to play it down.
Will Alexander play, and will Green Bay ask him to cover Jefferson in single-man coverage? We will find out on Sunday, and probably not; teams rarely do. There’s more to this Vikings offense than Jefferson – who has Addison back from injury for this game – but there will be a lot of emphasis on who wins this battle if it happens. If Alexander isn’t good to go and fellow CB Carrington Valentine is listed as doubtful with an ankle injury, the Packers could be thin on the ground.
Aaron Jones vs. Josh Jacobs
Aaron Jones heads back to Green Bay for the first time as a visitor. Drafted by the Packers in the 5th round back in 2017, Jones enjoyed seven seasons with the Wisconsin team, amassing nearly 6000 rushing yards, 45 rushing touchdowns, just over 2000 receiving yards, and 18 receiving touchdowns. Jones was an excellent dual-threat back for the Packers, but he will be 30 in December, and there have been some injuries. With that in mind, the Packers decided to move on and sign 26-year-old Josh Jacobs to a 4-year, $48 million contract.
Jones was let go, and he wound up signing for the Vikings on a 1-year, $7 million contract. Green Bay has made a bigger and longer investment in Jacobs, while Minnesota is looking for a shorter-term boost to what was a struggling run game last season. Still, the two are bound to be compared this season, particularly in the two games they face each other. Jones has 228 rushing yards and one touchdown through three games, plus 97 yards and a touchdown. Jacobs has 278 rushing yards and 25 receiving yards with no touchdowns on the ground or through the air.
Garrett Bradbury vs. Kenny Clark
I suspect Garrett Bradbury sees Kenny Clark in his nightmares. He’s one of the many big dominant tackles that have dominated him over the years. The interior of the Viking’s OL is still a problem in terms of pass blocking, although Sam Darnold is better equipped to deal with making something happen under pressure than Kirk Cousins was.
The Vikings OL, with Blake Brandel stepping up to be the left guard, has been good at run blocking this season. That’s always been Bradbury’s strength, and the Vikings will need to run the ball well on Sunday. In pass protection, Bradbury has to be able to stand up to Clark well enough to let Darnold run the offense.
Jonathan Greenard vs. Zach Tom
On the back of a career-best three-sack game against his former team, Jonathan Greenard will face two very good pass-blocking tackles in Zach Tom and Rasheed Walker. Greenard often lines up on the left side, which will put him against Tom, a man who has a pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus of 84.2 and has allowed 0 sacks, 0 QB hits, and 0 pressures across the first three games—that’s zilch, nada, naught, that’s impressive.
The Texans inexplicably tried to stop Greenard with a TE last week; I don’t foresee the Packers doing such a thing. Disrupting the quarterback has been a huge factor in the Vikings’ early-season success, and Greenard leads that charge. It needs to happen again if Minnesota is going to win in Green Bay in this heavyweight defensive battle.
Vikings Slot Defenders vs. Jayden Reed
A feature of the Vikings’ defense is players moving around. Whoever finds themselves in the slot will likely come up against Jayden Reed and will need to be on their toes. Reed does line up on the outside but mostly works from the slot, and he is dangerous as a receiver and runner.
The Vikings usually have Josh Metellus or Byron Murphy in the slot, but it could be any of the Vikings’ defensive backs or linebackers on any given play. Reed had a huge game for the Packers in Week 1, catching 4 of 6 targets for 138 yards, a touchdown, and a 33-yard touchdown run. With Jordan Love missing through injury for the next two games, Reed was less explosive — 6 of 8 for 59 yards and four rushing attempts for 56 yards. If Love plays on Sunday, the Vikings must stop the explosive plays to Reed.
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