The Minnesota Vikings enter the NFC North matchup against the Green Bay Packers facing a brand-new challenge. Led by the highly respected Matt LeFleur, the Packers are 2-1, and the Vikings won’t know which quarterback they will face. They likely won’t know until hours before the game whether returning starter Jordan Love or the recently ascending Malik Willis will be under center.
That presents a unique difficulty for Brian Flores, who has been rock-solid thus far this season. He has dialed in his defense each week and confuses whatever quarterback he faces, no matter what the system.
If he plays, Willis is distinctive from the other QBs Flores’ unit has battled. Willis is mobile, and the Packers aren’t afraid to use him in the zone-read game, as you can see in this TD against the Tennessee Titans. In Willis’ first start, Green Bay ran the ball 53 times (for 260 yards!) against the Indianapolis Colts and only threw it 14 times. Willis shows a strong arm when they pass, but he’s as likely to pull the ball down and run for the first.
Willis has 113 yards rushing in only two games. In the Indianapolis game, Josh Jacobs led the way for the Packers with 151 yards on 32 carries. When healthy, Jacobs is a bruising back who bounces off of tackles and gets four yards when there only appears to be space for one. Green Bay’s offensive game plan was basically a shotgun version of the offense run by Vince Lombardi, with pulling guards and misdirection, and multiple players possibly getting the ball. It had a bit of a Wing-T feel. LaFleur also uses a high percentage of RPOs with Willis at the helm, which gives the games an almost collegiate feel. However, that was more than enough against the Colts and the Titans.
The Packers run a mainstream NFL offense with Love under center — and a great one. They have weapons at every position on offense, and Love took them to the playoffs last season while playing the best football of his young career. However, in Week 1, he got hurt on nearly the last play of the game.
Enter Willis and a completely different game plan. Willis is a guy who ran for over 1,000 yards as a senior in high school (while also throwing for over 2,000). He initially went to Auburn, but Bo Nix beat him out. He transferred to Liberty College, where he ran for over 800 yards each of his two years starting there. It’s a testament to LaFleur’s adaptability as a coach that he has been using Willis so effectively. He’s essentially running a system similar to the one the Baltimore Ravens deploy with Lamar Jackson.
“This is one of the most physical teams I’ve seen,” Flores said when a reporter asked about the challenge of facing Green Bay’s offense. He added that everyone, even the Green Bay receivers, block well. He also noted that LaFleur seems to just have a knack for staying ahead of defenses.
That makes this week’s preparation all that more challenging for Flores. Practice time and reps are limited, and preparing for one NFL quarterbck is challenging enough. How will he split his planning and practice time to prepare for Willis and Love? Will they need to bring in an extra scout team QB this week to be able to mimic both playing styles?
My bet is that he will prepare to play against Willis and their unconventional NFL attack, and keep fresh the personnel and coverage packages that have been so successful for them during the first three weeks.
However, in doing so, he risks diluting the defensive attack if Green Bay can find an edge. The Packers have already hit in the interior running game, where Minnesota’s defense appears to be the weakest. Flores will also potentially be without Ivan Pace Jr., which means Green Bay will challenge his base package. It’ll be a chess match to see if the Packers offense can stay downhill and in favorable down-and-distance situations. Flores’ Bengal package and scheme has been incredibly effective in long yardage situations, and Flores would love nothing more than to keep Willis (and/or Love) from being comfortably close to first downs.
Also keep an eye on No. 11 Jayden Reed, whom the Packers use as a Swiss Army knife playmaker. He lines up at WR, motions to the backfield, and is often the recipient of any RPO screens built into Willis’ reads. He’s slight, but he’s dangerous. Of course, he’s not the only one to keep an eye on. Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Jayden Reed form a formidable receiving corps that South Dakota native TE Tucker Kraft complements.
In the offseason, LaFleur hired former Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley as his third DC during his tenure. Under Hafley, the Packers play an aggressive physical defense with a four-man front. Against the Colts, they usually lined up with an eight-man front (one-high safety) on base downs, challenging Anthony Richardson to pass efficiently. He didn’t.
Against Tennessee, the Packers played an aggressive two-high look. Their safeties did a great job of storming up and stopping the running game while being in position to drop back in coverage. Their defensive line is a talented group, and they believe they can get pressure without needing to bring a lot of blitzes.
When a reporter asked Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips about Green Bay’s defense, he mentioned that “they play as hard as any of the big guys in the league.” Linebacker Quay Walker is 6’4″, 241 lbs., and a supreme athlete. The Packers’ defense isn’t overly complicated but physical and sound. Phillips also mentioned the chess match between the Packers playing a two-high look and somehow also figuring out how to stop the run with a seven-man box.
“If you are going to play two safeties high, you’re generally only going to be rushing four,” said Phillips. “You’re going to have a lighter box[, but] you’ve got to find ways to stop the run with a seven-man box instead of eight. That’s part of the fun for us each week, to try to find ways to attack it.”
Can Phillips and KOC continue to find ways to get Aaron Jones going in the running game? Or will Green Bay’s defenders be too physically dominant? Will Hafley be able to figure out a way to stop what is becoming an ultra-dangerous combination in Darnold and Jefferson? Can Darnold keep his What are you doing Sam!? plays under control? Will weather play a factor? There’s a forecast of rain in Green Bay on Sunday.
In their 3-0 start, Minnesota’s coordinators have won all their chess matches (KOC 3-0, Flores 3-0) against some good teams and great coaches running good systems. Now, on the road at Lambeau Field, the stakes are as high as they get in the regular season, as the Vikings look to maintain their early lead in the NFC North against a rival squad betting on an old-school approach.
