MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Once again, Aaron Rodgers showed us why he is the only weapon the Packers need in the passing game. Rolling out with Jordy Nelson, Jarrett Boykin, Myles White, and Andrew Quarless, the Green Bay Packers rolled over the Minnesota Vikings 44-31. Rodgers finished with 285-yds passing and a pair of touchdown passes to Jordy Nelson who finished the game with 123-yards on seven catches. Eddie Lacy carried the bulk of the work on the ground as he carried the ball a team-high 29 times for 94-yds and a touchdown. That’s exactly what the Packers need from their RBs: The ability to draw in looks from the defensive secondary and fight for hard yardage. Lacy wasn’t the only back getting into the mix as James Starks reminded us what he can do, carrying the ball seven times for 57-yds, including a 25-yard run where he made the Vikings’ defenders look like high-schoolers.
While the score indicates that the Packers allowed 31 points, a lot of that was in garbage time or when the defense wasn’t even on the field. Cordarrelle Patterson ran the opening kickoff 109 yards for a touchdown; taking away that and Toby Gerhart & Christian Ponder’s fourth quarter touchdown runs, the Packers defense did a phenomenal job defensively. They held MVP Adrian Peterson to just 60-yds on 13 carries and a touchdown, and caused problems for Christian Ponder as he threw for only 145-yds on 14 completions. The key to the game was the usage of Eddie Lacy, who kept the Minnesota (and his Viking counterpart, Adrian Peterson) on the sidelines. The Packers ran 30 more plays than the Vikings did. Thirty. That is almost unheard of in Packer-nation, where four-, five-, six-play drives have become the norm. Rushing the ball (intentionally) 36 times is a fantastic sign for the Packers moving forward.
Be sure to tune in this upcoming MONDAY as the Packers will face another NFC North Rival: The Chicago Bears. The Bears will be without their offensive and defensive leaders, as Jay Cutler & Lance Briggs are sidelined with injuries. You can catch all of your Green Bay Packers football action on 98.3WRUP. GO PACK GO!
-Carl Leander Johnson