The Green Bay Packers do deserve some bit of credit after Week 4’s 31-29 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
The Packers fell to 2-2, and nobody likes losing to a divisional rival, but this is a game that could have easily gotten away from Green Bay. At one point, with 5:28 to go in the second quarter, it was down 28-0.
Coming out of the locker room at halftime down 28-7, head coach Matt LaFleur told the sideline reporter for the game that we were about to see what the Packers were made of.
And what did we find out? Well, they’re gritty. They’re also a proud and young bunch that has a winning attitude and a “never-say-die” mindset. Green Bay’s offense largely got rolling in the second half, and credit should go to Jeff Hafley’s defense, which only allowed three points after halftime.
The Packers outscored Minnesota 22-3 in the second half, but they dug themselves too big of a hole to climb out of.
At the end of the day, much like a win is a win, a loss is a loss, and the NFL isn’t about moral victories. And for as much fight as the Pack showed on Sunday, many things were worrisome.
Yes, Jordan Love was playing for the first time since Week 1 because of an MCL injury, and he wasn’t 100 percent. And yes, he ended up throwing for 389 yards and four touchdowns and made some incredible throws, but he also threw three interceptions — two of which were terrible throws.
And sure, Green Bay’s defense buckled down in the second half and made it a game, but this was a unit that was gashed in the first half. Sam Darnold has been great all season, but Green Bay’s defense made him look like prime Peyton Manning.
Darnold went into halftime with three touchdown passes under his belt. Green Bay’s defense got barely any pressure on him in that first half, and even despite a much better second half, the Packers were only able to secure two sacks.
Throw in two more missed field goals from Brayden Narveson, who has missed four in four weeks of play, and there is plenty of reason for concern in Green Bay.
This was supposed to be a Super Bowl contender. The Pack still can be, but they have a lot to clean up moving forward.