The Packers elevated Micah Abernathy and Juwan Winfree from the practice squad.  The inactive players were Bakhtiari, Jenkins, and Lazard due to injuries, with Toure, Carpenter, Jean-Charles and Jonathan Ford being healthy scratches.  Offensive linemen Rasheed Walker and Sean Rhyan were active but did not play. 

Elevating Abernathy made a good deal of sense.  Elevating Winfree when six wide receivers were active was more surprising.  Listing Jean-Charles as an inactive left the Packers with just four cornerbacks, and just the starting three after Nixon left the game.  And of course, not elevating a running back meant the Packers entered the game with just two running backs.  I suppose if the team does not plan to or feels it cannot use their running backs very much, having just two active makes more sense. 

As a note, just prior to the game Ryan Wood tweeted the following: "LT David Bakhtiari will not play opener vs. Vikings, and will likely miss next week's home opener against the Bears. Don't be surprised if the team takes same approach with Elgton Jenkins."

The Packers offensive line had a rough day getting any push or opening holes for the backs.  Jones picked up ten yards and a first down on the Packers second play (just after Christian Watson dropped what should have been a 75-yard touchdown pass).  That run was around the right end.  After that, Jones carried the ball just two more times in the first half for 5 yards.  Dillon received 5 carries and picked up 11 yards (2.2 yard average) in the first half.  It did not matter much where the run was designed to go.  Watson added a reverse for 7 yards.

Down 17-0, the Packers were able to run the ball better in the second half.  That could be due to the Vikings playing softer and keeping their safeties deep, but better runs also coincided with the insertion of Zach Tom for Jon Runyan at left guard.  Runyan, who has been a solid and consistent player for the Packers, left the game with a concussion.  Aaron Jones had two carries in the second half for 34 yards, including a 29-yard run off left end.  Dillon got 5 more carries in the second half for 34 yards, including a 14 yard and an 11-yard run, both off left end.  Dillon caught 5 of 6 targets for 46 yards, including one pass from Jordan Love in garbage time for his long reception of 12 yards. 

Jones caught 3 of 5 targets for 27 yards and a long of 22.  Per Andy Herman, Jones and Dillon had 25 touches for 155 yards and a 6.2 yard per touch average, while on the Packers other 31 plays the Packers gained 118 yards, a 3.8 yard average.  Jones and Dillon were on the field together about 7 times.  Jones and Dillon need to get more touches.

Romeo Doubs led the wide receivers with 37 yards on 4 receptions and 5 targets.  Christian Watson had 34 yards on 2 receptions, but his 25-yard reception came in garbage time.  Watkins chipped in 18 yards on 3 targets and Winfree caught his only target for 17 yards.  Tonyan caught 3 of his 5 targets for 37 yards.  Deguara had no stats in the first 59 minutes but grabbed two passes from Jordan Love for 28 yards in garbage time.  Tyler Davis played as many snaps as Deguara and caught one pass for 3 yards.  Amari Rodgers played no offensive snaps from scrimmage.

Aaron Rodgers completed 22 of 34 passes for 195 yards (5.7 yards/attempt) with an interception.  That was good for a 67.7 passer rating.  He was sacked 4 times and hit 5 times.  He did seem to be under considerable pressure.  I thought he showed some wiggle in the pocket which enabled him to buy some time on several occasions but he was not really able to turn that extra time into positive plays.  I thought Rodgers made the wrong choices on some run-pass options and overall did not have a good day.  

Jordan Love came in for the final 1 minute and 2 seconds.  He completed 4 of 5 passes for 65 yards (13 yards/attempt), good for a 118 passer rating.  The Vikings were playing a soft defense but Love can only play against the opponent and the scheme on the field against him.  He looked good in his limited action. 

Many will wonder if Lazard's presence would have changed things on offense.  The Packers and Aaron Rodgers really do not use the middle of the field very much.  I can only remember a handful of pass attempts between the hash marks, such as a pass to Cobb, and prayer to Tonyan at the goal line despite double coverage, and a pass to Doubs when the two players were not on the same page.  Perhaps the Rodgers would have trusted Lazard over the middle more than the receivers on the field.  Lazard is also a good blocker, something the Packers were in need of.  I do remember Watkins missing a block on a quick pass, though Watkins has the reputation of being a fine blocking wide receiver.  

We did not see the dominant defense that observers spoke of during practices.  Still, the Packers only gave up 23 points.  That includes a field goal directly attributable to a sack/fumble by Rodgers at the Green Bay 33-yard line.  The defense held the Vikings, and even pushed them back to the 38 yard line, but the Vikings made the subsequent 56-yard field goal.  The Packers allowed Cook and Mattison to gain 62 yards on 13 carries, a 4.8 yard average in the first half.  The pair finished with 126 yards on 28 carries, a 4.5 yard average for the game.  Worse, even after taking out the longest run for Cook and for Mattison, they each still would have averaged 4 yards per carry.  That is a healthy average and the gains were pretty consistent.  The Packers played 2.47 true defensive linemen per play, a fairly high number compared to last year. 

Devondre Campbell had 11 tackles, including a tackle for loss.  Clark, Jarran Reed and Gary each added a tackle for loss.  Quay Walker looked as advertised.  He had 8 tackles (7 solo).  He showed that he can move.  The Vikings got him a few times in coverage, but that is not unexpected from a rookie.  We did see some times when Walker, Campbell and Barnes were on the field at the same time, and Campbell lined up as an outside linebacker at least once.  The injuries to Walker and Barnes are concerning, particularly Barnes, since he was carted off in an air cast, and was seen on crutches after the game.  Ray Wilborn is the only inside linebacker on the practice squad.

The Packers got some early pressure from Clark, and Gary had an early sack.  Preston Smith also had some consistent pressures.  The Packers had 8 quarterback hits, a very respectable number, but just one sack.  Clark, Lowry, Preston Smith and Rashan Gary each had 2 quarterback hits.  Moreover, despite the numbers Cousins seemed pretty comfortable in the pocket.  Being able to play pitch and catch with a far too often wide-open Justin Jefferson probably helped Cousins feel comfortable.  Jefferson did most of his damage against zone coverage.  It is interesting that Tipa Gileai received no defensive snaps. 

Jefferson torched the Packers for 184 yards including 2 catches for 63 yards (41 and 23 yards, respectively) on the Vikings' opening touchdown drive.  Adam Thielen chipped in 36 yards on 3 receptions, but most of that came late in the secnd half against Stokes.  Thielen had just one catch in the first half for 7 yards. 

The Packers played a tight rotation of defensive backs featuring mostly the starters.  A lot of the problems might be due to communitcation issues, especially the zone coverage breakdowns, which were far more prevalent than backs just getting beat by receivers.

WR: 2.66/play

RB: 1.11/play

TE: 1.23/play

DL: 2.47/play

LB: 3.85/play

DB: 4.67/play

Photo courtesy of Brad Rempel of USA Today Sports