The Minnesota Vikings‘ defense gave Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love a difficult afternoon in Week 1, and they’ll look to deliver another strong performance when the teams meet again in Week 11 on Nov. 15 at Lambeau Field.
During Minnesota’s Week 1 victory, the defense brought Love down four times and intercepted him once, holding him to an 88.1 passer rating. Love and the Packers offense will have another opportunity to face defensive coordinator Brian Flores, and they’ll be hoping for a much better result this time around.
On Nov. 12, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur spoke with the media and shared high thoughts on facing the Vikings’ defense.
“Just look at what they’ve done consistently, week in and week out,” LaFleur told reporters. “It’s a struggle for every offense to go out there and score points against them, let alone move the ball consistently. I think they do a great job of getting teams behind the sticks.
“There are more third-and-long situations than I feel like I’ve ever seen at this point in the year, in many cases throughout the entire season. We’re halfway through, and they do a great job of applying pressure and forcing you to make mistakes. That’s why it’s so important for us to play a clean game.”
Packers Are Different Team From One That Lost in Week 1
Moreover, LaFleur noted that he sees a different Packers team from the group that faced Minnesota in Week 1, as both teams need this win in what is turning out to be a tight race for the NFC North division title.
“I think everybody’s a different team,” LaFleur added. “You might as well throw Week 1 out the window in most instances. There’s a lot of craziness that goes on, especially in Week 1. You never know what you’re going to get, so I do think it’s going to be helpful.
“That place is such a hard place to play, and it caused us some issues because we didn’t have everybody on the same page, especially from an offensive standpoint.
“Now, the pressure is going to be on our defense to communicate, get all 11 players on the same page, and understand that with a new quarterback in there, there are probably going to be some wrinkles we haven’t seen.”
Jordan Love on Facing the Vikings Defense in Week 10
On Nov. 11, Love spoke to reporters about facing Flores’ defense. While the Packers can prepare for Minnesota by studying film and anticipating different looks, they still don’t know exactly what the Vikings will throw at them on game day.
“I think it’s never easy going against this defense,” Love told the media. “Obviously, in Week 1, you don’t know what they’re going to bring because you’re looking at film from last year. Then you play them in Week 10, and you’ve got a bunch of film to watch and a bunch of different looks. So it’s always a challenge.
“I think every week is a new test for them, and there’s so much different stuff you have to prepare for. Who knows if they’ll do that in the game? You have an idea of what they’re going to do.”
Vikings Defense Prompts Strong Words From Packers’ Matt LaFleur