J.J. McCarthy and the Minnesota Vikings offense didn’t have a first down in the second half until there was a little more than five minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Because of that, the Green Bay Packers kept it simple on offense in Sunday’s win. It isn’t a recipe that will work out a lot in the NFL, but it worked against the version of the Vikings that showed up in Week 12.
The entire blueprint for Green Bay’s offense revolved around not beating itself against Minnesota.
Green Bay has been in the top five for most of the season in offensive pre-snap penalties. They haven’t had many turnovers. However, when they do, they come at incredibly inopportune times — Jordan Love‘s interception against the Cleveland Browns, the strip-sacks at the end of the first half against the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Sunday’s plan was simple: Don’t do the stupid stuff, and we should be fine.
After the 23-6 win over the Vikings, both Love and head coach Matt LaFleur said as much. Per Love:
The defense is balling like that, coming up with stop after stop, that mindset is, “Just keep taking care of the ball. Don’t make mistakes. And just keep hammering away at it. Keep putting together some good drives.” And we did that.
LaFleur echoed those sentiments, saying, “I just thought with the way our defense was playing, we took the air out of the ball and said go win it for us.”
After building a 17-6 lead in the third quarter and facing no great threat from Minnesota’s passing game, or really their offense as a whole, LaFleur kept it simple with the play calling.
Leading 17-6 late in the third quarter, the Packers put together an eight-play, 43-yard drive that resulted in Brandon McManus connecting on a field-goal attempt to make it 20-6. The Packers ran it all eight plays on that drive, seven of which were gives to running back Emanuel Wilson, who piled up 107 yards on the ground on the afternoon.
Even on the drive before that, the Packers had a seven-play outing, five of which were runs. The drive resulted in a punt, but this was a recognition by LaFleur and Love that the Packers didn’t need to dig into their bag of tricks against the opposing offense.
So the Packers did what they needed to on offense and kept it simple, finishing the game with just two penalties for 10 yards and no turnovers. Meanwhile, special teams was able to get a takeaway, and McCarthy helpfully chipped in with two interceptions. It was his third consecutive multi-interception game.
There’s been some unrest growing within pockets of Green Bay’s fanbase about LaFleur supposedly having training wheels on Love and not going for the jugular nearly as often as he should. There was a chance to do so on Sunday, leading 17-6 and in the red zone. Instead, LaFleur dialed up three more runs on that drive — a drive that consisted entirely of running plays — and Green Bay took three points and kept pedaling.
Had this been in a nail-biter against the Detroit Lions on Thursday or the following week against the Chicago Bears, it would be maddening. Count Fox broadcaster Greg Olsen among those who get frustrated with LaFleur’s conservative play calls. Olsen brought it up on the call for a Packers game a few weeks ago and did so again on Sunday during that red-zone possession that resulted in three points.
They had a chance to make the knockout punch here and make this an 18-point game. Now, they settle for a field goal and keep it at 14. The whole drive was very conservative. You have a shot there to be aggressive. They didn’t throw the ball one time. Seven straight runs. You could’ve made it an 18-point game, three scores, with a touchdown.
Olsen also highlighted the reality of this game, noting that the Vikings didn’t look like a team that would reach the 20s unless Green Bay started beating itself.
He also noted that the sputtering Vikings offense didn’t merit a less flashy game plan. “You can play a more conservative offensive approach,” he added, “when you know the opposing team’s threat to score — today, the threat to score, 10 feels a lot — let alone in the 20s.”
That’s exactly what LaFleur did.
It wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing brand of football, but it’s what the Packers knew would get the job done. In the end, they ran the ball 42 times, and Love only had 21 pass attempts.
Green Bay played the opponent, not the game, on Sunday, and it worked. Don’t expect that run-to-pass ratio to be a sign of things to come.
There are plenty of times where LaFleur’s conservative approach may frustrate fans, and it would be nice to see him go for the dagger more often. Sunday wasn’t one of those times. Green Bay didn’t need to get crazy with the play calling to win. For a team that turnovers have plagued at critical times and the most infuriating penalties, it was refreshing to see them play such a clean, steady game.