ClutchPoints
The opening few weeks of the 2024 NFL season have yielded no shortage of surprising results, a number of which have come in the NFC North division. For example, consider that the Green Bay Packers, who have played the last two games without Jordan Love, are 2-1. An even bigger surprise is that the Minnesota Vikings, who have played their last two games against San Francisco and Houston while starting Sam Darnold, are one of the league’s final 3-0 teams.
Now, we’re just six days away from the Packers and Vikings squaring off in what is arguably the marquee game of a Week 4 slate that includes games such as Bills at Ravens, Chiefs at Chargers, and Seahawks at Lions. Two weeks ago at this time, that would’ve seemed like an impossibility. The good news for Green Bay is they may not have to rely on a ball-hawking defense, Malik Willis, and the mad sorcery of Matt LaFleur to get by.
Per Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, Jordan Love will be a limited participant in practice this week.
“I’m sure he’ll be limited,” LaFleur said on Monday, according to Dominique Yates of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “Then work it day-by-day. We’ll see. “I think anybody that saw what happened to him, that’s a legitimate injury. He’s working through it. He’s doing everything in his power to be out there. We want him out there.”
It makes sense that Matt LaFleur and the Packers would be eager to get Jordan Love back on the field. Since Green Bay’s bye week last year, Love has started fifteen games. In those games, the Packers are just 8-7, but Love has shown incredible growth, completing 66 percent of his passes for 3,802 yards, 31 touchdowns and only 8 interceptions. For the most part, Love has performed like the franchise quarterback Green Bay has paid him to be back in July.
The Packers are fortunate that they avoided the worst-case scenario with Love. And even if it means he needs another week or so of “limited” action before he’s back to 100 percent.
Whether it’s Jordan Love or Malik Willis who gets the start for Green Bay on Sunday, the Packers are in for one hell of a challenge from a Minnesota Vikings defense that has been playing lights out under second-year defensive coordinator Brian Flores. The Vikings are currently second in the league in points per game allowed, and is fresh off of a performance against the Houston Texans in which quarterback CJ Stroud to a 68.6 passer rating, the second-worst mark of his career.
It remains to be seen if this is how the Minnesota Vikings defense will be able to perform all year long, but the same can be said for Green Bay with Malik Willis serving as their starting quarterback. Willis looked like a lost cause in Tennessee, but has since been rejuvenated by Matt LaFleur and the Packers. It’s not...
