Put Pressure on Kirk Cousins
The Packers’ rushing defense is of almost zero concern. That was evident this past week when defensive coordinator Mike Pettine regularly played six or seven defensive backs at a time. He was committed to making Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky beat the Packers through the air. Ultimately, this was a successful game-plan and got Green Bay the victory. I expect to see something similar against Kirk Cousins.
The Vikings are much more talented than the Bears at wide receiver. Cousins is a much more veteran and polished quarterback. So this could essentially be taboo. But, the Packers are going to have to get to the quarterback. The secondary won’t be able to cover as well, and for as long, as they did against the Bears.
This pass rush was ok against the Bears. Just ok. Perry and Matthews weren’t particularly good. Pettine was able to manufacture some pressure with exotic blitz packages. But, those exotic blitz packages leave holes in the defense. A veteran quarterback will be able to exploit those holes. The Packers accumulated three sacks vs Chicago and they’re going to have to do more of the same, if not more, against a battered and underwhelming Vikings offensive line.
