The Packers didn’t get the result they wanted in Week 1 against the Vikings, but Lukas Van Ness gave them something to build on.
Green Bay was still able to generate pressure without Micah Parsons, and Van Ness stood out in that effort. He finished with a team-high three total pressures and a sack, a welcome step for a player the Packers have been waiting to see more from. At the same time, his afternoon came with a familiar problem attached: penalties.
Pro Football Focus charged Van Ness with one penalty, while Matt Schneidman of The Athletic had him with two. Both were offsides, continuing an issue that has followed him since the offseason program. It was part of a broader discipline problem for Green Bay’s defense, which was flagged nine times overall.
Head coach Matt LaFleur didn’t sound alarmed about Van Ness specifically when he spoke with reporters after the game. He did, however, point to the penalty issue as a factor in how the day unfolded.
"Yeah, I thought our defense played really well," LaFleur told reporters (6:44 mark). "Again, there were some unfortunate penalties we had, and that extended drives, and then I thought in the fourth quarter, especially, we offensively put them in some really tough positions."
Van Ness was not alone in jumping early. Brenton Cox, Chris McClellan, and Jonathan Ford also were flagged for offsides. Still, the Packers know they can’t afford that kind of self-inflicted damage in close games.
The good news is that Van Ness looked more like the player Green Bay hoped it was getting when it made him a first-round pick in 2023. Over his first three years, he totaled 9.5 sacks and 88 tackles, production that fell short of the draft slot. Even so, the Packers showed faith in him by picking up the fifth-year option on his rookie deal, and Week 1 suggested that bet may start to pay off.
The penalty issue remains a clean-up item, but the direction is encouraging. Van Ness has already shown progress since the offseason program, and if that keeps going, he could grow into a reliable piece of the defense. He may not become an All-Pro pass rusher, but he can still become a defensive mainstay in Titletown.
For now, he’s helping hold things together while Micah Parsons recovers. And if both are on the field together later, Green Bay’s pass rush could reach another level.
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