Fixing the Green Bay Packers’ offensive line is going to take a lot more than just sitting Donovan Jennings.
Jennings was the obvious low point in a unit that got steamrolled by the Minnesota Vikings, but the truth is uglier than one bad left guard performance. The Vikings’ pass rush worked over the entire front five, and Green Bay’s protection looked like it was trying to survive on instinct alone.
The bigger issue feels structural. Inexperience was all over the group, and so was a lack of preparation.
Right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele was almost certainly not healthy, but that only explains part of the mess. His teammates don’t get that same pass.
And even Bako-Bewele has to be better. Aaron Banks coming back in Week 2 won’t magically clean this up, either.
Jager Burton might be an upgrade, but the fact that he didn’t beat out Jennings says plenty. Swapping Burton in could help, sure, but it would be a Band-Aid on a bloody nose.
The hard part is figuring out exactly where the breakdown started. The line had inexperience - Bako-Bewele was the only true veteran in the group - but it also had clear signs of being unprepared. That points to the players, and maybe even more to the coaching.
Everyone knows Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is a blitz-happy maniac, but Green Bay needed a better answer than what it showed. Was it poor coaching adjustments?
Communication issues? Execution that just flat-out failed?
The answer could be all of the above.
What’s certain is that this wasn’t just a Donovan Jennings problem. He did deserve the harshest review of the bunch, though. His 34.7 PFF grade was last among 59 qualified guards in Week 1.
The rest of the numbers weren’t much kinder. Jacob Monk ranked 55th of 59 at right guard, Sean Rhyan came in 15th of 24 at center, Jordan Morgan was 46th of 57 at left tackle, and Bako-Bewele landed 44th of 57. That’s a rough night by any measure.
Packers fans didn’t need the grades to know it was ugly. Morgan and Bako-Bewele gave up the most pressures, with five and four, respectively. Jennings and Morgan were the only two who weren’t charged with allowing a sack.
So yes, Jennings was part of the problem. But the broader takeaway is that the whole group cratered. That young, draft-pick-heavy front got exposed in a hurry, and the concerns about both guard spots - plus Rhyan at center to a degree - suddenly look a lot less theoretical.
Green Bay doesn’t have a ton of fixes available, either. Banks, Burton and Anthony Belton are the reinforcements waiting in the stables. Burton is the only one with encouraging upside, and the team clearly doesn’t believe he’s ready yet.
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Jordan Love Had A Brutally Honest Reaction To Packers Collapse
The Packers had control at halftime in their Week 1 meeting with the Vikings, but the game slipped away in the second half and left Green Bay staring at a 39-22 loss. Jordan Love was at the center of the turn, with a fourth-quarter interception helping swing momentum toward Minnesota as the Vikings finished the rally and handed the Packers an opening-night setback.
Love did not hide how tough the finish felt, and his frustration matched the mood around a team that expected more after building that early lead. Green Bay now has to move quickly from disappointment to correction, with the next chance to steady things coming against the Jets and a lot of attention on how the offense responds after a collapse like that. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Suddenly Have A Jordan Love Problem They Need To Solve
Jordan Love spent far too much of the Packers recent game dealing with heat instead of reading the field, and it showed in an offense that never really settled in. The Vikings blitzed heavily, the pocket kept collapsing, and Green Bays protection issues were magnified by a guard situation that has been thin, inexperienced and banged up for a while now.
The result was a rough night for a quarterback who needed cleaner answers from the people around him. Love finished with a completion rate of 46 percent, and when the pressure kept coming late, Minnesota was able to turn that into a scoring run that widened the gap. The Packers know the issue is bigger than one off night, because until the line gives Love more stability, every defense will keep testing the same weak spot. [Read more 🡒]
Aaron Rodgers Sent A Message Steelers Fans Will Love After Week 1
After the Steelers and Falcons opened the season, Aaron Rodgers made sure to reach out to a familiar face from his Packers days. Rodgers sent ZaDarius Smith a handwritten note praising his energy and the way he came back into the game, a small gesture that said plenty about the respect between the two former Green Bay teammates.
Smiths path back to the field has been anything but straightforward, with a brief retirement behind him before signing with Atlanta and then playing through a shoulder issue in Week 1. For Steelers fans, the message is the kind of reminder that Rodgers still keeps close tabs on players hes shared a locker room with, especially one who found a way to answer right away after a long road back. [Read more 🡒]