The NFC North had a little bit of everything this week: a first-round tackle working his way back from the first missed game of his football life, a Packers line still waiting on a starter to get healthy, and Justin Jefferson making it clear he knows exactly what kind of numbers he’d like - even if the conditions don’t always allow them.
In Detroit, first-round OT Blake Miller was back on the practice field Wednesday after missing Week 2 with a knee injury. That absence was a notable one for Miller, since it was the first game he had ever missed dating back to his high school days. Lions head coach Dan Campbell said he expects Miller to be ready for Week 3.
“I think (Miller) will be okay,” Campbell said, via Tim Twentyman of the team’s site. “He’s going to be out there (at practice Wednesday) and take most of the snaps, so that’s a good sign. So, barring any setback, he’ll be out there (Sunday).”
If Miller is indeed back Sunday, he’ll draw a familiar-looking test: Jets first-round EDGE David Bailey. Campbell called it a matchup that should bring plenty of fire.
“It should be really good. Bailey is a speed ball, but he’s got power, though.
He’s kind of a speed ball between he and (Will) McDonald IV over there right and left in their speed package. So, it’ll be a different flavor than what (Miller’s) had with our guys, and really what he’s faced to this point.
So, it’ll be a pretty good battle.”
Miller has already seen Bailey once before, back when Bailey was at Stanford, and he remembered the edge rusher standing out even then. Miller said the scouting report didn’t fully capture what he saw on the field.
“Scouting report stuff, they kind of glossed over him a little bit and said, ‘Oh, he’s talented,’ but didn’t go super in-depth,” Miller said. “I remember sitting there and talking to my other tackle in college and we were like, ‘This guy is a special player.’ Got out there during the game and he was a really good player and have kind of been vindicated a little bit with his success in the league and where he was drafted.”
In Green Bay, the focus remains on left guard Aaron Banks, who is still working back from knee and toe injuries. Offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said the Packers are simply looking for steady, reliable play from whoever gets the job.
“We’ll see how it plays out this week. If Banks can go, great.
If not, we’ll work those other guys in. For me, I just want to see whoever’s in there just go make it hard for us to make a decision, you know what I mean?
Like, go out there, compete, be productive, be clean, eliminate penalties and just make it really hard on us to take you off the field if you’re one of those backup guys. That’s really what I want to see,” Stenavich said, via the team’s site.
Stenavich also liked what he saw from RB Kaleb Johnson in Week 2. Johnson carried eight times for 32 yards against the Jets, and the coordinator said he wants to keep seeing the kind of physical style he called for.
“Yeah, he did. He did a nice job.
He came in there, ran hard. I told him, ‘I just want to see angry runs.
Go in there and just run hard, run angry,’ and I thought he did a nice job with that,” Stenavich said.
Jefferson’s comments in Minnesota came with a little more humor, but the point was clear: he’s always chasing production, even when the game script doesn’t hand it to him. Asked whether he expected the Vikings to open up the passing game when QB Kyler Murray returns to the starting lineup, Jefferson said he’d love the big fantasy line, but the win matters more.
“Of course I would love to have 150 [yards], three touchdowns and just the fantasy stat line,” Jefferson told ESPN. “I definitely would love that.
But with these conditions, with this type of game, it wasn’t that type of day, which is totally fine. As long as us coming off the ball, executing our plays and just being a factor in the win, that’s all that matters.
So just coming in here, difficult environment with the weather conditions, a lot of adversity in our way. It doesn’t matter.
We’re just not going to really think about it. Just come in there and just lean on each other to get the done.”
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What stands out is how quickly Dallas has taken to the Vikings offense and how familiar he already is with the organization and coaching staff. In a season where injuries have already started reshaping the running back room, that kind of comfort can matter just as much as raw ability, and it gives Minnesota a player who may need to be ready for a much larger role sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]