After a humbling 34-23 Sunday night road loss to the Atlanta Falcons back in Week 2, the critics were once again out in full force when it came to the Green Bay Packers. That evening, quarterback Aaron Rodgers had a very rough evening. He would complete 33 of his 50 pass attempts for 343 yards and two touchdowns, but he was picked off once, sacked three times, and one of those quarterback traps resulted in a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. The veteran signal-caller was under pressure for most of the evening. Of course, you will also recall that Mike McCarthy’s team played that game without either of its starting tackles in David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga.
We have not seen the former since Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks. And this Sunday in the Twin Cities, the Packers have a very big challenge ahead in the Minnesota Vikings.
Hope for the weekend?
On Wednesday, the Green Bay Packers had their usual practice and it had to be a positive to see Bakhtiari moving around out there. The veteran blocker, who has been dealing with a hamstring issue, saw some limited participation. The same also went for right tackle Bryan Bulaga (ankle) and veteran cornerback Davon House (quadriceps). The former returned to the starting lineup last Sunday and was a big part of the team’s 35-31 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. He helped open up holes for rookie running back Aaron Jones and the team rushed for 160 yards (125 by Jones) in the comeback win.
Still, Rodgers was sacked four times last Sunday, and things could get even worse in Minneapolis this weekend.
Challenging matchup
A fourth-round draft choice by the Minnesota Vikings in 2010, former USC defensive end Everson Griffen has emerged as one of the better players in the league at his position. He became a fulltime starter in 2014 and in 52 games since then, he’s totaled 36.5 sacks.
In five games in 2017, he’s already totaled six quarterback traps, four more than 2016 leader Danielle Hunter. Griffin lines up at right defensive end, which would mean right in front of Bakhtiari.
Rodgers is off to another great start this season. But this is a Green Bay Packers team that has already watched their star quarterback drop 19 times.
Now Griffen and his teammates, who have racked up a dozen sacks in five games, take aim at the prolific quarterback. You would have to like the Packers’ chances a little more if David Bakhtiari is able to play, but we may have to wait until the weekend to get a definitive answer on that front.
