The Green Bay Packers entered the 2022 NFL season having won the NFC North three straight years and eight of the last 11. But if they want to do that again, things are going to have to change in a hurry. I know, I know, a lot of people will point to the 38-3 Week 1 loss last year to the New Orleans Saints. The Packers went on to win 13 games and the division going away. But this year is different, very different.

The overall talent is not the same. The skill level on the outside looks nothing like year's past. Even the defense, which many people believed was going to be elite this year, looked lost at times. I think they might still be looking for Justin Jefferson in the secondary.

Coming out of the embarrassing loss, we thought we would grade each phase of the game for the Packers.

Packers Pass Offense

A lot had been made of Davante Adams' departure for the Las Vegas Raiders. Pundits were wondering who would step up in his place. Well, through the first week of the season the answer is no one. The leading receiver on the team was backup running back A.J. Dillon. Dillon caught five passes for 46 yards, both of which led the team.

Rookie receiver Romeo Doubs caught four balls for 37 yards. But all of that came after halftime as it appeared Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers wanted no part of throwing to his rookies after an early drop from Christian Watson.

Rodgers finished 22-34 for 195 yards, a fumble lost and an interception.

It certainly did not help that the Green Bay offensive line was consistently beaten at the point of attack. The Vikings sacked Rodgers four times, with former Packers Pro Bowler Za'Darius Smith getting one. That's not a surprise considering the reported bad blood between Smith and the Packers.

Rodgers has been known to only throw to guys he trusts. If you watched their NFC Divisional Round playoff loss when all he did was throw to Adams seemingly every play, despite double and triple coverage, you know what I am talking about. Unless the offensive line can pass protect better, and the Packers QB can learn to give his rookies some rope, it could be a long year for Green Bay's passing game.

Grade: D+

Packers Running Game

The only thing the Packers had going offensively Sunday was the ground game. Aaron Jones ran for 49 yards on just five carries. His backfield mate, Dillon, rushed for 45 yards on 10 carries. Combined, they had 94 yards on 15 carries, a 6.3 yards per carry average. Dillon once again showed his power in the red zone, scoring the Packers only touchdown.

 

They consistently picked up chunk yardage on the ground. But the problem was that they fell so far behind, Green Bay essentially had to abandon the run. Dillon's touchdown, and the Packers only points, did not occur until five minutes remained in the third quarter.

The offensive play-calling should be brought into question. On both of the first two drives, the Packers tried leaning on the passing game. If this team is going to have success on offense, it must run through Jones and Dillon. Plain and simple.

Grade: B+

Packers Pass Defense

As bad as Green Bay's passing offense was Sunday, their pass defense was even worse.

The Packers defense was expected to be one of the better units in the NFL this year. You wouldn't know it by Sunday's performance. When facing the Minnesota Vikings, obviously any defensive coordinator is going to attempt to scheme up a way to slow down Justin Jefferson. Yes, I know that the Vikings have Dalvin Cook. You obviously need to be aware and prepare for Minnesota's run game.

But that is no excuse to let Jefferson literally run free in your secondary.

On his second touchdown, he caught the ball 17 yards downfield. The closest defender was more than five yards away from him. This was far from the only time it happened either. Jefferson was running free in the Packers secondary all game long. He finished with nine catches for a career-high 184 yards.

Kirk Cousins didn't even bother throwing it to other players. Adam Thielen and K.J. Osborn each had three short catches. It was all Jefferson and an embarrassment for Green Bay.

Grade: F

Packers Rush Defense

Green Bay hung in there defensively stopping Cook and the Vikings ground game. Cook finished with 90 yards on 20 carries. His talented backup Alexander Mattison rushed for 36 yards on eight carries. So, 126 yards on the ground total is not awful. That's especially true considering the big lead Minnesota held for most of the game.

But it's hard to give too much credit. The Packers allowed 4.5 yards per carry and even when trailing big, because the secondary was so awful, they didn't just try and run out the clock.

Grade: B-