The Green Bay Packers fell with a loud thud Sunday, as they opened their 2022 NFL campaign in a forgettable manner: getting destroyed in a 23-7 road loss to NFC North division rivals Minnesota Vikings. Packers head coach Matt LaFleur thinks his team could have put a better product on the field if only he let Green Bay's running backs, particularly Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon, to get more touches.
Via Andrew Krammer Star Tribune of The Star Tribune:
“Anytime Aaron Jones comes out of the game with eight touches, that's not good enough,” LaFleur said. “And A.J. Dillon, what did he have 10 [carries] or so? That's not good enough.”
Aaron Jones finished with only 49 rushing yards on five carries, while AJ Dillon had more touches in the ground attack with 10 which he converted into 45 rushing yards. Both tailbacks looked efficient, albeit on limited touches, but with the Packers trailing from start to finish, the game script was just not too favorable for Green Bay to keep feeding Jones and Dillon with rushing attempts.
However, Matt LaFleur is also unhappy over the number of times the duo got involved in the passing attack. Prior to the season, there was hype around Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon having an expanded role as Aaron Rodgers' downfield targets, but only had a total of 11 targets in Week 1 between themselves. With Davante Adams gone and Allen Lazard missing the Vikings game, there was a true chance for Jones and Dillon to get more targets, but it was just not that kind of day for the Packers.
Coming right up for the Packers is a home game on Sunday against another NFC North enemy in the form of the Chicago Bears.
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