The Green Bay Packers just got absolutely smacked by the Vikings, and honestly, the reason was staring everyone in the face before kickoff even happened. Brian Flores was always gonna bring the house, blitzing like a madman, and the Packers’ offensive line folded harder than a cheap lawn chair. You gotta respect Flores, seriously. He’s doing stuff no one else dares, and it’s working. But the real kick in the teeth is that the Packers KNEW this was coming. They were systematically unprepared, top to bottom. It wasn’t just a surprise attack; they did virtually nothing to counter an approach everyone understands by now.
The Flores Blitz They Ignored
This wasn’t some secret playbook Flores pulled out. His aggressive blitzing style is well known across the league. Yet, the Packers’ offensive line struggled big time to even slow him down. Better lines than Green Bay’s have failed against Flores’ “logical insanity,” sure, but this felt different. This was a systemic failure. The coaching staff, the players, everyone involved knew what was at stake with Flores’ defense, and they completely whiffed on preparing for it. How do you go into a game knowing a defensive coordinator is going to attack relentlessly and then offer no answers? It’s mind-boggling, and it led directly to their loss.
Donovan Jennings and the Questionable Call
The personnel choices on the offensive line were just brutal. Justis said it’s impossible to overstate how bad they were, and he’s not wrong. It all starts with Donovan Jennings, the former undrafted free agent in his third year. Before Sunday, this dude had played a grand total of six offensive snaps for the Packers. Six! He ended the 2025 season on injured reserve with a throat injury right before their Week 18 game, also against the Vikings. Then, all of a sudden, he’s starting at left guard against one of the most aggressive defenses in football. Matt LaFleur tried to spin it, saying his decision came down to “time on task.” He said Jennings “done a nice job, so I feel like he earned that opportunity.”
But seriously, what does “time on task” even mean here? According to Pro Football Focus, Jennings had 162 snaps at left guard across the 2024-26 preseasons and the 2025 regular season. With Aaron Banks out, the other options were Anthony Belton, who had a measly two snaps at left guard in 2025, and 2026 draft pick Jager Burton with 82 snaps in this preseason. Yeah, Jennings had more “time on task” than those two, but we’re not talking about some massive experience gap! Given how he performed, LaFleur’s reasoning just doesn’t fly. He put a guy with almost no game experience at the regular season against a blitzing monster, and it blew up in their face. What are they thinking? They need to fix this offensive line pronto, or this season is going to be a long one for Packers fans.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Acme Packing Company.
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