Three things Packers must improve vs. Vikings in Week 2

3. Run game

Unsurprisingly, the third area the Packers must improve is also on offense. And it’s also another way that will help the previous points in this article.

Matt LaFleur tried to establish the run against the Bears, but it proved to be unsuccessful. Green Bay did have 22 rushing attempts in total (three were Rodgers scrambles), but only finished with 47 yards on the ground. And only 39 were by running backs.

Aaron Jones struggled to get going, averaging only three yards per carry on his 13 attempts. Jamaal Williams was even worse, rushing five times for a grand total of zero yards.

But if the Packers can get the ground game going against Minnesota, everything could fall into place. Minnesota’s defense will have to respect the run which eases the pass rush, and also opens up the possibility for play-action passes, something we should expect to see a lot in LaFleur’s offense.

By successfully running the football, the Packers will also be able to set up more manageable third-down situations, which should improve their conversion percentage. That will lead to longer drives, and ideally more points on the board.

The Packers were unable to move the ball effectively on the ground in Week 1, and it’s an area they need to improve against the Vikings.