Packers better brace for Jets to follow Brian Flores' blitz-heavy blueprint

The Green Bay Packers are entering Week 2's matchup against the New York Jets probably feeling a little shaken. They had a rough season opener in which the Minnesota Vikings outscored them 22-0 in the fourth quarter of a 39-22 blowout.

It looked like Green Bay was going to waltz into Minnesota and emerge victorious with ease. Alas, yet another discouraging collapse ensued, in large part because the Packers caved when Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores relentlessly deployed exotic blitzes.

That whole situation spoke to larger problems in Titletown that aren't easily remedied. And Aaron Glenn's Jets may be in prime position to capitalize on them.

Brian Flores and his Vikings defense embody what Matt LaFleur and Packers aren't about

Buzz words can be pretty annoying, cliché and an oversimplification of more complex things. Football is a very sophisticated, high-strategy sport that blends brutality and precise execution.

What's happening in Green Bay under head coach Matt LaFleur's watch is one massive red flag. The playoff collapse to the Bears preceded by Week 1's disaster against the Vikings speaks to a Packers team that lacks resilience, is more finesse than tough, and tries to close out games by playing not to lose instead of playing to win.

Again, those sound like clichés to some degree. Doesn't make them less true. And let's consider the stark contrast in Brian Flores' approach alone for a moment. His defense got roasted time and again with explosive plays. Jordan Love threw for 387 yards and averaged 9.2 yards per attempt despite only a 50 percent completion rate.

The numbers don't lie. An 81-yard TD by Christian Watson, long gains of 43 yards by Matthew Golden, 30 by Tucker Kraft, and 43 by Jonnu Smith didn't deter Flores from his primary strategy. In the end, over the course of 60 minutes, Flores' borderline absurd relentlessness and attacking mindset won out:

This is the defensive version of Bruce Arians' famous offensive philosophy: "No risk it, no biscuit."

Furthermore, did Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell shrivel up and go into the tank when his starting quarterback Kyler Murray got knocked out of the game with a concussion? No. He pivoted to Carson Wentz, kept letting it rip, and Wentz rewarded that aggression with three TD passes and a 123.5 passer rating.

Never would you describe anyone associated with the Packers the way I just referred to Flores or even O'Connell, who presents like a total milquetoast compared to B-Flo.

Glenn-y and the Jets won't be the cakewalk the Packers may have anticipated before the season

If "Glenn-y and the Jets" isn't a New York Post headline already, I'm profoundly disappointed. Aaron Glenn was once upon a time the defensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions, and whilst there, he was hyper-aggressive in deploying frequent man coverage with lots of blitzes. The guy lived in Cover 1 for the most part and wasn't afraid to expose his defensive backs.

Glenn's philosophy indeed left the Lions' suspect corners on an island a lot of the time, but they had an excellent offense to back them up. In Week 1 against the Titans, Glenn was confident enough in his Jets secondary and overall team to blitz Cam Ward and Tennessee at a 30.8 percent clip.

The big difference for Glenn's Jets in this year's infinitesimal sample size so far is that, in 2025, their QB hurry rate was only 5.4 percent (31st out of 32 teams) despite deploying blitzes at the 12th-highest rate (25.8 percent).

Given how poorly (like, historically badly) the Packers' offensive line handled Flores' pressure plan, you can bet Glenn will not shy away from sending the house at their pass-blocking unit.

Although I don't anticipate the Jets being a *great* team in 2026, they did beat the absolute brakes off the Titans' shaky O-line 23-10, surrendering their lone touchdown in garbage time.

I was actually surprised to see the spread at only 3.5 points in Green Bay's favor.

Rookie No. 2 overall pick David Bailey had a stellar NFL debut for Gang Green in Nashville. David Onyemata is a solid interior pass rusher, and Will McDonald IV on the opposite edge of Bailey is a specialist at wreaking havoc on the opposing QB.

That sounds like a recipe for disaster for a Green Bay offensive line in serious flux and doesn't yet have a finalized Week 2 starting five as of this writing.

To be fair, the Packers had no business losing in Week 1 and played well enough through three quarters to dominate the Vikings. That said, they had better wake up, get their protection schemes in order, and try to drive the figurative stake through their opponents' hearts going forward. Because all this wishy-washy, half-cheekery down the stretch of games is getting old fast.

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