QB Leads RBs in Loss to Vikings

 By Eric Goska

Jordan Love (10) paced all runners with 34 yards rushing
at Lambeau Field Sunday.
(photos by Eric Goska)

Jordan Love’s feet delivered more than yards Sunday. The quarterback’s scrambling provided a measuring stick as to where the Packers stand in terms of running, both for and against.

Love paced all ground gainers in Green Bay’s 24-10 loss to the Vikings at Lambeau Field. That a Packers quarterback emerged as the game’s leading rusher is a rarity worth investigating.

Love bolted from the pocked four times and gained 34 yards. That he earned more on the ground than Aaron Jones (7 for 29), Alexander Mattison (16 for 31), Cam Akers (9 for 19) or AJ Dillon (6 for 11), speaks to the ineffectiveness of Green Bay’s running game and to the success of its run defense.

Remove Love’s output and Green Bay ran 13 times for 40 yards (3.1 average). Only once – that a 6-yard burst by Jones in the second quarter – did the Packers tally a rushing first down.

Forty yards and a single first down doesn't equate to many victories in the NFL.

Love’s day was equally as unsatisfying. He failed to move the sticks on any of his four takeoffs. His long, 15-yard desperation dash on fourth down, came up a yard short at the Vikings’ 6 with four minutes, 46 seconds remaining. That he could not get past safety Harrison Smith effectively ended any shot at a Packers’ comeback.

Historically, Green Bay fares poorly when its quarterback leads the team in rushing. Since 1947, the first year the Packers operated primarily out of the T formation, the team is 11-41 when its signal caller leads the way on the ground.

For Love, this is the second time he has been here. His 39 yards led all runners in the Pack’s 18-17, come-from-behind win over the Saints in late September.

That Love’s modest total could not be surpassed by any Viking underscores how well Green Bay defended the run. Minnesota averaged a scant two yards per carry (31 for 62) with a long of 10. That’s the Packers’ best effort (per carry) since holding the Lions to 64 yards on 33 trips in November 2017.

Though the Packers did permit Akers to come away with Minnesota’s first rushing touchdown of the season – a 6-yard scoot that put the Vikings ahead 7-0 late in the first quarter – it proved stingy otherwise. Four times did Green Bay dump ball carriers for loss (excluding kneel-downs), and four other times held runners to no gain.

Its running lanes clogged, the Vikings leaned heavily on Kirk Cousin’s arm. And, love him or loathe him, No. 8 delivered.

Cousins started for the 11th time against the Packers and improved to 6-4-1. His two second-half TD passes put Minnesota up 24-3.

At Lambeau, Cousins completed 23 of 31 throws for 274 yards without an interception. He was particularly deadly in the third quarter – 9 of 11 for 98 yards and two scores – and on third down – 12 of 13 for 139 and a TD.

In amassing his haul before suffering what has been reported as a season-ending Achilles tear in the fourth quarter, Cousins became the fifth player to throw for more than 3,000 yards against Green Bay in the regular season. The quarterback leapfrogged Tommy Kramer, John Brodie, Drew Brees and Jay Cutler to settle in at No. 5 all-time in passing yards earned at the expense of the Packers.

Cousins' rating of 106.7 is second best (minimum 100 passes attempted) behind that of Brees (112.6).

Club 3000

The five passers who threw for 3,000 or more yards against the Packers in the regular season (per Stathead.com).

Yards   Passer                      Games     Rate
5,976     Matthew Stafford           21            90.2
4,978     Fran Tarkenton              28           74.6
4,145     Johnny Unitas                 22           70.4
3,299     Vinny Testaverde           15            79.1
3,010     Kirk Cousins                   11           106.7