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    • 5 things to watch Green Bay Packers Week 4 game vs. Minnesota Vikings
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    5 things to watch Green Bay Packers Week 4 game vs. Minnesota Vikings

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    GREEN BAY – Here are five things to watch when the Green Bay Packers face the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

    Packers opponents have a huge advantage when it comes to penalties

    Through three games, the Packers have committed 26 penalties for 196 yards, making them among the worst offenders in the league. They rank fifth in most penalties committed and eighth in most yards rushing. Their opponents have committed only twelve penalties. The minus-14 differential is the second-worst in the league, behind Baltimore’s minus-16. “We’ve had some costly penalties that pop up in every game and they’re going to come back to bite us if we don’t clean it up,” coach Matt LaFleur said this week. Left tackle Rasheed Walker ranks second for most penalties committed in the NFL with six, including four holding calls. This offense was the worst offender with 18 penalties for 140 yards, including 10 holding penalties, one of which was dismissed. Minnesota has done better. They committed 19 penalties for 146 yards. Of their 19 penalties, 11 were for fouls, including five false starts and four holding calls.

    TO PARTICIPATE: Tom Silverstein hosts a live game chat during the Packers-Vikings game

    Tight end Tucker Kraft played a key role in solving the Vikings’ blitz last year

    When the Packers defeated the Vikings 33-10 at US Bank Stadium last year, they created the blueprint for others on how to beat defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ scheme, Tucker Kraft said. It may be debatable whether the Packers exposed fundamental weaknesses in the scheme, but there’s no denying that Kraft played a huge role in the holes they punched in it. Kraft had six catches on six targets for 48 yards. While the distance wasn’t extraordinary, he continued to make himself an open target first and helped spark drives. Of his first five catches (for 45 yards), all but one were a Vikings 5- or 6-man blitz. His first five catches were on drives that resulted in a field goal and two touchdowns. “If you blitz 5 or 6, you leave holes in the defense,” Kraft said. “So we just took advantage of that. There were guys open. We had a pretty complete game plan. The key to that was just finding the blitz. The Vikings lead the league in sacks with 15 and are coming off home wins over San Francisco and Houston.

    More: No. 2 running back Emanuel Wilson earns the trust of Packers coach Matt LaFleur

    Packers don’t have to run to get bags

    When his defense is working best, coordinator Jeff Hafley puts pressure on the quarterback without having to blitz. He gives his defensive linemen room to rush upfield and try to get to the quarterback or blow up the run-blocking scheme, so he expects them to apply pressure without much help. The Packers didn’t rush with as much intent the first two weeks because they had to deal with running quarterbacks, but they let it loose against Tennessee. Of their 11 sacks, eight of which came against the Titans, only two have come while more than four have been rushing the quarterback. All three of Devonte Wyatt’s defensive tackles featured four-man rushes. “I think that’s always the first thing you look at,” Hafley said. “Should we rush more than four?” Because if we don’t, that’s great. Get more people covered. But I think we performed really well last game and did some things where we need to clean it up and get better. We are still not consistent enough.” One big difference this week will be that the Vikings’ offensive line is much better than Tennessee’s, so some of the easily won one-on-ones won’t be there. This should set a new benchmark for how the four-man rush performs.

    Pete Dougherty chat: Readers have questions about quarterbacks and more ahead of Sunday’s Packers-Vikings showdown

    Rookie kicker vs rookie kicker

    The Vikings have a rookie kicker. Will Reichard has hit all five of his field goal attempts and all ten extra points so far. All five of his field goals have come at US Bank Stadium, so if he attempts one Sunday, it will be his first outdoor goal. Reichard, who played at Alabama and was the NCAA’s all-time leader in career points, was a sixth-round draft pick. He replaced Greg Joseph, who was in Green Bay training camp and plays for the New York Giants. The Packers also have a rookie kicker. Brayden Narveson scored nine of 11 field goal attempts and all six extra points. All his kicks were attempted outside. Both teams roll the dice with rookies, but the Vikings had a lot of question marks entering the season, and going with a rookie wasn’t as big of a gamble as it was for the highly rated Packers. At some point, one of these two will be called upon to make a game-winning kick. Maybe it’s Sunday.

    More: Here’s a look at a Minnesota Vikings reporter watching the Packers-Vikings Week 4 matchup

    Former Wisconsin linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel will present a pass-rush challenge

    The Packers are used to preparing for pass rusher Danielle Hunter, but with Hunter gone, the challenge hasn’t gotten any easier. The Vikings signed former Miami outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel and former Houston outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard to fill the void, and the two have combined for seven sacks through the first three games. Van Ginkel transferred to Wisconsin from Iowa Western Community College in 2017 and had 12 sacks, 7½ tackles for loss, seven passes defended, two interceptions and four forced fumbles over two seasons. Miami drafted him in the fifth round and he started 42 of the 73 games he played in over a five-year span. He had 17 sacks and 13 tackles for loss for the Dolphins before signing a two-year, $20 million deal with the Vikings. He has had a sack in every game this season and returned an interception for a touchdown in the season opener against the New York Giants. “He’s a problem,” LaFleur said. “They are doing very well with him. What makes it difficult is that they can get into their five-down linemen look where he is on the ball, or they can use him as a stand-up linebacker off the ball in their four-down look. He made some great plays.”

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