National Football League

Green Bay Packers: Whose stock is up? Whose is down?

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 10:38 p.m. ET

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Green Bay Packers fans, otherwise known as devoted Cheeseheads, witnessed one of the more deflating losses in a quite a while last night that saw the Vikings edge the Packers 17-14.

But while they still had a chance to at least tie the game with 1:56 left, the final score isn’t indicative of how thoroughly Green Bay was outplayed … and outcoached.

The offense, in particular, was out of sorts as Aaron Rodgers and his receivers weren’t always in sync while the running game failed to establish any sort of rhythm against a talented Vikings front seven that came after their adversaries with reckless abandon.

Coming into the contest, it was the Packers defense that seemed to have the decided advantage over a vulnerable Minnesota offensive line.

But despite numerous pressures and four sacks on the part of Clay Matthews, Nick Perry and company, the recently-acquired Sam Bradford proved resilient in his first start and was successful in beating the blitz as the game moved into the second half.

What Bradford quickly picked up on was that the opposition didn’t have any answers for his No. 1 pass-catching weapon Stefon Diggs, who torched his NFC North nemesis to the tune of nine receptions for 189 yards and a touchdown.

But as morally deflating as this loss was—and will continue to be for most Packers supporters through next Sunday—there were some encouraging performances that provide a glimmer of hope for the upcoming 14 matchups remaining on the regular-season schedule.

So without further ado, here is this week’s stock report.

STOCK UP

Green Bay Packers defensive end Mike Daniels. Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

JORDY NELSON: Ole No. 87, was Green Bay’s most effective and reliable weapon on offense. Nelson dominated cornerback Trae Waynes for most of the game and did it not only with his precise route running, but also utilized his grit and determination in beating his man on a 21-yard comeback route midway through the second quarter.

He later used his leaping ability to go over Waynes in coming down with a 39-yard offering that put the ball on the Vikings four yard line and the offense in position to score its second touchdown three plays later on a 10-yard Rodgers scamper at the 12:50 mark of the fourth quarter.

Nelson isn’t all the way back yet and even looked rusty on an attempted back-shoulder throw where the veteran wideout continued running downfield along the left sideline rather than stop and turn for the ball.

Overall, Nelson caught five of 11 targets for 73 yards and a touchdown. Green Bay’s top vertical threat is regaining his stamina and coming close to recapturing his 2014 form.

MIKE DANIELS: Minnesota’s offensive line was ill-equipped in its attempts to stymie the interior fireplug with Daniels taking turns in discarding both right guard Brandon Fusco and left tackle Matt Kalil on his way to collapsing the pocket.

Daniels was especially dominant in the first quarter as he easily pushed Fusco back as if he were on roller skates and threw him aside before tackling Adrian Peterson for a two-yard loss on Minnesota’s opening drive.

Fusco was once again victimized on a Daniels’ sack in which the blocker was forcefully driven backwards on a 2nd-and-11 play. The one-time Iowa Hawkeye later outleveraged the 6-foot-8 Alex Boone before colliding with Peterson on a run that earned Minnesota’s all-time leading rusher no yardage with 4:17 remaining in the first quarter.

There’s nothing stylistic or complex in the way Daniels overpowers his blockers. He simply gets under his opponents pads and drives them back with his uncommon raw strength and well-positioned hands.

Early on, Daniels was a major reason why Peterson never got on track and was limited to only 19 yards on 12 carries.

Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Nick Perry. Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via USA TODAY Sports

NICK PERRY: The ascending outside linebacker delivered for the second week in a row starting with a second-quarter pressure where Perry’s burst was no match for Kalil and proceeded to drive Bradford into the arms of Julius Peppers, who received sole credit for the sack.

The 265-pound wrecking ball reemerged in the fourth quarter by running straight through Kalil as if the struggling bookend were a cardboard cutout on his way to combining with Peppers on another Bradford sack. The 3rd-and-11 play forced the Vikings to punt and gave the Packers one last shot to tie it up or take the lead.

In between, Perry continued to show the knack to explode through traffic and getting to the ball carrier on running plays while also generating two hits on the quarterback. The former Pac-12 standout is well on his way to earning himself a lucrative multi-year deal if he keeps this up.

JOE THOMAS: The second-year inside linebacker sees his blue-chip status skyrocketing not only for his efforts in stopping the run, but also for his contributions on special teams.

It was Thomas, in fact, who beat his man in the trenches and provided an opening for Ty Montgomery to sneak through and block a Jeff Locke punt that put the Packers offense in position to drive 52 yards on five plays for their first touchdown.

And for a second week running, the 25-year-old defender was masterful in using his closing speed to tackle players in space.

Thomas immediately cut off Jerrick McKinnon on a 1st-and-10 dump-off in the first quarter by squaring him up and dropping him before he had a chance to break the play to the outside.

He was later seen closing in on McKinnon in the fourth quarter and recorded a spectacular solo tackle in which the running back had no chance to accelerate to the perimeter on a 2nd-and-27 play at the 11:55 mark of the fourth quarter.

STOCK DOWN

Aaron Rodgers. Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

AARON RODGERS: It almost feels like sacrilege calling out one of the greatest quarterbacks of the modern era in a game where he was directly involved in both touchdowns that were scored by the Packers in their Week 2 loss. But Rodgers made just as many plays to lose the game than he did to win it.

Rodgers overthrew a wide-open Davante Adams who had a step on Waynes and then fumbled the ball (recovered by J. C. Tretter) on back-to-back plays at the end of the first quarter.

Two other fumbles followed. One of which was recovered by Jared Cook on a running play in which Rodgers ran for a nine-yard gain; the other resulted in a takeaway as Brian Robison stripped the franchise signal caller after fighting through a Bryan Bulaga block.

Rodgers’ trademark accuracy wasn’t nowhere to be found for much of the night even when targeting Nelson who also saw the ball sail out of his reach on one occasion.

There were other instances where Rodgers was very fortunate not to get picked off, such as a 2nd-and-goal play where he didn’t see Terrance Newman lurking in the vicinity of Adams in the end zone.

Newman nearly intercepted another Rodgers’ delivery right following the fourth-quarter two-minute warning with the 38-year-old cornerback anticipating a sideline pass to Nelson that he couldn’t haul in.

The 12th-year pro ultimately did throw an interception (his first versus the Vikings in 254 pass attempts) on the following 3rd-and-14 play targeting Adams who elevated for a pass that went through his hands and into the mitts on Waynes.

The receiver holds some (if not more) responsibility for that turnover, but it doesn’t make up for the quarterback’s series of errant throws and misplays.

Is Rodgers’ latest erratic showing something to be concerned about?

While Mr. Discount Doublecheck is undoubtedly capable of pulling off the kinds of awe-inspiring plays that can make anyone’s jaw drop, he seems to be struggling in the area of consistently achieving high levels of play throughout an entire game.

After last night’s defeat, moreover, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky pointed out that Rodgers has now played in 14 straight games (including the playoffs) in which he has failed to reach a 100.0 passer rating.

On the bright side, Rodgers looked and sounded confident that Sunday’s night’s setback could easily be reversed and put in the rearview mirror during his post-game press conference—so there’s that.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams. Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

DAVANTE ADAMS: Mr. Adams continues to incur the wrath of Packers’ fans worldwide with his inability to secure balls that hit him in the hands. The beleaguered receiver was bailed out by a pass-interference call on first-quarter downfield pass that (you guessed it) went right through his hands.

Adams was also bailed out on a three-yard completion that he coughed up, but was luckily recovered Randall Cobb after opposing safety Andrew Sendejo momentarily had it in his clutches before allowing the Packers to maintain possession.

Though the 6-foot-1 pass catcher bounced back by inducing another pass-interference infraction and later caught a fourth-quarter 10-yard slant in which he shook off Waynes to get open, he failed miserably on his attempt to pull in the aforementioned Rodgers’ offering at the end of the game on 3rd-and-14.

The throw wasn’t pin-point accurate, but was close enough for Adams to have caught it if he could have properly adjusted to it. But not only did he mistime his jump, he totally missed making contact with the ball as it fell through his hands (a recurring theme) and landed into the welcoming gloves of Waynes.

The only thing No. 17 seems to be consistent with is catching 50-percent or less of his targets on a weekly basis.

Adams’ highlight-reel receptions don’t make up for his failure to make the routine ones with any sort of regularity.

The California native has tremendous upside and the Packers need him to produce, but they can’t wait forever. The likes of Montgomery, Jared Abbrederis, Jeff Janis and even Geronimo Allison could eventually be called upon to replace him.

JASON SCHUM: The only thing more frustrating than watching Schum uncork punts of 34, 35 and 38 yards among his five attempts is hearing Al Michaels rub it in by saying something to the effect of, “And there he is with another short punt.”

I have yet to understand the logic of the Packers’ front office in cutting ties with both Peter Mortell and Tim Masthay prior to the start of the regular season outside of the fact that Schum works for the mere NFL pittance of $525,000.00 per year.

DAMARIOUS RANDALL: Dom Capers’ decision in putting Randall on Stefon Diggs in the absence of Sam Shields was the logical move given the second-year cornerback’s natural man-coverage skills.

The failure to make adjustments and finding another way to defend the big-play receiver in time before it was too late was a damaging blunder that played a significant role in the Packers coming up short in their bid to earn a valuable division road game.

At no point did it appear that Randall was any match for Minnesota’s dynamic playmaker. In fact, not only couldn’t the Arizona State product prevent Diggs from reeling in throws, he couldn’t lay a finger on his opponent in his futile attempts to tackle him.

Randall afforded the speedster excessive cushion in his fear of Diggs getting behind him. As it turned out, that extra space conceded by the Packers’ defensive back was enough for the skilled route runner to blow by Randall and leave him in the dust.

That’s precisely what took place on a second-quarter Bradford-Diggs connection where the young Vikings’ weapon outran his cover man 44 yards down the field before Randall was able to track him down.

Diggs was back at it in the third quarter off by exploding past Randall on a play that covered 46 yards.

The second-year wideout made it easy for Bradford to beat the blitz with the separation he created. All told, Diggs registered nine catches for 182 yards and a touchdown.

The only time Randall prevented Diggs from catching the ball was on a late-game pass-interference penalty that allowed the home team to run out the clock.

This was the type of performance that could potentially shatter a young man’s confidence. But one trait that all quality cornerbacks have is a short memory.

It would probably behoove Randall to wipe out this unpleasant experience from his memory bank once he’s done viewing the game film and make a renewed commitment to start playing with some more down-to-down aggressiveness and physicality.