The Green Bay Packers were back in the winner’s circle with last week’s 27-20 win over the New York Giants.
Jordan Love’s 17-yard touchdown to Christian Watson and Evan Williams’ subsequent interception saved the day, as the Packers moved to 6-3-1 before the meat of their schedule hits.
Football season, for all intents and purposes, starts on Sunday for these Packers. With five of their last seven games against divisional opponents, their playoff fate will be decided by these games.
Here are our top 10 players this week to ensure they start off this stretch on the right foot.
Speaking of the right foot, the right foot of Brandon McManus has been a point of contention throughout the course of this season.
McManus has been banged up and ineffective.
Despite the injury, Matt LaFleur and his team has stuck behind him throughout this process.
“Again we’ve leaned on him a lot for this,” Special Teams Coordinator Rich Bisaccia said.
“He’s had it once before. He tried to adjust a little bit. You can ask him about it. Adjust his plant foot to some degree when he’s coming back from the injury, but again, looking at yesterday’s film and what he did and how he felt. I think to his opinion, I think he’s back a little bit. For him, to me, the confidence he has and the swagger he has and the crap in his neck that he has, I think that was missing for a little bit as well. I think now he has confidence he can kick the ball the way he wants to and hopefully it’s gonna do what he wants it to do.”
What he wants it to do, is go through the uprights.
That’s something that the ball has not done often enough when McManus has kicked this season.
As the weather turns to November and December, the stakes get raised.
The Packers’ 2023 season was ruined because their kicker could not put the ball through the uprights consistently.
McManus was supposed to be the long-term solution to that problem. He must prove to be that once again.
The Packers’ secondary had plenty of opportunities to come up with game-changing plays last week against the New York Giants.
Jameis Winston threw five passes that hit a Packers’ defensive back in the hands. Two of them went off the hands of Carrington Valentine. One was off Keisean Nixon. One in Javon Bullard’s hands but subsequently broken up by Isaiah McDuffie.
The last one, finally, was caught by Evan Williams to seal the team’s 27-20 victory.
The Packers should have more chances this week. Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy has the highest rate of turnover worthy plays in the NFL according to PFF.
He will put the ball in harm’s way. Someone has to catch the ball when he does that. Last week, Kevin Byard was the recipient for Chicago with his league-leading fifth interception coming against McCarthy.
This week, Xavier McKinney, one of the league leaders last season in interceptions, could have an opportunity to add to his tally. Green Bay has four interceptions this season, and all of them have come from the safety room.
McKinney has two of them, and knows his team needs to catch the ball to make those game-changing plays.
“I mean, it’s tough anytime where you when you get an opportunity and you can’t squeeze that op, obviously, it’s tough,” McKinney said this week.
“And, you know, I think we’ve, we’ve talked about it just amongst the back end, the defense about, you know, ‘Once the opportunity presents itself, we can’t leave any meat on the bone’. That’s what we preach pretty much all the time when we talk about the ball. So we know that it’s very critical, once we see that ball, we’ve got to know, that ball is supposed to be ours every time. There’s no excuses, no ifs, ands or buts about it.”
Josh Jacobs could play on Sunday. He also might not. A banged up knee could keep him on the sideline for the first time in his Packers career. He’s going to fight tooth and nail to be on the field, but the reality is, even if he plays, Emanuel Wilson will likely step into a bigger role.
Minnesota’s defense is not as good as it was a season ago against opposing ground games. The Vikings rank in the bottom third of the league in rushing yards allowed per game.
Wilson has filled in admirably when he’s been called upon to replace Jacobs, and may be asked to do that again this week.
“He’s got no other choice if it happens that way and that’s kind of how we go about it in that room,” running backs coach Ben Sirmans said when asked if Wilson was ready to be the primary ball carrier.
“Whether it’s him or Brooks or even if Pierre has to get in there. I mean if Josh isn’t available, whoever’s in there they got no other choice but to uphold the standard that we have. That’s what it’s going to take for us to win.”
One thing is certain about Vikings’ defensive coordinator Brian Flores. He’s going to bring pressure. He’s going to make the quarterback get rid of the ball.
Sometimes that happens before the quarterback wants to get rid of the ball. Much like when Aaron Rodgers was under center, when Jordan Love is under pressure, he’s looking for someone wearing number 87.
Romeo Doubs is the leader in targets, and often is at his best when winning quickly off the line of scrimmage making contested catches.
Doubs had a rough week last week, leading the team with three drops. He’s been pretty quiet overall since the return of Christian Watson to the lineup.
With Green Bay’s banged up receiver corps, they need more from their veterans in this game. Watson will be relied on to make big plays down the field. When the chips are down, however, Love is likely to put his trust in Doubs. Doubs will need to make some key plays in this game that he missed on a week ago.
Quay Walker is listed as doubtful with a stinger that he suffered last week against the Giants. If he is out of the game, Ty’Ron Hopper is likely the next man up, but Isaiah McDuffie may be the one who is asked to wear the green dot on his helmet that is normally given to Walker.
“Yeah, how valuable is that? It’s extremely valuable,” Matt LaFleur said on Thursday.
“Isaiah’s played a lot of football for us and he’s played a lot of different positions. It does have a little bit of a compound effect in regards to -- because we all see his value on and his worth, not only on the defense but on special teams as well. And so you got to kind of protect him in that regard.”
There won’t be much protection for McDuffie, but likely more added responsibilities on defense.
Walker and Edgerrin Cooper have been a big part of Green Bay’s top-10 run defense this season. McDuffie will need to hold himself to that standard in Sunday’s game. He’s been preparing in the vent that his number is called.
“Definitely. Even if I'm not getting the reps physically, those mental reps are super important,” McDuffie said.
“So just film study. Watching tape, putting yourself in that situation, and just playing the calls in your head.”
Did we mention that Brian Flores likes to send pressure?
Well he does. The Vikings lead the league in blitz rate. In a league where defenses are becoming more passive in hopes of preventing big plays, Flores continues to attack opposing quarterbacks with complex pressure schemes.
Meanwhile, the Packers’ starting center this week will be playing in just his second game as the team’s primary pivot man.
Sean Rhyan played well last week against the Giants, but this is a different challenge against Flores and the Vikings.
“Yeah, I think Sean’s done a great job. I thought he, I mean, it was, there were a couple things, obviously, that I think that we’re going to continue to improve and work through in regards to just making sure that we have clean operation from center to the quarterback,” LaFleur said.
“But I was really impressed, number one, with his poise out there, you know. And I thought he did a great job So I’m happy with him, and I think it’s only going to get better the more he does.”
The Packers have struggled to protect Jordan Love this season, and that has bogged the offense down at times. They won’t have a ton of time to wait for Rhyan to get better in the way that LaFleur said he will as the season progresses.
That’s just the operation, let alone the mental side of things, which Rhyan said there’s more to do from a mental standpoint at center.
“Yeah, they have a bunch of things that they’re going to try to throw at us, but we have to hold up and it’ll allow some other things to open up,” Rhyan said.
“So like I said earlier, it’s kind of like a double-edged sword, if you’re going to bring a certain pressure you got to be able to cover the back end if you’re going to do certain things.”
If you’re gathering a theme here, then you’re paying attention. Emanuel Wilson might be the primary runner against Minnesota, but this week should be a time to shine for Chris Brooks.
Having Brooks on the field can be like having a sixth offensive linemen. One of the best plays of the season came thanks to Brooks’ blitz pickup against the Giants a week ago.
Savion was incredible in contested situations in college.
Today was his first contested target in the NFL. Only one result…pic.twitter.com/foj10jamQ6 https://t.co/0g28ayI2OT
— Daire Carragher (@DaireCarragher) November 16, 2025
He not only stone-walled an oncoming blitzer, he held onto the protection for a couple of seconds, allowing Jordan Love to find a big play down the field to Savion Williams.
“Honestly, we get more hyped about those then we do about the runs because it’s something -- I tell them, pass pro, I told them today, 65% of it is knowing who to block and the rest is wanting to block,” Josh Jacobs’ said about Brooks’ big play last week.
“Obviously you can always correct technique and stuff like that but you got to have the want to to go out there and do that. Especially with guys that’s 30 pounds heavier than you, to be able to just strain and really lock in. When we seen that play we always said, if you give Jordan time he going to make plays. That was probably the biggest play for our group in that game. So shoutout to him, man. Chris is a dawg. I don’t think that he gets enough appreciation and credit of who he is to this team, honestly. Whether it’s special teams or whether it’s something in our room. But yeah, I’m happy for him. Hopefully his role keeps expanding a little bit.”
With the Vikings’ desire to bring pressure, Brooks’ role could expand a lot this week.
He played just five snaps a week ago with Jacobs going down with a knee injury compared to Wilson’s 39.
Expect those numbers to be much closer this week, if not Brooks overtaking Wilson in the name of keeping Love upright.
One of the most jarring stats last week was that Rashan Gary was out snapped by his backup Kingsley Enagbare. Enagbare played one more snap (40) than Gary (39).
Enagbare is a nice player, but Gary is supposed to be one of the best players on the team. Furthermore, he’s a captain.
LaFleur was asked about that situation this week and deflected.
“Yeah, it was just, I would say, a byproduct of the game. He’s never been a huge snap count guy, as a, if you look at the course of his career,” LaFleur said.
“But yeah, just every game could unfold a little bit differently. And I think JJ (Enagbare), I think he’s been doing a heck of a job. So I’d say that’s more of just a credit to how JJ has gone in there and done his job.”
The noise surrounding Gary is only going to get louder if his production is going to match his dwindling snap count.
Gary does not have a sack since the team’s 35-25 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at the end of October. He’s been shut out for the last three games.
With all the attention paid to Parsons in pass rush sets, Gary was supposed to be the beneficiary of more one on one opportunities.
This week needs to be a week where Gary re-emerges as a game wrecker. Perhaps building a lead early against the Vikings could help in that regard.
“Certainly you want to continue to improve and get more pressure from all your players across the board. I think if we go back and look at the last three weeks, I mean, I don’t know if a quarterback has thrown for, if you really look back, from the Carolina game, I think they threw for 100 yards. The Eagles didn’t throw the ball very much. The Giants threw for 200 yards.” Defensive Coordinator Jeff Hafley said.
“People are running the ball at a high number of snaps against us right now. Other than early in the year when we’re up on those teams and they have to throw the ball, there’s some quarterbacks right now throwing for 500 yards last week, and there are some quarterbacks throwing for over 40 completions last week.
We’re getting a limited amount of pass rush opportunities. You know truthfully what happens, I think, picture it this way. It’s 40 rushes, right? And you’re playing the run and you’re playing the run and you’re getting double-teamed and you’re setting the edge, and all of a sudden, it’s a play-action pass and you have to have a conversion rush where it’s not a drop-back pass, right? And a lot of it’s not drop-back pass. We’re getting a lot of early-down play-action pass where it’s six-, seven-man protection, where it’s double-team, double-team, double-team and maybe there’s one one-on-one and there’s two guys out on routes. So a lot of the passes that we’re seeing that are in a limited role, it’s going to be hard – much harder than if a team has to drop back and throw the ball 45 times against us, which I don’t think any of us have seen. It’s why, I totally respect all the questions, but in defense of these guys right now, there’s limited opportunities to truly pass rush. Because even on third down, the runs are going way up. The screens are going way up. People are just trying to get the ball to fourth-and-2, right?
Keisean Nixon has been in this spot before. A season ago, he saw a lot of Justin Jefferson with Jaire Alexander sidelined with a lower body injury.
“When we played here last year, that was my first game playing (outside) corner,” Nixon said.
“I was just learning how to adjust to it. I think the second time we played them in Minnesota, I played a lot better. I’m definitely comfortable at what I do now. Great player, but you know what time it is.”
Jefferson responded to Nixon’s first day on the job with six catches, 85 yards, and a touchdown. A quieter day by Jefferson’s standards, but the Packers are going to try and take him out of the game as much as possible.
Nixon is once again going to be one of the men responsible for doing that. Nixon has played a mixed brand of football this season.
He’s tied for the league lead with Cincinnati’s DJ Turner in pass breakups with 14 on the year. He’s also been victimized in coverage in some big spots. Last week, the Giants converted two crucial third downs with Nixon in coverage, including one to Isaiah Hodgins, who was on Pittsburgh’s practice squad to begin the week.
Jefferson is not a former practice squad receiver. He’s one of the best in the NFL.
“Oh, man, he is as good as they get in this business,” LaFleur said.
“I just, I love how the guy competes with the football, without the football. Matter of fact, there was a clip that we showed just, you can see the urgency of which he plays. He catches the ball, he goes to the ground, nobody touches him, he gets up and he gets 15 yards, you know, after going to the ground. So he can run every route. There’s not a route he can’t run. He can run short routes, the choice routes, he can go deep on you. He’s got tremendous ball skills. I just think, I, there’s a lot to like about his game.”
The Packers need his game to be quieter this week. It’ll be a collective effort, but Nixon is likely going to see a lot of Jefferson, making it his job to keep him quiet.
Jordan Love played one of his best games as a pro last week against the New York Giants.
Yes, you read that right. In a case where the box score does not tell the whole story, Love’s 13/24 day against the Giants with two touchdown passes was one of his best games.
His completion percentage would look much better if the Packers were not plagued by drops.
This week, however, they need to be better collectively in the passing game. Brian Flores has faced Love four times in his career, and gotten the better end of the matchup three of those four times.
Last year at Lambeau Field, Love and the offense piled up yards and four passing touchdowns, but almost all of that came after they fell into a 28-0 deficit they could not climb out of.
Furthermore, Love threw three interceptions. Minnesota’s defense thrived on takeaways a season ago, but has just three interceptions to its name this year. Love needs to continue to take care of the ball against a defense that will try and confuse him.
"I think he's just gotten better every year he's been in the league," Flores said about Love.
"I think just watching him and his cadence and how he goes through the cadence and tries to use that to uncover what the defense is doing, really, the entire game; there isn't really a down where he's not doing that.
"They've got some funky ball handling that's clearly practiced, and he does a great job with that as well," Flores added. "Even the little things, the minutiae at the quarterback position. He was behind one of the greats, (Aaron Rodgers), so he learned a lot from him. I think Matt does a great job.”
LaFleur and Love will need to be on the same page this week, and Love will need to be decisive in the event that one of Flores’ pressure looks gets home.
Green Bay’s ground game has been mediocre most of the year and might be missing their best player. This game could fall on the shoulders of Love. Beyond just this game, this is the time of year that elite quarterbacks earn their paycheck.
Love and the offense were often too small for the moment a season ago. This year, they need to rise to the occasion, that begins this Sunday against a team that beat them twice a season ago.
“It’s a defense we’ve seen a good amount over the last couple years, and it’s a very good defense. I’ve got a lot of respect for him and what they do, where they throw a lot of different looks at you,” Love said about Minnesota’s defense..
“and I think they try and make it tough on offenses to figure out what they’re doing and kinda get a bead on what they’re throwing at you, but a lot of different personnels, a lot of different pressures, things like that, so something you’ve just got to study throughout the week a good amount and understand that there will be some wrinkles in there, and you never really know what to expect when you get to the game, but just have a plan for a little bit of everything and just stick to our rules and our fundamentals as an offense.”