MINNEAPOLIS -- Mike Zimmer has had some success against Aaron Rodgers over the years -- and his Minnesota Vikings still held Rodgers to relatively underwhelming numbers in the Green Bay Packers' 30-13 win on Sunday -- but Zimmer has been doing his job long enough to know that sometimes, the game's elite quarterbacks aren't going to be completely restrained.
Asked last week if he appreciated coaching against the great ones, Zimmer said, "After I’m done playing them I do, I guess. The great players are always tough to defend. I wish he wasn’t so great. Hey, I’m just being honest."
Rodgers went 16-for-34 on Sunday. He threw for only 212 yards and missed a couple opportunities for big plays when his receivers appeared not to be on the same page as him. The Vikings tricked the Packers on one of their double-A gap blitz looks, dropping their linebackers into coverage and sending Captain Munnerlyn for a nine-yard sack. But even with those constraints, Rodgers found a way to make a few big plays when he escaped the pocket.
Two of his biggest strikes of the day -- a 37-yard completion and a 27-yard touchdown to James Jones -- came on plays few other QBs can make, when Rodgers rolled out and threw a dart on the move. More teams have tried to blitz the Packers QB lately, but the Vikings sent extra pressure on only 26.7 percent of Rodgers' dropbacks, electing to play coverage and trying to keep the quarterback from finding big plays. According to ESPN Stats and Information, Rodgers was only 2-for-7 outside the pocket; his two completions were the aforementioned shots to Jones. Even with the Vikings' game plan, Rodgers got the better of a defensive coach he holds in high esteem.
"When you’re playing in (pattern) match coverage, which they did today, there’s going to be some second and third reaction plays and you have to get outside the pocket and make something happen," Rodgers said. "That’s part of our offense. When things break down, the key to it is the offensive line. I think they blocked really well and gave me a chance to step out to my right a couple times."
Here is a review of the Vikings defense after Sunday's loss:
Total defensive plays: 77
Defensive line:
Brian Robison: 66
Linval Joseph: 65
Everson Griffen: 62
Sharrif Floyd: 44
Tom Johnson: 41
Danielle Hunter: 30
Notes: Robison continues to have a resurgent season at age 32; he was one of the Vikings' better run defenders on a day where Eddie Lacy wound up with 100 yards on 22 carries. He made an outstanding play on a third-and-1 in the first quarter, shedding Bryan Bulaga's block and turning James Starks back for a four-yard loss, forcing the Packers to bring on Mason Crosby for a field goal. Robison also had a hit and three hurries on Rodgers. He limped off briefly with an apparent right leg injury, but returned after what the Vikings called an illness. The fact he's having a strong season has allowed the Vikings to shorten their defensive end rotation to three; the only time Hunter got more playing time this season was when he started in place of Griffen against Kansas City.
Linebackers:
Anthony Barr: 72
Eric Kendricks: 68
Chad Greenway: 22
Jason Trusnik: 3
Notes: Kendricks, who came back from a rib injury that kept him out for two weeks, didn't have his best day in his return. He got upended by T.J. Lang on Starks' 30-yard gain off a screen pass in the third quarter, and Rodgers' first strike to Jones came on a third down in the first quarter, after the receiver found space behind Kendricks as he was sitting in a shallow zone. Barr got fooled on one of Rodgers' hard counts on a third down in the first quarter, and his illegal-contact penalty on third-and-9 extended the Packers' touchdown drive before halftime. The fact the Vikings spent most of the day in nickel meant Greenway didn't play much; some of his snaps came late in the third quarter, when the Vikings tried to get breaks for Barr and Kendricks.
Defensive backs:
Andrew Sendejo: 77
Xavier Rhodes: 77
Harrison Smith: 72
Terence Newman: 71
Trae Waynes: 6
Antone Exum: 4
Notes: Lacy's biggest run of the day -- a 27-yard gain -- came when he used one of his patented spin moves to elude a tackle from Sendejo. Rhodes got beat on Rodgers' 37-yard strike to Jones after the quarterback broke out of the pocket, but the corner had a solid day overall. He's certainly not the first victim of Rodgers' shots from outside the pocket. Smith left in the first quarter to get his left knee wrapped up, but gutted it out as he always does. Newman's 50-yard pass interference penalty in the second quarter came when Rodgers took a deep shot to Jeff Janis on third-and-15 from the Packers' 15. Newman grabbed Janis as he reached back for an underthrown ball, and the Packers turned the drive into a touchdown. Newman also gave up Rodgers' 27-yard TD to Jones in the fourth quarter. "I was trying to find Jones was at, and at that point, I looked back and the ball was coming," Newman said. "At the end of it all, it's kind of a situation where, they're on the sideline -- he threw a ball that, either his receiver gets to it or nobody gets to it."