The Minnesota Vikings dominated the Green Bay Packers by a score of 23-7 in a game that never really felt close.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell became the fifth head coach in Minnesota Vikings history to win his debut for the franchise.
When the grades came in, they looked really good but there were some disappointing performances.
Here are the best and worst of Sunday’s PFF grades.
Top 3 offense
- Justin Jefferson 91.1
- Kirk Cousins 85.1
- Brian O’Neill 80.6
These shouldn’t come as a surprise. Cousins looked incredibly confident throughout the game on Sunday, making Aaron Rodgers look like a lesser quarterback. Jefferson proved for what feels like the umpteenth time that he is the best wide receiver in the National Football League. He dominated in multiple ways with great catches and being dynamite after the catch. O’Neill also shouldn’t be a surprise as he has been far and away the most consistent player on the Vikings roster over the last few years.
Bottom 3 offense
- Irv Smith Jr. 42.3
- Ben Ellefson 45.0
- K.J. Osborn 52.8
While it is a little frustrating that Smith Jr. finished with the worst PFF grade, it also shouldn’t be a massive surprise. He hasn’t played in a meaningful football game since the end of the 2020 season. They also eased him in with only 19 snaps in his debut. In turn, Ellefson only played 17 snaps in a reserve role. The biggest surprise was Osborn. He was a non-factor on Sunday catching only three passes for 14 yards. It is easy for your third wide receiver to be overshadowed when Jefferson goes off like he did but you would have expected more from the emerging star.
Top 3 defense
- Ross Blacklock 89.7
- Harrison Smith 87.5
- Dalvin Tomlinson 83.8
This was a nice showing for Blacklock who was only used a rotational player on Sunday’s game. Over 10 pass rushing and total snaps, Blacklock accumulated two pressures which is exactly what the Vikings wanted to see. Smith was his usual great self and got an interception on Rodgers at the end of the first half which helped his astoundingly great 89.3 coverage grade. Tomlinson was all over the place for the Vikings, including recovering the Rodgers fumble .
Bottom 3 defense
- Akayleb Evans 39.2
- D.J. Wonnum 55.0
- Za’Darius Smith 55.2
A fourth-round rookie, Evans having this low of a grade isn’t too surprising. Only playing in six snaps, he allowed a catch for nine yards on his only target of the game. Wonnum had an average game. He had two pressures and a sack but the sack came on a broken play and from effort rather than skill. Seeing Smith on here is a little surprising. He looked dominant at times throughout the game but he did go long spells without making an impact.
Other notables
- Ed Ingram 79.3
- Garrett Bradbury 59.5
- Camryn Bynum 73.4
Seeing Ingram accrue such a high grade in his debut performance was nice to see. He was violent in the running game but, just as Bradbury did on Sunday and in the past, his pass blocking was not there. He had a pass blocking grade of 31.2 over 33 pass blocking reps but a staggeringly low 2.8 on 15 true pass blocking sets. That is a trend that we have consistently seen from Bradbury but it wasn’t a great debut from Ingram. Bynum was just as we had hoped: a solid complement to Smith on the back end. The most impressive thing was his tackling grade at 87.2. With Cine coming back into the fold, the Vikings will have three really good players on the bak end.
