After a solid victory in Week 17 that locked up the No. 1-seed in the NFC and gave Matt LaFleur the most wins of any NFL head coach in his first three years (39), the Green Bay Packers are comfortably in the driver’s seat heading into the playoffs.
But maybe the best part of the weekend was serving up a healthy butt-kicking to the Vikings.
After a close loss to Minnesota in Week 11, a 27-point win sure was sweet.
So let’s get right to it and dive into the stock report for the Green Bay Packers after a 37-10 home victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football in Week 17.
Buy
Matt LaFleur- Packers head coach Matt LaFleur sure doesn’t get the credit he deserves for just how good the Packers have been over the past three seasons. When LaFleur first took over, people scoffed at it, saying that the relationship between Aaron Rodgers and him just wouldn’t work. Since then, he’s been the most winning coach in his first three seasons in NFL history. For the “But he has Aaron Rodgers” crowd, people forget how the team struggled in the couple years before LaFleur got there, even with Rodgers at the helm. This is his best shot at winning Coach of the Year. This is his best shot at leading the Packers to the Super Bowl. Buy.
Allen Lazard- Mentioned on Tuesday by Aaron Rodgers himself on the Pat McAfee Show, Allen Lazard has really stepped in to his own and put together a stretch of four really solid games. There were a few games there over a month ago where he didn’t seem like himself. Since that mini-slump, all he’s done is produce. Six catches for 72 yards and a touchdown on Sunday proves how much Rodgers trusts him. Between that, and his continued presence as a blocker in the run-game, Lazard has really carved his own unique spot in the offense.
De’Vondre Campbell- My goodness, De’Vondre Campbell was all over the field on Sunday. Well, I take it back… He’s been all over the field all season. Four of his eight tackles against the Vikings forced a fourth down for Minnesota’s offense. His physicality in the run game, coverage in the pass game and ability to make open-field tackles has been so fun to watch this year. The Packers will need solid play from him moving forward, and it’s a good bet that they’ll get it from their standout middle linebacker.
Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams- I don’t have to type anything for this. You already know just how good these two are.
Rashan Gary- I added Rashan Gary to the ‘buy’ list last week, and I hope you bought him when you did. His stock just keeps rising, and I actually think it will continue to do so heading into the playoffs. Gary is one of four players in the league with a streak of 10 or more games with multiple quarterback pressures. That includes a sack, two tackles for loss and four quarterback hits against the Vikings.
Sell
Corey Bojorquez- Corey Bojorquez found himself on the ‘buy’ list often during the beginning of season. When he gets ahold of one, he’s one of the top punters in the NFL. But one of the main selling points for picking up Bojorquez was because he had experience kicking in the cold in Buffalo a season ago. Has he been excellent in the cold of Lambeau Field? Not so much, unfortunately. He had a rough hold on a field goal attempt early in the game that was near-milli-seconds away from disaster. Then, he didn’t get a good boot on either of his two punts, including a shank that went for just 24 total yards and a touchback that resulted in a net of 19. With the Packers clinching home field advantage throughout the playoffs, which means cold-weather kicking, I’m reluctantly selling Bojorquez and hoping I’m wrong.
Josiah Deguara- Has Josiah Deguara done some good things? Sure. Has he stepped up and filled Robert Tonyan’s role the way that we had hoped? Not exactly. A dropped touchdown on the first drive and 11 yards on three targets wasn’t exactly a standout performance for the 94th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. With the increasing playing time that Tyler Davis has seen, and the way that the offensive staff rotates in Marcedes Lewis and Dominique Dafney consistently, Deguara’s spot in the offense is more of a job-by-committee.
Hold
The starters- Or maybe don’t hold the starters? That’s up to Matt LaFleur, his coaching staff and his best players. It seems like the decision has already been made for those guys to play, at least for a bit, on Sunday against the Detroit Lions. Even though the game is essentially meaningless with the No. 1-seed locked up, Rodgers contends that it’s important for him to play and keep the momentum going. However, there’s always the risk of someone getting hurt. Hindsight is always 20/20, and you never really know in situations like this. Would love to see everyone’s thoughts (respectfully, reasonably) in the comments below.
Go Pack Go!
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Gunnar Davis is a lifelong Packers fan and a recent graduate of Simpson College, where he was a 3-year letterwinner on the offensive line and graduated with a degree in multimedia communications. You can follow him on Twitter at @Gunnar57Davis.