Green Bay Packers

Should Packers be concerned after Week 1 loss to Minnesota?

Updated Sep. 12, 2022 6:55 p.m. ET

Perhaps Aaron Rodgers needs Davante Adams more than he's let on.

The latter was stellar in his opening affair with the Las Vegas Raiders, totaling 10 catches for 141 yards and a TD with his new QB Derek Carr. The former meanwhile, sputtered to just 195 yards through the air on a 22-for-34 mark, while failing to find the end zone and throwing an INT in Green Bay's 23-7 loss to Minnesota.

Rodgers also dealt with some drops from his new-look receiving corps, including one on a fly route to rookie Christian Watson, who would've walked into the end zone had he hauled it in.

"We had a lot of chances today," Rodgers said of his offense's performance after the game. "Not taking anything away from (the Vikings') defense, but we hurt ourselves many times, myself included. I had a lot of opportunities to score a lot more than seven (points)."

"Drops are going to happen, it's part of the game," Rodgers went on. "It's the mental stuff that we just can't have because we're hurting ourselves. Look, we've got to have patience with those guys. They're young. They haven't been in the fire. The patience will be thinner as the season goes on, but the expectation will be high. We'll keep them accountable, but it's going to happen. There's going to be drops."

In "Undisputed" cohost Shannon Sharpe's view, Green Bay doesn't have much to worry about going forward.

"I think when they get [David] Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins back, that will solidify their offensive line," Sharpe said Monday. "I don't care who your quarterback is, you pressure him enough, you'll fold him up. This was more about the Vikings.

"Rodgers got his work cut out for him. I would've liked to see how the game played out. … They came right out, and his burner [Christian Watson] from North Dakota State drops it. Green Bay was never really able to get anything else generated outside of that. [The Vikings] did a great job of relentless pressure on Rodgers, and the guys got no separation. They were covered up. … I'm not concerned about Aaron Rodgers. He turned the ball over twice yesterday. He turned the ball over twice in 15 games last year. He's not a guy that's mistake-prone, but they put him in a situation where he didn't have a choice."

Skip Bayless was more perturbed by the L than Sharpe, but remained confident in the reigning MVP.

"For some reason, Joe Wood — the defensive coordinator for Green Bay — he has a top-flight, All-Pro type of corner in Jaire Alexander, and he will not travel him," Bayless scolded. "He just sits him on the right side. They have to let Jaire take Justin [Jefferson]. You've got to challenge him, make somebody compete with him.

"The other issue is Green Bay was running it down Minnesota's throat yesterday. They averaged 6.2 yards a crack running the football, but if you only go 18 tries, it's not enough. You threw it 39 times, twice as much as you ran it, and Aaron was having a long, hard day. Aaron might've needed an ayahuasca session after that. I'm going to remind you … Green Bay lost their Week 1 game a year ago 38-3, and had a 19 QBR, and guess what he did after that: won a back-to-back MVP. All is not lost."