Inbox: This unit is crazy fun to watch

Pat from Redgranite, WI

Well, that was refreshing…

Can't say I saw it coming. Not like that. But no complaints.

Michael from West Bend, WI

Was that a complete game? I think maybe so!

It'll work.

Brian from Urbana, IL

There was a stat during the game that said the Packers hung the most point by a visitor in the history of Gilette Stadium. I guess that makes it the best a man can get.

Dude, please see yourself out.

Jeff from Wentzville, MO

Wow! What a game. Definitely the most complete game Green Bay has played all season. Offense. Defense. Special teams. All first rate. My only "complaint": Tucker Kraft one reception for 1 yard. Yikes! Just beat the Vikes! Go Pack Go!

They needed his blocking, and he was inches away from an explosive play for a TD on that seam ball.

David from Dayton, OH

Dude. Wow. I'm not sure I've ever watched a game that gave me the giggles like watching that RIDICULOUS air attack, have you? How close to a perfect passer rating was Jordan Love?

5.1 rating points. He was at 153.2 and the max is 158.3. If the Kraft TD connects, he almost certainly maxes out. 372 yards on 29 attempts is just absurd.

Ron from Round Lake, IL

Someone just brought up the name of Daryle Lamonica in comparison with Jordan Love. Is Love the new Mad Bomber?

Haven't heard that name in a long, long while. The approach can have its drawbacks. No arguing that. But these Packers are always looking to make you pay if you blitz. That's just their MO.

Reed from Myrtle Beach, SC

Maybe, just maybe, someone, somewhere might actually mention Jordan Love among the MVP candidates now?

I devoted my entire Rapid Reaction column to that topic.

Scott from Lake Wissota, WI

Now that's what we've all been waiting for! If we can work on the execution of the Tuck Push, we may have something here.

Jordan Love's two false starts on the season gonna hurt those MVP chances. That's a joke, folks.

Jerry from Grantsburg, WI

Jordan Love will rightfully be in the MVP conversation as the season goes on, but I gotta ask how many more games like this will it take for Evan Williams to be considered for Defensive Player of the Year?

I love Williams, don't get me wrong, but I'm still not sure he's the best safety on this team. Xavier McKinney takes a back seat to no one in my book.

Graeme from Tucson, AZ

Do you have a little "kudos" smile to yourselves when Final Thoughts plays out so fittingly during the game? Good call on the Patriots struggling if they were to turn the ball over. And so it was spoken by Spoff and Hod!

I talked about it on Final Thoughts, Unscripted, and Packers Preview, and I wrote about it in my One Last Look column. The way the first eight games went for both teams, this matchup of Packers D vs. Patriots O screamed turnovers would be the difference.

Jerry from Boynton Beach, FL

I hope Jonathan Gannon has a multi-year contract. The man is a genius. He's been able to use the individual talents on the defense to the best of each player's ability, put them in positions to shine, and have them flying around and playing as a team. Best D I've seen the Packers play in my 42 years of watching the Packers.

Fritz Shurmur's '96 gang would like a word. But this unit is crazy fun to watch. Gannon can become a madman with his blitz calls down after down. Wild stuff.

Gary from Chippewa Falls, WI

JG does not show mercy.

Not in his vocabulary.

Kerry from Lakewood Ranch, FL

Is that what it looks like when all three phases click?

When the opponent doesn't take care of the ball, yeah.

Kyle from St. Charles, MO

With some of the circus catches that we're seeing on a play-to-play basis, it's insane to think that these guys are anywhere near the "most drops in the league" conversation. Of all the great plays the one that stuck out to me the most was the nonchalant one-handed catch by Christian Watson on that crosser. Week-to-week league, but it'll be a lot of fun if all three phases are rolling again next week, with Lambeau rockin', and JLove on this incredible heater.

The rematch with Flores' defense is going to be something.

Tim from Olathe, KS

Mike, the only other player I have seen run like Christian Watson is James Lofton. Power and beauty. It is something to behold.

I'd love to see a stride-length comparison between those two at top speed. I think Lofton's might be just a smidge longer, but I'm really curious.

Jim from Hudsonville, MI

Call me old-school, but it sure looked weird watching No. 0 play vs No. 0. By the way, our No. 0 sure outplayed their No. 0!

Christian Gonzalez is as good as it gets at corner in this league, but as Love said after the game, the Packers trust their game plan and trust their guys to make the plays. Gonzalez was playing strictly inside leverage early on, so the Packers attacked the boundary where he had no help, and they connected repeatedly. I think the fearlessness they showed against Gonzalez put the entire Pats defense on its heels.

Dan from Westerville, OH

But who is the Packers' WR1?

There's one in every crowd.

Andrew from Brownsburg, IN

At the end of last year, it seemed like we got worse every week, a lot of that due to injuries. This year it seems like we are on the ascent. Amazing win, but I don't think we've even seen the Packers' ceiling yet. Do you think Kaleb Johnson earned RB1 today?

If Josh Jacobs can carry the ball with the broken finger, I think he's still RB1. But Johnson might've nailed down RB2 in this game. He ran hard and protected the ball. That short TD run is how I love to see a back attack the goal line.

Mike from Knoxville, IA

We don't need no stinkin' run game! That was a beatdown.

The Packers will need a running game to reach their peak. I'm sure of that. There were signs of life, and maybe the offensive line is finally settling down. Baby steps.

Andy from Danvers, IL

Can you recall such a dramatic in-season improvement like what we have seen this year from the Falcons game to now? The improvement on this team has been so much fun to see, and with all of the adversity they have faced and overcome, it seems like the sky is the limit for this group.

2023 wasn't that long ago. That team went from 3-6 to an eyelash short of the NFC title game.

Richard from Madison, WI

The NFC North currently has all four teams with (at least) six wins. Has that ever happened before at the halfway mark of a season?

I don't know, and I don't know what to consider the "halfway mark" anymore in a 17-game slate. But I know that 6-3 is not normally a last-place record. Here's the really tough part – amongst the Vikings, Bears, Lions, Packers, 49ers, Rams and Seahawks, at least two of those teams will miss the playoffs.

Mike from Geneva, IL

Is it unreasonable to think Brandon Cisse deserves early consideration for Defensive Rookie of the Year? Has there ever been a winner of that reward that wasn't a first-round pick? He has proven to be a steal!

Long way to go, but it'll be interesting to see if he's in the discussion. Last year's winner, Cleveland's Carson Schwesinger, was a second-round pick. Before that, you have to go back to, I think, Indy's Shaq Leonard in 2018, also second-rounder.

Tim from De Pere, WI

There were some really awesome plays this game, but I gotta say the Cisse deflection into the Williams INT was particularly impressive. What would you say was one of your favorite plays this game and/or this season?

I don't have time to think about the whole season right now. But from this game, turning the fourth takeaway into a TD in one play on the 39-yard score to Watson was probably my favorite. That was a "we ain't (messin') around here" play call.

Phil from Sioux Falls, SD

In a game where almost everything went right, what exited you most? 0 turnovers vs. 4 takeaways? Basically penalty-free? Love and his 150-plus passer rating? Smack without a miss? The slight glimmer of a run game? Or Matthew Golden and Watson with 17 catches on 18 targets for 330-plus yards? OR hearing GPG fairly loudly at the end? Did I miss anything? Wow.

Wanted to make sure to mention Trey Smack amidst all this. I thought LaFleur's postgame comment about the rookie kicker was very interesting.

Dale from Prescott, WI

Looks like the Pack came out of that win pretty dinged up, hopefully not serious. Vikings will have one day less of rest, so we got that going for us, which is nice.

Whatever helps. Really looking forward to watching Bills-Vikes on MNF tonight.

Bob from New Britain, CT

Hey Mike, the only pro football game I've ever seen in person was the Packers vs. the Patriots at Gillette Stadium in 2002. The Packers won that game convincingly. As Yogi Berra would say, today was like deja vu all over again!

I'm trying to remember if there were any road stadiums other than Gillette where Rodgers never won a game for the Packers as starting QB. He only played one there and lost, in 2018. Love got a win there on his first try and set a scoring record by an opponent to boot. You just never know in this league.

Rich from Holmen, WI

There was a new CBA for NFL refs signed this past year. One of the Key Accountability and Performance Provisions in the 2026 CBA is a demotion to the UFL: Underperforming officials not assigned to playoff games can be required to work in the United Football League (UFL) as a developmental/disciplinary demotion. Wonder if Alex Moore's crew is heading there after the season. Would think the new CBA with refs was to create a better product...guess it's a work in progress.

That's putting it mildly.

Pete from Hillsborough, NC

Why is it an unnecessary roughness penalty for a hit to a receiver can be overturned, but roughing the passer can't?

Great question.

Tim from Superior, WI

Given that emotion plays such a critical role in football, especially in home games, do you think the temptation to suit up and activate Micah Parsons against the Vikings would perhaps overrule caution? Could you possibly envision a scenario where his presence on the field in a late-game Minnesota drive could be a deciding factor in a near must-win outcome?

Could I envision a scenario? Sure. Do I think it's realistic? No.

Jim from Westboro, WI

Do you think Holmgren will make it into the Hall of Fame in 2027? Personally I think what he did in Green Bay should be enough. He was a huge part of what turned us from the NFL doormat to the team everyone has been trying to beat. I hope voters remember the '70s and '80s like I do.

Holmgren won't be in Canton's class of '27 because Belichick will be the lone coach finalist this go-round. What's less certain is whether or how long Holmgren will have to wait for another chance as that finalist (he was the choice two years ago when those newfangled byzantine voting rules aced him out) with two-time Super Bowl winners like Mike Shanahan and Tom Coughlin still looking for their first shot.

Ray from Phoenix, AZ

So, the cat is almost out of the bag. The Pack plays KC next year. The Packers and Chiefs have opened satellite team shops in Germany. You know the sausage and beer producers can ramp up production at any time over there. So, if Arthur Bryant's all of a sudden sends a team of BBQ Pitmasters to Germany, we will know for sure the Pack and Chiefs will be playing their game in Berlin or Stutz Guard. You heard it here first!

I think it's Stuttgart, and that's not a German city in which the NFL has played a game yet (Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt are the three thus far). Regardless, I hear you, and this merchandise venture seems awfully suspicious.

Jim from Prairie du Chien, WI

Good morning all! Hey Spoff, if your boss wants The Boss, I would think you'd use your resources to make it happen. Maybe contact your buddies from The Guess Whom and have them pull some strings. GPG!

Clearly my work here is done.

John from Rhinelander, WI

I'm going to guess that you have had very few submissions with whining and complaining in them for today's column.

Easiest postgame column I can recall writing in quite some time.

Megan from Quincy, IL

What a win! Let's keep that momentum going into next Sunday.

Sounds like a plan. Happy Monday.

HAVE A QUESTION?