The Green Bay Packers are ready to turn the page following their 27-25 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday afternoon. The loss dropped them to 11-5 on the season and into the seventh seed in the NFC Playoffs picture, behind the Washington Commanders who can clinch the sixth seed with a win this week against Mike McCarthy and the Dallas Cowboys.
Typically, no matter what the game or teams involved, there are multiple plays, calls, or non-calls that fans hang onto for days following the contest. For Packers fans, it was Edgerrin Cooper being called offsides on a field goal attempt (that was missed), resulting in a re-kick (and three points for Minnesota). For the Vikings, it was Green Bay tight end Tucker Kraft laying a low block on Vikings edge rusher Pat Jones II that knocked him out of the game.
Green Bay Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur Defended Tucker Kraft
On Monday, Packers head coach defended Kraft against critics (Vikings fans) who were labeling him as a dirty player. In part, LaFleur said: “It’s the same thing that their guys were doing to our defensive ends, okay? It’s a cross-sift. It’s a totally legal play. You’ve got to defeat the block, and there’s a lot of different ways to do it. Cox (Packers defensive end Brenton Cox Jr.) got sawed off by (Vikings tight end) Johnny Mundt one time and they got somebody else.
“They did it to us twice in the game. What are we talking about? I get it. As a defensive player, they don’t like it. I think Troy’s (NFL executive VP of football operations Troy Vincent) already come out and said that he wants to eliminate low blocks around the league. But that is — it’s part of the game. So if you don’t want to get those types of blocks, you can’t be so out of control.”
Obviously, LaFleur put the blame for the play on Jones, who was coming in too out of control and opened himself up to that kind of legal block.
Minnesota Vikings DC Brian Flores Speaks Out on the Tucker Kraft Play
According to Kevin Seifert, who covers the Vikings for ESPN, Flores agreed with LaFleur’s point of view, to an extent. He called Kraft’s low block a legal play, but also noted that it was a dangerous one.
Though Jones was knocked out of the game because of the block from Kraft, he did not sustain a serious injury.
It will not be surprising, however, if the league as whole takes a look at plays like the one the Packers tight end made and makes them illegal, much like they did low blows at the knees of running backs and pass catchers by defensive players.
