And given the Packers defense’s track record in recent weeks, Hall a fifth-round pick from BYU, might just be the next quarterback to put up big numbers.
DeVito, who has since been benched by the Giants, completed 17 of 21 passes for 158 yards and wasn’t sacked or intercepted while compiling a 113.9 passer rating in the Giants’ 24-22 win on Dec. 11.
DeVito also ran 10 times for 71 yards and hit on a couple clutch throws late in the game to set up the game-winning field goal on his way to earning NFC offensive player of the week honors.
Mayfield, playing at Lambeau Field for the third straight season with his third different team, became the first visiting quarterback in the stadium’s history to put up a perfect passer rating of 158.3, throwing for a season-high 381 yards and four touchdowns in a 34-20 win. Like DeVito, Mayfield won the NFC offensive player of the week award for his performance.
Then came last Sunday, when Barry, after watching Mayfield carve up his zone coverages, played more man coverage against the Panthers and saw his defense play well enough to win through three quarters.
But the unit collapsed in the final 15 minutes, allowing a pair of touchdown drives to erase the Packers’ 30-16 lead. Although quarterback Jordan Love led the Packers offense to the go-ahead field goal, Young got the Panthers in position to force overtime on a 49-yard field-goal attempt but his spike to stop the clock came after it struck 0:00, and the Packers escaped with the win — despite Young, the rookie No. 1 overall draft pick, throwing for a career-high 312 yards on the day.
Asked Thursday evening if it’s vital to get off to a strong start against Hall to keep him from gaining momentum and confidence, Barry agreed.
“That’s our mindset, that’s our want every week,” Barry said. “It’s always very, very important to start fast and set the tone early.
“I thought we did that in this past game (against Carolina). But that’s the thing in the National Football League. You have to play for 60 minutes. You can’t play for 50 or 53. You have to play a complete game, and when you get in the fourth quarter, you have to slam the door. We want to start fast, but we also have to finish strong as well.”
Barry said when the coaches presented the Vikings’ depth chart to the players on Wednesday, they had Hall listed as the No. 2 quarterback behind Mullens. After O’Connell announced Hall as the starter, the coaches doubled back on film of him dating back to preseason to get a more expansive look at Hall’s strengths and weaknesses.
“He’s got really good players around him, (which) does make it a challenge,” head coach Matt LaFleur said. “I think it’s important that you try to give some looks that maybe he has a little bit tougher time processing in order to hopefully have him make a mistake.
“I think it’s going to be absolutely imperative that we do a good job of limiting his ability to make plays off schedule, outside the pocket. That’s something I think he does exceptionally well.”
Said Barry: “He’s a rookie guy that has a small sample size of a menu to go off of, but I’ve got a lot of respect for Kevin and the people there. They obviously (think) highly of him.”
That the Vikings apparently do, including star wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
“I feel like he has been doing a great job in learning and just the process of being a rookie and carrying that role,” Jefferson told reporters in Minnesota. “It’s definitely been a tough year just battling with the injuries. … (But) I feel like Jaren is definitely a great quarterback. He has definitely some potential to spark this offense up if we put him out there to play, but we’ll have confidence in whoever.”
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