Of all the teams in the NFL, the Packers could be the least-equipped to deal with a quarterback injury. That’s due to the unique abilities of their quarterback and the structure of their offense. So much of the Packers’ offense is based on isolation routes. They rely on Rodgers’ ability to hit incredibly tight windows or scramble around to extend plays and find an open receiver. No quarterback is able to replicate what Rodgers does as regularly as he does it.

Brett Hundley, the Packers’ fifth-round pick in 2015, has the unenviable task of taking over the reigns. In order for him and the Packers to be successful in Rodgers’ absence, Green Bay is going to need to change its offense.

The reasons are clear based on Hundley’s performance in relief of Rodgers Sunday. He started poorly. In fact, his first throw was an interception.

On third and two, the Packers attempt to run a slant-flat combination, designed to create traffic and make an easy throw to the flat for a short gain and the first down.

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However, the Packers don’t execute the concept particularly well, with the two receivers not crossing until the ball was already in the air. This meant no traffic was created and the defenders were able to work around the attempt to disrupt their paths to the ball. Hundley’s throw is behind the intended receiver, leading to a tipped pass that gets deflected straight to a defender who completes the interception.

While Hundley struggled, throwing three interceptions on the day and completing just 54.5 percent of his throws, Packers Coach Mike McCarthy didn’t help him out as much as he could have. Instead of adjusting his offense to fit Hundley, McCarthy continued on with the same offense he runs with Rodgers, consisting of lots of isolated and long-developing routes.

Here on third and five, the Packers have Nelson run a long-developing pivot route to the right, with a basic go-out combination on the back side. The Vikings went after Hundley aggressively, as seen here by sending safety Harrison Smith on a blitz.

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Hundley looks to the safeties to check their rotation post-snap before looking to his right to find Nelson. The Packers keep in their tight end to help pass protect, but he is left to block a defensive end on his own and is predictably beaten almost instantly. The offensive line slides away from the blitz, meaning Smith gets a free run at Hundley, who has no time to wait for Nelson to pivot his route back outside. As a result, Hundley is sacked.

The Packers will need to work harder to help Hundley if they are to salvage anything from this season. They need to incorporate some simple route combinations to give Hundley quicker reads and allow him to make some easier throws. One of the few concepts the Packers used that did exactly that was successful.

This is a quick-seam concept. The inside receiver runs a crossing route designed to vacate space behind him for the quick seam/post route. In this case, Jordy Nelson runs the crossing route to clear the way for Randall Cobb.

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The play works exactly as intended, with Nelson clearing the middle of the field for Cobb to work into after a good initial jab step to fake an outside release. Hundley makes an easy read and throw and Cobb makes the catch for a first down.

The Packers have to incorporate more of these types of concepts, but they need to be creative while doing so. Later in the game, they ran the exact same concept from the exact same formation.

The Packers use the same trips formation with three receivers to the left and a tight end isolated to the right. Nelson again runs the inside crossing route while Cobb trails behind him on the quick seam route. But having seen the exact same play from the exact same formation earlier, the Vikings recognize it and adjust, taking away both Cobb and Nelson. That forces Hundley to scramble as he attempts to extend the play, but Nelson can’t quite hold on to a catch down the sideline.

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There’s no problem with running the same concept multiple times, if it’s run from different looks to stop the defense from recognizing it and taking it away. The Packers’ offense doesn’t make use of multiple formations and shorter route combinations the way it should, because Rodgers is able to improvise and enables them to get away with it. Hundley won’t be able to cover that up, and McCarthy will need to adjust if he doesn’t want his offense to become predictable with an inexperienced quarterback at the helm.