GREEN BAY – Jordan Love continues to take his recovery day by day and remains limited in practice, so he's making no promises as to whether he'll return from his knee injury to play Sunday against Minnesota.
But the Packers quarterback is feeling better, moving better, and doing more in practice this week than last, so plenty of positive signs exist.
With the NFC North-leading Vikings and their 3-0 record coming to Lambeau Field, there's certainly a level of urgency for Love to return, but a division rival's visit isn't part of the decision-making process.
"We're building it up for sure," Love said of his workload. "I'm trying to push it and I've been trying to get back as fast as I can no matter who the opponent was."
Love admitted he was "close" to playing last week at Tennessee, and his pregame workout at Nissan Stadium – which was conducted as part of his rehab plan, not as a test to see if he could play that day – went well.
So he continues to be encouraged by his progress, as well as impressed with what backup QB Malik Willis has accomplished in his place, chalking up two victories and a 120-plus passer rating.
But whether it's Love or Willis under center Sunday, the Vikings' defense poses a challenge unlike any Green Bay has faced in the early stages of this season.
Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores, in his second year under head coach Kevin O'Connell, has ramped up the disguises and confusion in Year 2 while incorporating several new, veteran faces in his unit.
In the secondary, cornerback Stephon Gilmore has joined Bryon Murphy Jr. and safeties Harrison Smith and Cam Bynum. Up front, edge rushers Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel – who have combined for seven sacks – flank veteran interior presence Harrison Phillips.
The results have the Vikings leading the league in sacks with 16 and allowing the second-fewest points in the league through three weeks, just 30.
"They give you a lot of different looks, and much like we talk about the illusion of complexity where we like to give looks that are difficult on the defense, but simple for us, I feel like that's what they do," Head Coach Matt LaFleur said. "They have a system in place that makes it easy for their players, or easier for their players to go out there and execute. But it makes it extremely difficult on the offenses they are going against."
After Minneosta's Week 2 victory over San Francisco, cameras and microphones caught 49ers QB Brock Purdy telling Flores, "Your scheme is crazy." This after Purdy was both efficient and productive in going 28-of-36 for 319 yards and 101.3 passer rating.
But an interception deep in San Francisco territory set up a Minnesota touchdown and the 49ers were just 2-of-10 on third downs in scoring only 17 points.
LaFleur added the Vikings constantly change their defensive personnel groupings in order to deploy various pressures and coverages, which "causes you a lot of headaches."
Love said they make those pressures and coverages look the same despite defenders playing different positions, so it's hard to be certain pre-snap what exactly they're running, and it's incumbent on the quarterback to decipher the scheme immediately post-snap.
"At the snap of the ball, (you're) trying to figure out, 'Are they bluffing (the blitz)? Are they coming?'" Love said. "It's a challenging defense. Not going to sugarcoat it.
"But you've got to be able to go out there and play the game and find those completions and get the ball rolling."
Last year in Week 17 at Minnesota, Love did an incredible job figuring out what the Vikings were doing and changing protection calls at the line of scrimmage to make several clutch throws and explosive plays.
But Flores has only grown more exotic and unpredictable with his pressure schemes now, making it all the more imperative Love has enough mobility to avoid sacks and dangerous hits in order to play.
"We've just got to be locked into be able to pick some of that stuff up," Love said. "But at the end of the day, it's football and there's always a risk of getting sacked or hit. So like I said, (I'll be) trying to get the ball out of my hands as quick as possible."
