Winners and losers: 5 takeaways from Packers loss in Week 4

The Packers did not have quite enough gas left in the tank to engineer a magical comeback against the Vikings in Week 4 but fans at Lambeau Field should have left the game encouraged about the team's medium and long-term prospects. Losing to Minnesota at home is never good, but the positives should outweigh the negatives for Green Bay when they look back on this game with a healthy dose of perspective.

The real downside to losing 31-29 to the Vikings is that the Packers now find themselves two full games behind Minnesota in the race for an NFC North Title. Green Bay will need Minnesota to stumble several times down the stretch if they want to capture a division crown. It's now much more likely that the Packers will be finding their way into the postseason via a Wild Card berth rather than a division title.

When the Packers do look on their Week 4 loss they should focus in on these five players as stars who raised their stock or underperformed against the Vikings.

Winner No. 1: Jordan Love

Jordan Love was not perfect as he returned from the knee injury that sidelined him during the team's Week 1 defeat against the Eagles. In fact, it's reasonable to say that his three interceptions cost his team the chance to knock off the Vikings.

Focusing on his three interceptions ignores the most important thing the Packers learned about Love on Sunday afternoon. The real story is that he returned to the field and looked 100 percent in terms of his recovery. That's a massive boost for Green Bay as they enter the meat of the regular season in Week 5 and beyond.

He also happened to throw for 389 yards with four touchdown passes. His return to the field immediately injected much-needed life into the Packers' passing attack. The Vikings secondary struggled all afternoon to keep the ball in front of them. That vertical element was really missing for Green Bay during Malik Willis' two starts.

Love knocked any rust he might have racked up during his injury absence during the team's furious comeback late against Minnesota. Packers fans might wish he could have been more precise in his return from injury but that's too big of an ask for any player. Love showed the upside that makes him Green Bay's best player in this game and that should have been the team's No. 1 priority heading into the division clash.

Winner No. 2: Jayden Reed

The second-year pro is starting to separate himself in the race to become the team's No. 1 wide receiver. He put up 139 receiving yards and a touchdown this week to pace the Green Bay receiver room. Reed's ability to pop explosive plays makes him the most dynamic receiver available to Love.

The key for Reed is to make sure he continues to post enough touches from his slot position to be the team's top option. Head coach Matt LaFleur and his staff are creative enough to give him opportunities to touch the ball in space. Reed must continue to make opposing defensive backs miss if he wants to continue to enjoy such a prolific workload.

The odds favor Reed being able to keep the momentum going. He popped a 42-yard reception in this game and he's got the right combination of speed and elusiveness to really trouble opposing defenders. His target share should increase as the regular season rolls along.

Winner No. 3: Quay Walker

The Packers defense gave up 31 points in the loss which means not many of defensive coordinator's Jeff Hafley's unit had banner days. Linebacker Quay Walker was a bright spot despite the team's failings on the defensive side of the ball.

The former first-round pick led the unit with eight total tackles and also recorded Green Bay's only sack of the day. His activity level went a long way towards making sure the Packers weren't totally blown out in the second half. His outstanding play shouldn't go unnoticed despite the poor defensive effort by Green Bay on the day.

Loser No. 1: Preston Smith

The Packers pass rush was unable to really trouble Vikings' quarterback Sam Darnold as Minnesota sprinted out to a 28-0 lead in the first half. A lot of the team's edge-rushers deserve criticism but veteran Preston Smith was arguably the worst of the bunch.

He didn't manage a sack and only contributed two tackles on the day. Minnesota was able to neutralize him on obvious passing downs and they ran the ball right at him when they chose to run the ball. Anytime a sack specialist fails to produce pressure from the edge it's a problem. Smith came up empty against the Vikings and will be expected to do more to justify his playing time in future weeks.

Loser No. 2: Emmanuel Wilson

The Packers No. 2 running back job is still up for grabs and Emmanuel Wilson failed to do anything to take the spot against Minnesota. He got eight carries but was only able to produce 27 yards on the ground against the Vikings' 3-4 front.

Wilson also was unable to add even a single reception to improve his offensive output. The fact that Josh Jacobs outperformed him on the ground and through the air is a bad sign for Wilson's chances of increasing his touches in future weeks. In fact, it's very likely that Wilson will be locked in a fierce competition with MarShawn Lloyd once Lloyd returns from injury. Wilson's anonymous performance against the Vikings hurt his team and his individual stock in the Week 4 loss.