GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Aaron Rodgers doesn't need more weapons at the trade deadline as much as the Green Bay Packers' defense does.

Something has to change, whether it's an influx of playmakers who can stop the run or a scheme overhaul.

If not, it will be another year where the other side of the ball costs Rodgers a shot at his second Super Bowl. Not that Rodgers has been without fault in his pursuit of a second title, but Sunday's 28-22 loss to the Minnesota Vikings (2-5) -- who essentially beat the Packers (5-2) with one player, running back Dalvin Cook -- exposed the same issues that knocked out Green Bay last year in the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers. Those same 49ers just so happen to be up next on the Packers' schedule on Thursday in California.

The Packers' first four defensive possessions Sunday at Lambeau Field ended like this:

• Cook, 21-yard touchdown run to cap a 10-play, 73-yard drive.

• Cook, 1-yard touchdown run to cap a 12-play, 67-yard drive.

• Cook, 1-yard touchdown run to cap a 10-play, 65-yard drive.

• Cook, 50-yard touchdown catch to cap a four-play, 63-yard drive.

He's now the first Vikings player to score four touchdowns at Lambeau Field, the first visiting player to score four touchdowns here since Carolina's DeAngelo Williams in 2008, and the first player since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger to score a TD on each of his team's first four possessions of a game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Cook piled up 226 yards of total offense (163 rushing and 63 receiving) on the way to his four scores.

Indications are that Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has been actively seeking receiver help -- he has reportedly been in contact with the Houston Texans about Will Fuller in advance of Tuesday's trade deadline. If he wasn't looking for defensive help before Sunday, he might have to now.

In the Packers' two losses this season, the defense couldn't keep up after fast starts by the offense. It was a 14-14 game on Sunday with both teams scoring touchdowns on their first -- and only -- two possessions of the first half. In the second half, the Vikings' defense, playing with a makeshift secondary, stopped Rodgers and Davante Adams, who had the first two touchdowns. The Packers' defense couldn't answer.

As for what coach Matt LaFleur can do, well, he won't have much time to come up with an adjustment on a short week, facing the team that embarrassed them twice last year, 38-7 in the regular season and 37-20 in the NFC title game. It would be nearly impossible to change defensive coordinators at this point, but Mike Pettine's status appeared shaky in the aftermath of the 49ers' 285-yard rushing performance, so perhaps that will come into question at some point again.

Including playoffs, the Packers have now allowed the last two instances of a player recording 200 yards and four TDs in a game: Cook on Sunday, and Raheem Mostert in the 2019 NFC Championship Game.

At least they're done with Cook, who has six of the Vikings' eight touchdowns against the Packers this season, and Mostert is on injured reserve and won't play Thursday.

QB breakdown: In high winds, Rodgers was still efficient early on by keeping things short. He completed his first nine passes before taking a shot in the end zone from 17 yards out. In the third quarter, he hit tight end Robert Tonyan deep for a 45-yard completion when it was a 21-14 game. The Packers opened with consecutive 13-plus-play drives, only the second time in Rodgers' tenure that they've opened a game with two such drives. Rodgers finished 27-of-41 for 291 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.

Promising trend: Both of those long drives to open the game ended with touchdown passes to Adams, who added a third touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. Over the past five seasons, Adams has 11 games with multiple touchdown catches. No other player ended Sunday with more than eight such games over that span.

Troubling trend: For the third time in the past four games, the Packers' defense failed to force a turnover. They have just four takeaways all season (two interceptions, two fumble recoveries). They haven't had an interception since Week 2. They're on pace for nine takeaways this season after getting 25 last year.