The Green Bay Packers' Evan Williams, right, intercepts a pass in front of the New York Giants' Jalin Hyatt during the second half Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP photo)

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — With a young quarterback up next on their schedule, the Green Bay Packers are hoping to make the most of their opportunities for a potentially important turnover.

By an unofficial count, the Packers had five chances for interceptions against Jameis Winston on Sunday, and they came away with one of them: Evan Williams’ end-zone pick in the fourth quarter that helped seal a 27-20 victory over the New York Giants.

“I mean, coulda, woulda, shoulda. You had five opportunities to come away with interceptions, and we had one,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “You guys saw the game. Those were in our hands. The expectation is we’re going to make those plays.”

The good news for the Packers (6-3-1) heading into Sunday’s matchup with the Minnesota Vikings (4-6) at Lambeau Field is that J.J. McCarthy is throwing interceptions at an alarming rate.

Not only has McCarthy been picked off eight times — including at least once in each of his five starts this season — but his 5.7% interception rate is the worst in the NFL among current starters.

“I think in some ways, you definitely are like, ‘OK, there’s going to be a lot of (opportunities),'” Packers safety Xavier McKinney said. “But I also think that they have really good playmakers, where they can kind of make the game a little bit easier for him.

“From a back-end perspective, we’ve got to make sure that we’re on our job, doing what we’re supposed to do.”

The Giants scored two of their three touchdowns on Sunday after a Packers defender dropped a potential interception. The missed opportunities also allowed the Giants to run 69 plays, the second-most for a Packers opponent this season.

Both McKinney and cornerback Keisean Nixon pointed out that Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell is one of the NFL’s top offensive play-callers. They expect O’Connell to do what he can to reduce the number of situations that could lead to a mistake by McCarthy.

The 22-year-old McCarthy, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 draft, was sidelined for his rookie season because of a knee injury.

Green Bay lost both of its matchups with Minnesota last season as Sam Darnold completed 74.7% of his passes for 652 yards for the Vikings with six touchdowns and two interceptions.

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