The Green Bay Packers (8-3) fell 34-31 to the Minnesota Vikings (5-5) Sunday in Minnesota. The Packers’ defense struggled to have an answer for Kirk Cousins’ offense.
Despite the loss, Green Bay’s offense consistently put up points. Aaron Rodgers completed 23 passes on 33 attempts for 385 yards and four touchdowns. AJ Dillon led the team in rushing with 53 yards on 11 attempts. Both Davante Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling had impressive days. Adams caught seven passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Valdes-Scantling caught four passes for 123 yards and a touchdown.
Packers’ Defense Struggles
On defense, Preston Smith sacked Kirk Cousins twice and forced a fumble. Darnell Savage almost had interceptions on two occasions, but one was overturned due to a penalty and the other was dropped. Otherwise, not much went right and the Vikings’ offense had a field day.
Cousins completed 24 passes on 35 attempts for 341 yards and three touchdowns. Dalvin Cook led the team in rushing with 22 attempts for 86 yards and a touchdown. In addition, Justin Jefferson shined with eight catches for 169 yards and two touchdowns.
For the Vikings defense, Harrison Smith and Armon Watts both collected a sack with the latter forcing a fumble.
The Packers struck first in the high-scoring affair with a 54-yard field goal from Mason Crosby. The Vikings answered back with a 51-yard field goal of their own. The Vikings then added to their lead with a one-yard touchdown rush from Cook, however, Greg Joseph missed the extra point.
In the second quarter, the Vikings added on to their lead with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Cousins to Adam Thielen. The Packers then struck back on a 25-yard touchdown pass to Josiah Deguara.
In the third quarter, the Vikings took another two-score lead on a nine-yard touchdown pass to Jefferson. The Packers answered with a 10-yard touchdown pass of their own to Adams.
Halfway through the fourth quarter, the Packers took the lead back on an 18-yard touchdown pass to Adams. In back-and-forth action, the Vikings retook the lead late with two minutes left on a 23-yard touchdown pass to Jefferson. Cook then ran the ball in for the two-point conversion to make the score 31-24 in favor of Minnesota. Just nine seconds later, the Packers tied the game on a huge 75-yard touchdown pass to Valdes-Scantling. However, the Packers’ defense couldn’t stop the Vikings. There was too much time on the clock for the Vikings and Joseph nailed a 29-yard field goal to seal the game.
Key Takeaways
The Packers’ defense that’s been stellar had disappeared, allowing 408 total yards. They had 59 more offensive yards than the Vikings and still lost. In addition, Packers were penalized eight times for 92 yards while the Vikings, the eight most penalized team in the NFL, only committed three penalties for 25 yards.
Rodgers looked good despite missing most of the Packers practices with a toe injury.
“It’s very, very painful.” Rodgers said postgame. “I got stepped on in the first half and that kind of activated all the symptoms that I was having. It’s going to be another painful week next week, and then hopefully I can get healed up during the bye.”
Injuries Showing
For a team that has battled all season, the injuries certainly showed during the game. Without the Packers’ premier Cornerback Jaire Alexander, Jefferson was able to cook the Packers defense. The pass rush was lackluster as well, as the team was missing Rashan Gary, Za’Darius Smith and Whitney Mercilus. Also, with David Bakhtiari and Josh Myers both out due to injuries, the Packers’ rushing attack has not been as good and Rodgers is not as comfortable in the pocket. Now, the offensive line situation will be even worse, as Elgton Jenkins, one of the best young linemen in the NFL, went down in the fourth quarter with a knee injury and has been confirmed as an ACL tear, ending his season.
The offense was also without wide receiver Allen Lazard and running back Aaron Jones, which significantly slowed the firepower of the offense. As a result, Dillon was never able to get going in the run game, and most of the focus was on Adams as other receivers were not as much of a threat.
Looking Ahead
Next week, the Packers take on the Los Angeles Rams in Green Bay which is sure to be an important game in pursuit of the number one seed in the NFC. With a Packers win and Arizona Cardinals loss, the Packers could move back into first place and control their destiny the rest of the season.
However, to beat the Rams offense, the Packers offense has to get going from the start and keep their foot on the gas. In the words of Rodgers, “We’ve got to start faster.”