Live Updates: Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings
MINNEAPOLIS - Follow along all day for the latest from U.S. Bank Stadium as the Green Bay Packers kick off the season at the Minnesota Vikings.
Fourth Quarter
Packers 43, Vikings 26
Green Bay's defense appeared to call it a day but the offense kept right on rolling. A 40-yard completion to Davante Adams on first-and-20 set up Aaron Jones' 5-yard touchdown for the clinching score. Rodgers is up to 364 passing yards. Adams has 14 catches for 156 yards and Green Bay has piled up 524 against what had been a powerhouse defense in past seasons.
Packers 36, Vikings 18 (10:02 remaining)
Green Bay, as it had done for most of the day, had all the answers. After Minnesota cut the margin to 11, Aaron Rodgers led the Packers right back down the field for their fourth touchdown in five possessions. This one, on third-and-goal from the 4, went to Allen Lazard. Lazard set up the score with a 38-yard gain on third-and-7.
Packers 29, Vikings 18 (13:53 remaining)
Two big plays by Kirk Cousins got the Vikings back in the game. On the first, coming on the final play of the third quarter, a short pass to Bisi Johnson turned into a gain of 29 when cornerback Kevin King missed the tackle. A few plays later, Adam Thielen got behind safety Darnell Savage for a 37-yard touchdown. Dalvin Cook got through Preston Smith for the two-point run.
Third Quarter
Packers 29, Vikings 10 (9 seconds remaining)
Marquez Valdes-Scantling had two ugly drops to start the third quarter but got behind cornerback Mike Hughes for a 39-yard gain to the 2. One play later, Aaron Rodgers hit Davante Adams for a 2-yard touchdown. Rodgers is 25-of-36 for 265 yards and three touchdowns. Adams has matched his career high with 13 receptions.
Second Quarter
Packers 22, Vikings 10 (halftime)
Minnesota got some cheap points to end the half. Alexander Mattison had a 21-yard run and Kirk Cousins hit tight end Kyle Rudolph for 22 more. A personal foul on safety Darnell Savage tacked on 15 more yards. Dan Bailey booted a 35-yard field goal as time expired.
Aaron Rodgers was 19-of-28 passing for 201 yards. Davante Adams’ nine catches for 103 yards gave him more yards than the Vikings’ total of 97.
Packers 15, Vikings 7 (39 seconds remaining)
Aaron Rodgers has thrown a bunch of easy passes in the first half. His 24-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams was not one of them. On the move, he threw a laser to Adams, who was standing right on the side of the end zone. Adams barely moved a muscle to make the catch. The drive was extended by Rodgers’ sneak on fourth-and-1.
Packers 8, Vikings 7 (8:08 remaining)
The Packers’ red-zone offense has been abysmal. Completions of 18 yards to Davante Adams and 12 yards to Josiah Deguara gave Green Bay a first down at the 12. Aaron Rodgers threw the ball away on first, second and third downs, with the one on third down resulting in intentional grounding. Mason Crosby drilled the 43-yard field goal. Green Bay leads 171-59 in yards but by one point on the scoreboard.
Vikings 7, Packers 5 (11:39 remaining)
Green Bay used the same offensive formula as the opening series, with a bunch of quick-hitting passes and a few effective runs sprinkled in to get into scoring range. On a third-and-5, Davante Adams got himself wide open on an out vs. Holton Hill for 12 yards. On the second-to-last play of the first quarter, Allen Lazard had a 19-yard run, with tight end Josiah Deguara applying the key block. On the second play of the second quarter, Lazard and Marquez Valdes-Scantling blocked on a quick pass to Adams that gained 10 yards to the 3. However, after replay correctly ruled Aaron Jones failed to score on first-and-goal, Rodgers scrambled and threw it away on second down, Jones perhaps failed to take advantage of David Bakhtiari’s block on third down and Rodgers’ pass to Adams was incomplete on fourth down.
However, with the Vikings backed up, Jaire Alexander blitzed off the defense’s right and dropped Kirk Cousins in the end zone for a safety. Tyler Ervin returned the ensuing free kick to the 44.
First Quarter
Vikings 7, Packers 3, 3:24 remaining
Green Bay drove right down the field on its opening possession with a bunch of quick-hitting passes before the drive stalled. Mason Crosby’s 31-yard field goal gave the Packers a 3-0 lead.
Minnesota answered in easy fashion. A 25-yard pass to Adam Thielen got the Vikings on the Packers’ side of midfield. From there, Minnesota’s running game went to work. On third-and-goal from the 1, Dalvin Cook had a walk-in touchdown. The Vikings blocked down on Za’Darius Smith and safety Will Redmond was taken out by left guard Dakota Dozier to create a huge lane into the end zone.
In two noteworthy moves, Elgton Jenkins indeed started at right tackle and undrafted rookie Krys Barnes, who was promoted from the practice squad on Saturday, got the start at inside linebacker ahead of Oren Burks and Ty Summers.
Pregame
- The Packers stayed in the tunnel for the national anthem. In a statement, Packers President Mark Murphy said: “The Green Bay Packers respect the national anthem and United States flag and all that they represent, including the right to express ourselves.
“We decided as a team to remain in the locker room during the playing of the national anthem and ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ so as to not distract from our message that we stand united for social justice and racial equality.
“This is part of our continued call on our leaders to engage in meaningful dialogue that results in change. We feel it is important for all of us to participate in these difficult conversations with humility and be open to different perspectives.”
- The Vikings aired a video on race in America with the so-called black national anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing," providing the musical backdrop. George Floyd, whose killing at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer fueled months of protests and violence that continue to rage across the nation, was honored before the game.
Both teams were in the locker room when it aired.
Minnesota's players entered the field with the usual pregame video and smoking Viking ship but at greatly reduced decibels.
- Elgton Jenkins, Green Bay’s starting left guard, looks like he will start at right tackle.
- While it is only one of 16 games, history says it is a big one. The 54 Super Bowl winners went 44-9-1 in Week 1 on their way to winning the championship.
Since 1978, when the NFL went to the 16-game schedule, and excluding the strike-interrupted 1982 season, teams that are victorious in Week 1 reach the playoffs 52.2 percent of the time. The losing teams, on the other hand, make the postseason at only a 24.0 percent clip. In fact, more Week 1 winners won division championships (196) than Week 1 losers reached the playoffs (148).
- It is an eerie feeling inside an empty U.S. Bank Stadium. One of the loudest stadiums in the league was so quiet, you could hear the training staff put their players through their pregame warmups.
Pregame Reading
Four Days: Four Questions from Behind Enemy Lines
Three Days: Three Reasons for Concern
