Three Historically Horrendous Performances from Packers’ Loss to Vikings

Before turning the page to the playoffs, how about one last look back at just how poorly the Green Bay Packers’ offense performed against the Vikings.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Clayton Tune (6) watches his fumble after being sacked by the Vikings. | Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ loss to the Minnesota Vikings couldn’t have been any more irrelevant, especially given the do-or-die importance of Saturday night’s playoff showdown against the Chicago Bears.

Still, a couple things are worthy of a dishonorable mention.

Putrid Packers Passing Attack

Clayton Tune was absolutely terrible against the Vikings. It also wasn’t his fault.

Going against one of the top defenses in the NFL – one that just made four-time Pro Bowler Jared Goff look foolish – Tune didn’t have a prayer.

Of his five starting offensive linemen, only one will be in the lineup against the Bears. The team’s primary receivers didn’t play. Its biggest threat at tight end didn’t play. On top of that, coach Matt LaFleur had to call a conservative game to keep Tune out of harm’s way so he could avoid the worst-case scenario of having to play Jordan Love.

With all of that as a backdrop, Tune was 6-of-11 passing for 34 yards. With four sacks for minus-41 yards, the Packers finished with minus-7 net passing yards. That was the seventh-worst performance by any team since sacks became an official stat in 1982.

In 1985, the Falcons had minus-22 net passing yards against the legendary Bears defense in a shutout loss. In 1998, the Chargers had minus-19 net passing yards in a loss to the Chiefs.

In Week 6 of this season, the Jets had minus-10 net passing yards in a 13-11 loss to the Broncos. That’s the worst game this century.

Since 1982, the previous worst for Green Bay had been plus-28 yards in a 14-10 win over the Colts in 1991.

Unofficially, according to Stathead, it was the third-worst game for the Packers in the Super Bowl era. The Packers had minus-35 net passing yards in a 28-7 loss to the Bengals in 1976 and minus-12 net passing yards in a 31-17 loss to the Bears in 1973.

With Malik Willis set to be a free agent, Tune will have the first crack at being next year’s backup. From that long-term perspective, there was almost nothing to glean from his day.

“I think it’s a very tough one to judge based on just, it’s like the perfect storm,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “You’re going against one of the most aggressive defenses in the National Football League, and they’re very good at what they do, and you do have a tough environment where you’re on the silent count. But I liked how he attacked the challenge.”

First Thing’s First

The Packers had one passing first down. Stathead has that data dating to 1999. Only four teams went an entire game without a passing first down, a feat the Packers avoided when Clayton Tune completed an 8-yard pass to Matthew Golden on the final drive.

The Giants and Jets also had one-first-down games this season.

That 8-yard pass to Golden was the team’s longest completion of the day.

“Matt’s been great,” Tune said of his former University of Houston teammate. “He’s been in the building every day working his butt off. He, obviously, has the talent and the ability, we see it in practice and obviously in the games he makes plays. It was cool being on the field with him again and looking around in the huddle and seeing him, it was kind of a little bit of nostalgia. It was cool having him out there with me today.”

Going the Wrong Way

Emanuel Wilson’s run for minus-18 yards wasn’t exactly how coach Matt LaFleur drew it up.

“We just can’t lose 19 yards on a run play,” LaFleur said after the game. “That one definitely hurt us. But all in all, I thought he certainly bounced back. He had a great kickoff return. I thought he was running hard.”

Ever seen a -19 yard rushing play?

Emanuel Wilson makes sure you have now. 😭

(🎥: @NFL)pic.twitter.com/0hL5GKP4jU

— theScore (@theScore) January 4, 2026

According to Stathead, it was the Packers’ worst rushing play that didn’t involve a fumble since at least 1978, which is when play-by-play data is available. The previous worst running play was a minus-14 play by Aundra Thompson in 1980 against Cincinnati. It was the team’s first running play that lost double-digits yards without a fumble since Equanimous St. Brown against the Browns in 2021.

The last time a running back lost at least 18 yards on a rushing play without a fumble was Seattle’s John Vaughn’s 20-yard loss against the San Diego Chargers on Sept. 18, 1994, when he turned second-and-goal at the 1 into third-and-long. That was 31 years ago.

That’s nothing, though. According to Stathead, Pat Moriarty of the Browns lost 26 yards during the third quarter of a game against the Cardinals in 1979.

Completely Dominated

This wasn’t historically bad, but it was bad, nonetheless:

The Packers were outgained by 242 yards, the fifth-worst yardage differential for the Packers since 2000. On Thanksgiving 2013, with Matt Flynn starting for injured Aaron Rodgers, the Packers were outgained by 435 yards in a 40-10 loss against the Lions.

The Vikings had outgained the Packers by 298 yards before the final drive. That would have been the third-largest differential since 2000 and the 12th-largest differential in franchise history.

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