Vikings Beat Packers, Sack Green Bay in NFC North Standings

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Minnesota Vikings made an emphatic statement on Sunday at Lambeau Field. They are Super Bowl contenders because of their rampaging defense and addition of Kirk Cousins. The Green Bay Packers made a statement of their own.

They aren’t good enough to compete in the powerhouse NFC North.

The Vikings dominated the Packers for almost the full 60 minutes to beat the Packers 30-10.

Minnesota’s ferocious front pillaged Green Bay’s porous offensive line, with Jordan Love absorbing an appalling eight sacks and at times seeing pressure when there was none. The Packers turned it over four times – a horrendous interception by Love when he wasn’t pressured, a wayward shotgun snap that Love couldn’t reach, a fumble by backup tight end Mark Redman and a fumble by kickoff returner J. Michael Sturdivant.

Love watched the final 4 minutes from the sideline. He was 17-of-27 for 220 yards, but the eight sacks cut the net total to 161 yards. He was pressured on 54 percent of his dropbacks, according to the early numbers from Pro Football Focus.

The sacks tell the story. The division standing show the reality.

The Lions, who beat New England in Germany, are 7-2. The Bears, enjoying their bye week, are 7-2. The Vikings, who had lost two in a row but traded for Kirk Cousins this week, are 7-2.

The Packers are 6-4. They are two games behind everyone in the loss column and even further behind the Vikings because of the head-to-head tiebreaker.

The Crusher

The Packers cut a 20-0 deficit to 20-10, but the Vikings had the killer answer with a 75-yard touchdown drive midway through the fourth quarter that not only meant seven points but devoured almost 7 minutes off the clock.

The absolutely killer play was third-and-12. The Vikings had four receivers to the left and an empty backfield. It seemed obvious where the ball was going. Indeed, it was a quick pass to Justin Jefferson, who used those other receivers for an escort for a 16-yard gain.

That set up third-and-1 at the 20. A couple years ago, Packers coach Matt LaFleur dialed up a touchdown pass to Luke Musgrave by having Jordan Love fake a pass to the left, fake a pass to the right and then hit the tight end over the middle. On this play, Kirk Cousins faked a pass to the left, faked a pass to the right and hit tight end Gavin Bartholomew over the middle. He caught the pass at the 15, stiff-armed Evan Williams to the turf and scored to make it 27-10 with 8:29 to play.

J. Michael Sturdivant fumbled away the ensuing kickoff, and some of the fans started heading for the exits before Will Reichard’s field goal extended the margin to 30-10.

At the 2-minute warning, only the fans in purple remained in the stands.

Finally, Packers Get Rolling

The Packers trailed 17-0 late in the first half but had a chance to double up at the end of the second quarter and the start of the third quarter.

Instead, the offensive line implosion continued. The half ended with Jordan Love taking back-to-back sacks and the second half started with John Williams’ shotgun snap being so far to Love’s left that he didn’t even get a finger on the ball. The Vikings recovered the bouncing ball but the defense, thanks to Keisean Nixon’s second-down deflection and Lukas Van Ness’ third-down sack, held the damage to three points.

Still, it was 20-0 with 10:02 left in the third quarter.

Finally, the Packers got going – though some good fortune. On third-and-20, Love fired one over the middle to Tucker Kraft. The ball went through Kraft’s hands and Harrison Smith’s hands before being caught by Savion Williams for a first down. Then, on fourth-and-11, Love hit Matthew Golden at the sideline for 12. On the next play, Love hit J. Michael Sturdivant for a 32-yard touchdown.

Suddenly, despite giving up two more sacks on the drive, the Packers had some life – and there was some life in Lambeau – with a 20-7 margin with 5:37 left in the third quarter.

The Packers had some real life after forcing a three-and-out. With the Packers going no-huddle, Love completed passes to Christian Watson, Tucker Kraft, Matthew Golden and Watson to get into scoring range. However, on third-and-10, nobody blocked either of safety blitzers, Josh Metellus and Theo Jackson, and Love’s all-arm pass to J. Michael Sturdivant landed short of its destination. Trey Smack’s 40-yard field goal cut the margin to 20-10 with 19 seconds left in the quarter.

Jets fly over Lambeau Field prior to the game between Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Horrendous Start for Packers

The Viking struck first. After Green Bay forced a three-and-out to start the game, it faced a second-and-10 from its 5. Jordan Love connected with backup tight end Mark Redman in the flat, but he had the ball punched loose immediately by star edge Andrew Van Ginkel, who recovered at Green Bay’s 10.

The defense did well to limit the damage. On second-and-15, Barryn Sorrell beat Lukas Van Ness in a race to the quarterback to sack Kirk Cousins. One play later, Will Reichard kicked a 34-yard field goal.

The Packers got into scoring position on the ensuing drive, but Dallas Turner destroyed left tackle Jordan Morgan, with Morgan and Turner combining to take down Love for a sack. Trey Smack’s 53-yard field-goal attempt was wide right.

Set up with a short field, the Vikings struck again. On third-and-8, safety Evan Williams blitzed and clobbered Cousins to force an incomplete pass. A flag was thrown for a facemask on the Vikings. Coach Matt LaFleur could have the Vikings kick a 41-yard field goal or push the Vikings back for 15 yards. LaFleur took the penalty and the Vikings made him pay the highest price imaginable.

Cousins ripped one up the seam to Myles Price, who bounced off Brandon Cisse at the 12 and strolled into end zone. Cisse was shaken up – he eventually walked to the locker room with a rib injury and did not return – and the Vikings led 10-0 with 2:46 left in the quarter.

From Bad to Worse

Green Bay got into the red zone on the next possession, meaning a matchup between Jordan Love and the Vikings’ top-ranked red zone defense. The Vikings won. Love felt pressure that really didn’t exist and threw one off his back foot to Tucker Kraft up the seam. The pass went right to safety Harrison Smith for Green Bay’s second turnover.

After an exchange of punts – Love was sacked on second and third down – the Vikings took advantage of another short field to drive 55 yards for a touchdown and a 17-0 lead.

The Packers appeared to have made a game-changing play when Karl Brooks took down Kirk Cousins, who threw a boneheaded interception to Lukas Van Ness. However, Cousins was correctly ruled down, so Brooks got the most inconsequential sack imaginable. That’s because on third-and-15, Cousins went deep to Tai Felton for a 24-yard completion to the 1. Aaron Jones scored on the next play.

Incredibly, the Vikings – who were playing without top tight end T.J. Hockenson, No. 2 receiver Jordan Addison and No. 3 receiver Jauan Jennings – led 17-0, even with the defense having held Justin Jefferson to one catch for 13 yards.

The Packers went three-and-out on the next drive. Matthew Golden, coming off a huge game against New England, dropped a pass on second down and couldn’t make a diving catch at the sideline on third down. Through five possessions, the Packers had 38 yards and averaged 1.9 yards per play.

With a speck of life late in the first half following Xavier McKinney’s interception, Love completed two passes for first downs to Matthew Golden before he was sacked on back-to-back plays. The Packers punted, with Love having completed seven passes and getting sacked five times.

The half ended with the Packers getting booed off the field.

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