The Green Bay Packers dropped to 11-5 in the final week of the season after a 27-25 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at US Bank Stadium on Sunday.
The Packers jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but trailed by 10 at halftime and twice led by 17 in the second half before scoring 15 straight points in the fourth quarter to make the final few minutes engaging.
A couple of passes from Sam Darnold, who finished with a career-high 377 passing yards, ended things on the final drive.
Here are the good, the bad and the ugly from the Packers’ loss to the Vikings:
Good
Late fight: The Packers trailed 20-3 and 27-10 but never folded. During a three-possession series, the Packers played touchdown-stop-try, and with just over two minutes remaining, the score became 27-10 to 27-25. Unproductive for three quarters, Jordan Love completed 9 of 11 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter. But it was too little too tardy. The Packers couldn’t get another timeout that would have given Love a chance to win the game on their final possession. The Packers can’t expect to sleepwalk through three quarters and beat one of the NFL’s best teams, especially on the road.
Badly
Pass Defense: The Packers gave up 33 targets and allowed just one target on 44 possessions by Sam Darnold, who tore through Green Bay’s injury-riddled pass defense. The Vikings quarterback consistently hit the mark and found great plays up the middle. Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Jalen Nailor combined for 19 catches, 242 yards and two touchdowns. The Packers finished the game with just five quarterback hits. That’s combined with the secondary missing two pass-rush starters who look to disrupt the pocket and a good passing attack that the Vikings will exploit every time.
Ugly
Second and third quarter: The Vikings dominated the middle quarters, outscoring the Packers 27-7. Minnesota scored five goals in six possessions and gave up only seven points after a Sam Darnold interception in the third quarter. The Packers lost three points on a long field goal as time expired in the first half, followed by a touchdown to the Vikings early in the second half, turning a 10-3 game into a 20-3 deficit. Thanks to the immense advantage created in the second and third quarters, the Vikings were able to survive the end of the rally.
