The Green Bay Packers dropped to 11-5 entering the season’s final week after losing 27-25 to the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday.
The Packers took an early 3-0 lead but trailed by 10 at halftime and twice trailed by 17 in the second half before scoring 15 straight points in the fourth quarter to make the final couple of minutes interesting.
A couple of completions from Sam Darnold — who finished with a career high 377 passing yards — finished the deal on the final drive.
Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly coming out of the Packers’ loss to the Vikings:
The Good
The late fight: The Packers fell behind 20-3 and 27-10 but never folded. During a three-possession stretch, the Packers went touchdown-stop-touchdown to turn 27-10 into 27-25 with just over two minutes to go. 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 late. The Packers couldn’t get another stop to give Love a chance to win it on the 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.
The Bad
The passing defense: The Packers gave up 33 completions and produced only one sack on 44 dropbacks from Sam Darnold, who shredded Green Bay’s injury-riddled pass defense. The Vikings quarterback consistently navigated the pocket and found big plays over the middle of the field. Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Jalen Nailor combined for 19 catches, 242 yards and two touchdowns. The Packers finished with only five quarterback hits. Combine with a secondary missing two starters with a pass-rush struggling to disrupt the pocket and a good passing offense likes the Vikings is going to take advantage every time.
The Ugly
The second and third quarters: The Vikings dominated the middle quarters, outscoring the Packers 27-7. Minnesota scored five times in six possessions and only gave up seven points after Sam Darnold’s third-quarter interception. The Packers gave up three points on a long field goal as time expired in the first half and then a touchdown to the Vikings on the opening drive of the second half, turning a 10-3 game into a 20-3 deficit. Thanks to a big advantage created in the second and third quarters, the Vikings were able to survive a late rally.