15 Sensational Stats From Packers’ Victory Over Vikings

Here are 15 noteworthy numbers from the Green Bay Packers’ 43-34 victory over Minnesota on Sunday.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Here are 15 noteworthy numbers from the Green Bay Packers’ 43-34 victory over Minnesota on Sunday.

0: Missed tackles by the Packers in the first half. Remember all of that talk about how a lack of live tackling would affect the defense?

2: While Green Bay’s defense faded late, it allowed Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins to complete only two passes thrown 10-plus yards downfield in the first three quarters, according to Pro Football Focus.

5: Completions of passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield by Aaron Rodgers, his most since having five in last year’s Week 7 rout of Oakland. He had only four in the final three games of last season.

5: Players in NFL history with a sack, interception and a safety in the same game since 2000, according to the league. Jaire Alexander joined that list on Sunday. The others: Arizona’s Calais Campbell, (Week 5, 2016), Pittsburgh’s James Harrison (Week 11, 2008) Baltimore’s Adalius Thomas (Week 2, 2006) and Tennessee’s Rocky Boiman (Week 4, 2003).

6: Tackles by linebacker Krys Barnes. An undrafted rookie out of UCLA, he didn’t even make the 53-man roster and was promoted from the practice squad on Saturday but started on Sunday. He had two of the team’s four tackles for losses. Barnes played 15 snaps; the listed starter, Oren Burks, played three.

6.9: Yards per play by the Packers, good for second in the league heading into Monday’s games.

7.8: Yards per play allowed by the Packers, which is the worst in the league. They allowed only 5.7 in the first half, though.

14: Receptions by Davante Adams, which not only made Packers history but was one of the best Week 1 receiving performances in NFL history.

41:16: Green Bay’s time of possession was its second-most since at least 1985, when Pro Football Reference has that data available. The Packers hogged the ball for 41 minutes, 39 seconds against San Francisco in 2009.

43: The Packers’ points total was their third-most ever in a game at Minnesota and second-most since 1970. Green Bay scored 44 in its final appearance at the Metrodome in 2013.

54.5: Green Bay’s third-down percentage after going 6-of-11. Green Bay ranked 23rd last season at 36.0 percent. The Packers surpassed that figure just twice last season and broke past 40 percent in only four games.

127.5: Rodgers’ passer rating, on the strength of four touchdowns and no interceptions. In four previous starts at U.S. Bank Stadium, his mark was only 75.6 with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

368: Career touchdown passes for Rodgers, which surpassed Eli Manning (366) for seventh place in NFL history.

522: Yards by the Packers, the most for any team in Week 1. In fact, Green Bay also is first in first downs (31), third-down percentage (54.5) and points (43). The yardage output was by far the most in a season opener in franchise history, dwarfing the 488 yards piled up against Atlanta in an overtime victory in 2002. The previous record for Week 1 in a game that didn’t go to overtime was 424 yards against Detroit in 2001.

47,310: Career passing yards, which moved him into 12th place on the NFL’s all-time list. The man he passed, Fran Tarkenton (47,003), spent 13 of his 18 NFL seasons with the Vikings.