Live Updates: Vikings Beat Packers 24-10
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers (2-4) have lost three in a row and desperately need a win. The Minnesota Vikings (3-4) have rallied from their 0-3 start. In a big border-battle rivalry game, it’s Packers-Vikings at Lambeau Field on Sunday.
Follow along for all the updates, notes and highlights.
Final Score: Vikings 24, Packers 10
Jordan Love was 24-of-41 passing for 229 yards with one touchdown, one interception and a 72.1 passer rating. The Vikings held on with ease even with star quarterback Kirk Cousins missing the end of the game with an ankle injury and rookie quarterback Jaren Hall fumbling away the ball on his first possession.
The Packers were outgained 346-270. They were guilty of 11 penalties or 99 yards.
Fourth Quarter
Vikings 24, Packers 10 (4:46 remaining)
The Packers had a golden opportunity to get back in the game but flushed it down the toilet. Starting at the Vikings’ 15, D.J. Wonnum and Harrison Phillips sacked Jordan Love on second down and Love’s third-down pass to Christian Watson was broken up by Akayleb Evans. On fourth-and-16, Love decided to run. Of course he wasn’t going to beat Harrison Smith, who stopped Love 2 yards short of the marker.
Vikings 24, Packers 10 (5:54 remaining)
The plot thickens, with Preston Smith’s strip/sack and Devonte Wyatt’s recovery giving the Packers the ball at Minnesota’s 15.
Vikings 24, Packers 10 (7:15 remaining)
Karl Brooks’ blocked field goal, which was scooped up by Jonathan Owens, gave the Packers some hope when they started at their 44 with 9:42 remaining. Jordan Love completed passes of 12-yard to Dontayvion Wicks on third-and-6 and 10 yards to Jayden Reed to get into scoring position. However, Wicks dropped a pass at the 3 that would have, at worst, given the Packers a first-and-goal around the 1 or 2. Love’s third-and-5 pass to Christian Watson was broken up by Mekhi Blackmon and his fourth-and-5 pass to Romeo Doubs had no hope of getting through safety Camryn Bynum.
Injury update: Vikings QB Kirk Cousins is out with an ankle injury, sustained on a third-down sack by Kenny Clark on the previous possession. Rookie Jaren Hall has to protect a two-score lead.
Third Quarter
Vikings 24, Packers 10 (2:39 remaining)
Green Bay’s second 14-play scoring drive of the game made it a two-score game. On fourth-and-goal from the 1, after AJ Dillon was stuffed on first and third down, Jordan Love connected with Romeo Doubs, who was open on a quick out against Akayleb Evans for the score. The Packers, facing a big deficit, went no-huddle to change their fortunes and improve the tempo.
Vikings 24, Packers 3 (7:48 remaining)
On third-and-8, Jordan Love fired deep to Jayden Reed. The ball was slightly underthrown and safety Josh Metellus stole the ball from Reed. The 43-yard return set up the Vikings at the Packers’ 20. On the next play, Kirk Cousins threw a gem to Jordan Addison over Jaire Alexander for a touchdown. With a three-touchdown lead, the rather sizable number of Vikings fans in the stadium started chanting “Skol.”
Vikings 17, Packers 3 (9:25 remaining)
Kirk Cousins made every play – many of them incredibly easy. On third-and-9, he found K.J. Osborn streaking wide open over the middle for 32. On third-and-1, Jaire Alexander slipped and Osborn was open for 12. On third-and-goal at the 2, tight end T.J. Hockenson was open against Rasul Douglas for the touchdown. Cousins was 7-of-8 on the drive, with four completions to Osborn.
Halftime
Vikings 10, Packers 3
That it's only a one-score game is a miracle. It took the Packers 26 minutes to even get a first down.
The Packers have been outscored 73-9 in the first half of their last five games. Green Bay started with four consecutive three-and-outs before their scoring drive and finished the first half with 98 yards. Complicating matters, Green Bay was penalized eight times for 69 yards.
The Vikings will get the ball to start the second half.
Second Quarter
Vikings 10, Packers 3 (0:00 remaining)
First downs! Plural! And points! Losing 10-0 on the scoreboard and 13-0 on first downs, the Packers finally moved the ball. On third-and-6, Jordan Love hit Christian Watson for 11 for the initial first down of the game. It only took 26 minutes. The crowd roared. Aaron Jones moved the chains again with a catch for 9 and a run for 6. Jones caught a swing pass to convert third-and-3, and AJ Dillon had ample room on a checkdown for 16 to the 28.
However, Love moved up in the pocket, ran into center Josh Myers and tumbled to the turf for a sack. The loss was 4 and forced the Packers to burn their second timeout. The Packers converted on completions to Jayden Reed and Luke Musgrave, giving them a first down at the 17 with 12 seconds to go.
The Packers had time for two shots in the end zone but Love held the ball too long and was fortunate to not be flagged for intentional grounding. Anders Carlson missed a 35-yard field goal, his attempt blasting the right upright, and the players started running toward their locker rooms. Green Bay’s Samori Toure was practically in the tunnel when the officials called the teams back on the field. However, Minnesota’s Jay Ward lined up offside. Carlson made the mulligan.
So, it’s only 10-3. The Packers have been outscored 73-9 in the first half of their last five games.
Vikings 10, Packers 0 (4:54 remaining)
The Vikings converted a third-and-8 on a checkdown to receiver K.J. Osborn, with Kirk Cousins making something out of nothing as he was being hit by linebacker De’Vondre Campbell. On the next third down, a third-and-3, Keisean Nixon broke up a pass to Brandon Powell. It was the Vikings’ first punt of the day.
It’s 13-0 on first downs.
Vikings 10, Packers 0 (8:14 remaining)
Four drives, four three-and-out possessions for the Packers. After facing third-and-22 on their previous possession, Jon Runyan’s holding penalty and a terrible pass by Jordan Love made it third-and-16 for this drive.
The Packers have been flagged seven times for 59 yards. It’s 162-26 in yards and 12-0 in first downs.
There was one lineup change, with Rasheed Walker benched and Yosh Nijman in at left tackle.
Vikings 10, Packers 0 (10:13 remaining)
Greg Joseph’s 25-yard field goal made it a two-score game. The Packers finished the first quarter with 15 yards. The Vikings on consecutive plays had a 21-yard pass to K.J. Osborn on third-and-8, 20 yards to Jordan Addison on a screen and 18 to tight end T.J. Hockeonson off play-action. But the Packers got the stop, thanks in large part to Keisean Nixon’s hit on Addison preventing a touchdown.
First Quarter
Vikings 7, Packers 0 (0:00 remaining)
The first quarter is over, and it couldn’t have gone much worse for the Packers. On second-and-5, Jordan Love was sacked for a loss of 12. AJ Dillon sort of chipped D.J. Wonnum and left tackle Rasheed Walker whiffed. After a delay-of-game penalty, Love scrambled for 9 yards.
First-quarter stats: 94-15 in yards and 8-0 in first downs. For added insult, Green Bay has been guilty of five penalties for 44 yards.
Vikings 7, Packers 0 (1:34 remaining)
The Vikings have their first rushing touchdown of the season. Naturally, it came against the Packers, with Cam Akers running through Quay Walker for the final few yards of a 6-yard scoring run. The Vikings’ offense is good enough on its own; 15-yard penalties on safety Jonathan Owens for unnecessary roughness (a weak call) and outside linebacker Kingsley Enagbare (a stupid penalty) didn’t help matters.
On third-and-1, tight end T.J. Hockenson was wide open for 23 to set up the touchdown.
The Packers have 39 penalty yards and 13 yards on offense.
Packers 0, Vikings 0 (6:07 remaining)
On the first series, an ineligible-man-downfield penalty on Rasheed Walker was the big blow. On this series, it was a dropped pass by Aaron Jones on second-and-6. Jordan Love’s third-down pass to Luke Musgrave was broken up by safety Josh Mettelus. So, for the worst first-half offense in the galaxy, it's two three-and-outs to start the game.
Packers 0, Vikings 0 (7:07 remaining)
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, oddly, sent the field-goal unit on the field for fourth-and-1. Kicker Greg Joseph’s 42-yard field goal drifted just right; as soon as it was kicked, Keisean Nixon signaled it was no good. It was a huge break for the Packers, with quarterback Kirk Cousins completing a pair of passes for Jordan Addison for 10 yards apiece and T.J. Hockenson making sliding catch on third-and-10 before the field goal.
Packers 0, Vikings 0 (12:38 remaining)
It took about 2 minutes for the first boos. On third-and-1, Vikings defensive tackle Harrison Phillips got around center Josh Myers and dropped AJ Dillon, who didn’t have a snowball’s chance of getting to the marker. On third-and-1, left tackle Rasheed Walker was flagged for being an ineligible man downfield – everyone was run blocking while Jordan Love tried to throw a quick pass but nobody was on the same page. Offside made it third-and-1 again, but Dillon was hit at about the same time he got the handoff.
The scene at Lambeau Field before kickoff.
Photo by Bill Huber/Packer Central
Key Matchup: Zach Tom vs. Danielle Hunter
Minnesota’s Danielle Hunter enters the game with a league-leading nine sacks. How will the Packers stop him?
“Zach Tom,” left guard Elgton Jenkins.
Said Tom, “I don’t think he was being 100 percent serious.”
In a sense, Jenkins is right. According to Pro Football Focus, Hunter rushes about 80 percent of the time from the defense’s left side. That means he’ll be going up against Tom, the team’s impressive right tackle, for most of the game.
“He’s very unconventional,” Tom said. “He’s long. He doesn’t necessarily beat people with speed but he has a way of squaring you up and getting by people. The fundamentals are going to be really important this week.”
Long gone are the days when the opponent’s best pass rusher was the responsibility of the left tackle. In today’s NFL, the top pass rusher might move around the formation or, like Hunter, go up against the right tackle for most of the game.
Detroit’s Aidan Hutchinson and New Orleans’ Cameron Jordan are other left-side rushers who Tom already has faced, and Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt, who is second with eight sacks, is coming up in a couple weeks.
“It’s obviously a challenge but nobody’s going to feel sorry for you that you’re going up against their best player,” Tom said. “It’s what I’m paid to do, so I’ve got to get it done, you know?”
Pregame Notes
Coin toss: The Vikings won the toss and deferred; the Packers will start with the football.
Offensive line: For the sixth consecutive week, Rasheed Walker is getting the start at left tackle. The line is unchanged, with Walker at left tackle joined by left guard Elgton Jenkins, center Josh Myers, right guard Jon Runyan and right tackle Zach Tom.
Defense: As expected, De'Vondre Campbell is back in the starting lineup alongside Quay Walker and Rudy Ford and Jonathan Owens are the starting safeties.
Field goals: To the north end, Packers kicker Anders Carlson ended his routine with a 53-yard field goal. Joseph was just short from 58.
To the south end, Carlson barely cleared the bar from 52. From 55, the ball hit the crossbar, bounced up, hit the crossbar again and fell to the turf short. Joseph had just enough leg but hit the right upright from 58.
It is chilly outside; Vikings holder/punter Ryan Wright dropped a snap.
Packers-Vikings Inactives
Jaire Alexander, Luke Musgrave, De'Vondre Campbell and Josh Myers are active. The Vikings will be without two key players. Here is the full story.
Luke Musgrave is active for the Packers against the Vikings.
Photo by Wm. Glasheen/USA Today Sports Images
Today’s the Day for Takeaways?
This will be one of those something’s-got-to-give games.
The Packers have produced a league-low five takeaways. Only the Raiders have more giveaways than the Vikings, whose 14 include a league-worst nine fumbles.
“That’s something that the last couple years we’ve done at a good clip,” defensive coordinator Joe Barry said. “We coin Thursdays as ‘Takeaway Thursday.’ Every day, we’re talking about taking the ball away and practicing taking the ball away. But on Thursday, that’s our day.
“Takeaways change the game. That was the message this morning with the group. I am a firm believer, and I’m sure I’ve said this to you guys before, with takeaways, hopefully you’re in a year where they’re just coming all the time. But we went through a dry spell last year, and then we went on a five- or six-week run. I use the term takeaways come in droves and you just got to get one to kind of start the trend.”
The Packers under Barry finished 11th with 24 takeaways in 2022 and eighth with 26 in 2021.
It’s not just “Takeaway Thursday.” On Wednesday, as the outside linebackers went through pass-rushing drills, position coach Jason Rebrovich cranked up the decibels in encouraging his players to go for the strip as well as the sack. Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has coughed it up seven times, only one off Lamar Jackson’s dubious league lead.
The Packers’ takeaway count includes just one fumble.
“That’s the goal every week – to get turnovers,” slot defender Keisean Nixon said. “Earlier in the year, we had a lot of opps and we didn’t take advantage of them. And now, we haven’t gotten as many opps. It’s just about executing, you know what I’m saying? Go back to our play style and just executing. When an opp comes to us, we’ve got to take the ball away. I don’t think it’s a real issue where we have to force it. We can’t chase plays.
“But the offense is young. I know some people are tired of hearing that, but it’s just growing pains.”
On the other side of the coin, the Packers are ninth with seven giveaways. They are the only team to have not lost a fumble.
Underdog Packers
For only the fourth time under coach Matt LaFleur, the Packers are home underdogs. The Vikings are 1.5-point favorites at most sportsbooks, including SI Sportsbook.
Last year, the Packers won as four-point underdogs against Dallas and two-point underdogs against the Rams. This year, the Packers lost 34-20 as two-point underdogs against Detroit.
“You’ve just got to keep going,” quarterback Jordan Love said. “Adversity hits all the time. In every year I’ve played football, there’s some type of adversity. It’s always different, you never know what it’s going to be, what it’s going to hit.
“But it’s all about just keep going, keep your head down, keep working. As a team, it’s all about staying together. Obviously, it’s not what we expected so far, not what we had planned for, but it is what it is, and we’re here now and what are going to do from it going forward?”
A gloomy Sunday at Lambeau Field.
Photo by Bill Huber/Packer Central
Wake-Up Call
There’s perhaps no truth to the rumor that coach Matt LaFleur had the staff swap out the Gatorade for cappuccino and Red Bull, but the Packers’ offense needs to start playing at noon.
Over their last four games, the Packers are last in the NFL in first-half points (six), touchdowns (zero) and yards per snap (2.7).
“Just know we’ve got to come out fast,” running back Aaron Jones said. “The same way we’ve been playing the second halves, with our backs against the wall, we’ve got to come out with that mindset, attack, and the person lined up across from you, attack them. Come out with urgency when we break the huddle, push the tempo to the ball and put the stress on them.”
Big Game Requires, Well, a Big Game
Last year, a five-game losing streak saddled the Packers with a woeful 3-6 record ahead of Mike McCarthy’s return as coach of the Cowboys.
The Packers won that game 31-28, thanks in large part to rookie receiver Christian Watson’s breakout performance of four receptions for 107 yards and three touchdowns. Spurred by Watson, the Packers got hot and almost rallied into the playoffs.
The Packers are waiting for someone – anyone – to have a big game. The Packers are the only team in the league without a 300-yard passer, 100-yard runner or 100-yard receiver. They haven’t even gotten close in those first two categories.
“I definitely think it can” jump-start the team,” running back Aaron Jones said. “I know it gives everybody else confidence. It gives everybody else that swagger when they see their boy balling out. ‘Oh, I can do that. I’ve seen my boy doing it and I’ve done it with him before.’ I just think that gives people that sense of confidence and energy. Energy’s contagious.”
Team Stats and Rankings
Packers: Green Bay on offense ranks 17th in points per game (21.7), 22nd in passing per play (6.15) and 24th in rushing per play (3.76). On defense, it ranks 21st in points per game (22.0), 11th in passing per play (6.10) and 25th in rushing per play (4.47). It is minus-2 in turnovers and 24th in yardage differential (minus-48.2).
Vikings: Minnesota on offense ranks 18th in points per game (21.6), 10th in passing per play (7.00) and 22nd in rushing per play (3.91). On defense, it ranks 20th in points per game (21.7), 20th in passing per play (6.78) and sixth in rushing per play (3.59). It is minus-5 in turnovers and 13th in yardage differential (plus-24.6).
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