Packers Insist They Can Beat Elite Teams Despite Another Same-Old-Story Loss

It was the same old story for the Green Bay Packers, who just can’t beat one of the NFL’s elite teams. A big comeback fell short in a loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love and Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones (33) hug after the Sunday's game. / Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

MINNEAPOLIS – Groundhog Day came 35 days early for the Green Bay Packers.

The Packers lost 27-25 to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. It was the same old story for the Packers, who are 0-5 against the three best teams in the NFC.

“It’s only a handful of plays that separate these types of games,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “Like I told our team, we’re going to have to earn the right to potentially come back here, and it’s not going to be easy.”

Not with quarterback Jordan Love having just 64 passing yards through three quarters.

“I think it comes down to we did not make enough plays,” Love said. “Had a turnover early and we just didn’t make plays. I did not play well enough, which led to us not being able to put up points and got in a hole early.”

Love rallied the Packers in the fourth quarter but the Vikings got a first down to run out the clock.

“It’s just small little details that we got to get figured out, and we will,” safety Xavier McKinney said. “But that’s the difference between being a great team and a good team. I think we have the right guys to do that in this locker room.”  

It’s the same story, over and over again, for the Packers.

So much so that those quotes weren’t even from Sunday.

LaFleur’s quote was following the loss at Detroit on Dec. 5. Love’s quote was from the loss to the Vikings on Sept. 29. McKinney’s quote was from the loss to Detroit on Nov. 3.

The Packers are a good team. You don’t win 11 games by accident.

But it’s not good enough to win the NFC North. It’s not going to be good enough in the playoffs. It’s certainly not going to be good enough to win the Super Bowl, which should be the goal for any team that has a chance to finish the regular season with a 12-5 record.

The Packers, who had scored 30-plus points in five consecutive games – their longest streak since 1963 – fumbled on their first possession and trailed 20-3 before they got the ball for the first time in the second half.

Love, whose dominance down the stretch last season powered the Packers into the playoffs, had 45 passing yards in the first half before getting hot in the fourth quarter.

“It’s tough,” Love said. “It obviously ended up being a close game, but it’s hard when you put yourself in a hole and are down early and just kind of shooting yourself in the foot. So, there’s so much stuff to clean up and get better at, but I think we’re still a really good team.

“We can put up points. But when you put yourself in a hole, it’s hard to climb out of that hole. And when it’s a good team, like the Vikings, it just makes it even tougher. So, we’ve got to figure out ways to start faster and put up points.”

Green Bay’s defense was destroyed by Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, just like it was by Jared Goff a few weeks ago and Darnold earlier in the season. In two games against the Packers, Darnold threw for 652 yards and six touchdowns.

“I think it’s more what we could’ve did defensively,” safety Xavier McKinney said. “We got a turnover but it wasn’t enough. We need more turnovers. We need more shots on the ball. That’s what it is. I think we got to look at the defensive side of the ball first and, obviously, the offense is going to do the same with their side.

“But in order to help this team, as a defense, we got to get more turnovers and we got to do it faster than what we did today. And we got to start faster.”

Because of Green Bay’s loss, the Packers are in jeopardy of falling to the No. 7 seed.

If that’s how they wind up after next week, the Packers would open with a wild-card game at the Eagles, who beat the Packers 34-29 to start the season. If they were to somehow win that game, they’d play at the No. 1 seed – Round 3 against either the Lions or Vikings. If they were to somehow win that game, they might have a Round 3 against the other NFC North team in the NFC Championship Game.

The Packers are 0-5 against those teams. How on earth are they going to earn one win, let alone run the table against them in January?

LaFleur says his team truly believes it can get it done.

“I think absolutely,” he said. “I think there absolutely is a belief that we can win one of these games. We’ve got to go do it, bottom line. And we’ve got to earn the right to play these guys again. And it ain’t going to be easy. It’s going to be a tough road. But I think it’s a challenge that we’ll gladly accept.”

It will take everybody. The team’s great running back can’t put it on the ground. The team’s $220 million quarterback can’t average 3.77 yards per attempt in the first three quarters. The team’s pass rush can’t evaporate and leave the secondary hung out to dry. It will take the coaches to put together a winning plan and somehow have the players coming out with their “piss hot,” to use a LaFleur-ism.

Even with one loss after another (after another), the players say their confidence hasn’t wavered.

“The Rams will be in the playoffs. We beat them,” cornerback Keisean Nixon said. “We lost to Philly by what, (five) points? We lost to Minnesota by two. We lost to Detroit by three. We’ve just got to finish.

“It’s not about who we can and can’t beat. We can be everybody. If we figure out how to finish, we’ll win games. It’s playoff time now. It’s win-or-go-home. So, either we figure out how to finish or we go back to the crib. We have to figure it out.”

Latest Green Bay Packers News 

The run defense was great.

Everything else for the #Packers? Not good enough.

Here is the report card by @JacobWestendorf. ⬇️https://t.co/y1Q0r28szb

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) December 30, 2024

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