Matthew Coller: Everything that went right, wrong in Vikings-Packers battle

How big of a concern were Sam Darnold's turnover-worthy plays against the Packers?

Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (85) fumbles the ball after being hit by Minnesota Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. (7) during the fourth quarter of their game Sunday, September 29, 2024 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Vikings recovered the ball. The Minnesota Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers 31-29. / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Minnesota Vikings took down the Green Bay Packers in a wild game at Lambeau Field on Sunday to advance to 4-0 on the season. Let’s have a look at what worked and didn’t work versus Green Bay…

What went right

Jordan Addison’s return, Jefferson’s spectacular catches

When targeting either Jordan Addison or Justin Jefferson, Sam Darnold went 9-for-11 with 157 yards and two touchdowns.

Addison made his impact known right from the outset with a touchdown reception but also picked up first downs on his two other catches as well.

“I feel so good about that room and having that full room healthy and rolling like they were was really fun to see,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said.

Justin Jefferson made two other-worldly grabs that had a huge impact on the game. His Moss-like touchdown catch, per O’Connell, was expected to be a quicker concept but Sam Darnold recognized the coverage and threw the ball up for grabs.

“We have to give Justin some [opportunities] to do that,” O’Connell said. “Probably need to continue to find ways where we're willing, down and distance wise to give him an [opportunity] because I don't look at them as 50 -50 balls when you're throwing those to Justin Jefferson.”

Jefferson’s target share has been somewhat dictated by the Vikings’ enormous leads but he hasn’t gotten the ball as often as in the past. He’s averaging 5.0 receptions per game and 89.5 yards, which are below his 6.9 catches for 102. yards over the last three years.

Late in the game when the Vikings needed a big conversion, Jefferson made a sideline toe-tap grab that was reminiscent of Cris Carter. Both head coach and QB were wowed.

“I have not seen a player on a speed out off of those steps cover that much ground,” O’Connell said. “His ability in that moment to know that it's really a nine to 10 yard completion, but he's going to open up a stride and stretch it out to 12, 13 yards, and Sam's going to throw it the way he did versus the all-out zero pressure was really something. So big moment in the game, and I'm glad we got that one right on the challenge because it was big -time execution.”

“That was unbelievable,” Darnold said. “One of the better catches I have ever seen. Just the way that he was able to catch the football and then be able to toe tap there as well. Just a special play.”

Pass protection

Per PFF, Darnold was only pressured on 11 of his 33 drop-backs and the Vikings O-line put together its most complete game of the season. Christian Darrisaw, who is putting together an All-Pro season versus the league’s best pass rushers, gave up one QB pressure and Brian O’Neill allowed zero. In total the three guards were responsible for four pressures but both players graded well (Brandel 84.0, Ingram 68.3) and Bradbury only gave up two pressures vs. his nemesis Kenny Clark.

When Darnold has a clean pocket this year his QB rating is 127.1. It’s absolutely vital that the Vikings’ strong protection continues.

The short passing game

ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky called the Vikings’ screen game the best in the NFL following Sunday’s game. Darnold indeed leads the league at 9.1 yards per pass attempt on screens and has the fifth most total yards. This is a massive upgrade from the last two seasons.

Against the Packers the Vikings gained 54 yards on five screens.

It wasn’t just the screens that worked, when throwing the ball under 10 yards in the air, Darnold was 13-for-14 for 128 yards and one touchdown. Overall this year 57% of Darnold’s passes are under 10 yards and he’s completing 82% of them for an average of 6.6 yards per play.

Aaron Jones’s complete impact

Certainly the Vikings’ veteran running back posting 93 yards on 22 carries against his former team was the headline of Aaron Jones’s performance but he was involved in every part of the game, catching four passes for 46 yards and stepping up to make a key pass block against a Packers rush that allowed Darnold to deliver a pass to Jefferson.

“Aaron's one of those guys that no matter what, he's gonna meet the moment and make the play, whether it's our screen game execution, whether it's a big run when you need it,” O’Connell said. “His role in the pass game has been pretty critical because I kind of look at Aaron stat line as, I'm looking for that total yardage, because he is an impact player in the past game, and those touches all matter for him, and he's just been phenomenal,” O’Connell said. “Whether he's getting the ball or not, his execution has been really, really good in year one in the system. And even though you're getting a smart veteran player that's had such an impact in this league.”

Josh Oliver gets a game ball

The quietest big-time performance of the day came from tight end Josh Oliver. He played 46 snaps, allowed zero pressures in pass protection, caught a touchdown and recovered an onside kick. O’Connell gave him a game ball for his play.

“He was maybe the most physical player on the field, Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, some of the best edge players in our league, and some of those plays required him to have to fight the good fight against those guys, in some cases, without help,” O’Connell said. “He catches the touchdown. And not a guy we talk about a lot, but continues to be a huge part of our offense.”

Forcing turnovers

The Vikings’ defense picked off Jordan Love three times and forced a key fumble.

Linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill explained that he read the Green Bay route combination and broke off the play in order to jump the route.

“We were in a two-high [safeties] and they were condensed [formation] so I knew Harry and them could handle the vertical [routes] so I was like, ‘I’m going to go try and steal this one,’” Grugier-Hill explained. “That’s a good thing that Flo[res] does, he allows the players to be the players.”

Murphy Jr. had several opportunities to make a play on the football and finally grabbed an interception.

He also punched the ball out late in the game — something Flores had been pressing him to do.

“It goes back to details, we’re all getting to the ball, every guy on the field is flying to the ball,” Murphy Jr. said. “Other teams see that on film, when all 11 are going to the ball it’s a different feeling. The punch-outs and things like that are coming, that’s the defense playing together.”

The Vikings now rank second in the NFL in percentage of drives that they have caused a turnover.

No injuries

O’Connell announced that the Vikings came out of the game with a clean bill of health and that linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. will have a good chance to play next week. With the trip to London and the bye week, it remains unclear exactly how much practice time the Vikings can give TJ Hockenson and Dalton Risner but appear near ready to get back to practice and in the lineup at some point after the bye. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Hockenson’s return could be either against the Rams or Colts.

What went wrong

Darnold’s turnover-worthy plays

Vikings fans were shocked to see PFF grade Darnold’s day a 45.5 (out of 100) considering that his QB rating of 123.4 and ESPN’s QBR metric (also out of 100) gave him a 72.7. So which catch-all stat is right about the way Darnold played?

Well, the box score is the factual record of what happened. Darnold literally completed 20-of-28 with three TDs and one INT but his three turnover-worthy plays were his highest mark yet, it just so happened that only one of them showed up in the QB rating metric (the interception). He threw a pass that should have been picked off on the first drive but the Packers’ corner dropped it.

Until Sunday’s game, Darnold had a total of two turnover-worthy plays, which is why his previous grades were so much better. Harsh or not, it’s clear that in order to continue his streak of spectacular play, he will need to avoid games like this that feature multiple miscues. However, with the system and supporting cast showing up the way it did against Green Bay, it shows that he doesn’t need to be perfect to still put up big numbers and win.

Not involving Ty Chandler

In a game where the Vikings were up three scores for the majority of the contest, it doesn’t make much sense that Ty Chandler was nowhere to be found. He carried the ball three times for five yards and had zero targets. Chandler’s speed and ability to run after catch on screens, swing passes and checkdowns makes him an easy button when a team should be playing conservatively. Also giving Chandler eight snaps and Jones 56 is not the type of distribution that is going to help keep Jones fresh for the long run.

Blitzes not getting home

Per PFF, Flores sent at least one extra rusher at Jordan Love on 29 of his 56 drop-backs. While they did pressure him on 12 of those plays, the Vikings only sacked him once and Love completed 66.7% of his blitzed passes.

Allowing explosive passes

Love hit throws of 42, 36, 28 and 24 yards in his furious attempt to come back in the game as the Vikings struggled to force Green Bay to play underneath while they were down big.

“It’s on us, we were playing them like a normal game thinking that they were going to dink and dunk and we were going to have pressure but they were taking some big shots and coming down with them,” Grugier-Hill said. “Keep those big chunks off the tape and it’s a whole different ballgame.”

Green Bay attacked Murphy Jr. in particular. He allowed 12 catches on 15 targets for 143 yards but he was hardly the only one in the area for big plays against. Andrew Van Ginkel, Harrison Smith and Cam Bynum were also dinged with big plays against.

It’s hard to say that this is going to be a persisting problem unless the Vikings are consistently up three scores against massive-armed, risk-taking quarterbacks.

Missed tackles

Overall the Vikings rank 14th by PFF in tackling but they had 11 registered missed tackles on Sunday. Four of them went to Murphy Jr. and three to Van Ginkel. Smith had one on a touchdown as well.