The Vikings Recreate a Popular Meme vs. Packers
The Minnesota Vikings headed to Green Bay for their first divisional bout of the 2024 season after an unexpectedly strong start to the year. A win over the New York Giants seemed realistic, but the victories over the San Francisco 49ers and the Houston Texans in back-to-back weeks were surprising, especially the convincing fashion.
The Vikings Recreate a Popular Meme vs. Packers
The 3-0 Vikings traveled to Wisconsin to face the 2-1 Packers. Quarterback Jordan Love returned to the field after a two-week absence following his knee injury suffered in the season opener against the Eagles. Shockingly, the Packers took care of business in the two games without QB1, rallying behind Malik Willis, a strong rushing attack and an opportunistic defense.
Divisional matchups are always unpredictable, but this one could’ve realistically gone in either direction. Ironically, each team won one half by a wide margin. The game, ultimately, can be summed up by a popular meme in NFL circles, and rarely has it been more accurate.
The Vikings came out hot, firing from all cylinders in the first quarter, setting the tone early with efficient drives on offense drawn up by head coach Kevin O’Connell while continuing to be a scary defensive unit, coordinated by Brian Flores.
Strong play but also Green Bay’s mistakes ‒ two missed field goals, various drops, penalties, and turnovers ‒ helped the Vikings carve out a 28-0 lead late in the second quarter. When Flores’ group forced another punt, the Vikings had the chance to put up even more points, or at least to finish the half and go into the locker room with a four-score advantage.
But a muffed punt by Jalen Nailor, who subbed in for the usual punt returner Brandon Powell (he left the game briefly after taking a hit on offense), opened the door for the green rivals to score seven points, giving the team some hope that a comeback was possible.
The Vikings stopped Green Bay on their first drive, and Sam Darnold’s crew marched down the field until he threw a pass toward the front pylon, trying to find running back Aaron Jones in his former living room. The route was covered, the pass was forced, and standout safety Xavier McKinney jumped the route, resulting in another empty drive. An unnecessary decision on second-and-one at the opponent’s 21-yard line.
A few minutes later, the Packers cut the deficit in half; Darnold was pressured from his blindside, got hit when he started his throwing motion, and fumbled the ball. This time, Green Bay was given an excellent field position on Minnesota’s side of the grass.
Suddenly, it was a six-point game, directly influenced by own mistakes. The Vikings then hit a field goal by Will Reichard, and Love threw another interception, allowing the Vikings to close out the game. A fourth-and-one in Green Bay’s red zone could’ve put the game out of reach again, and O’Connell opted to go for it rather than try to increase the lead to 12 by hitting another field goal.
A jet sweep to Jalen Nailor looked promising, but he was stopped right at the first-down marker. The officials ruled it short. Nailor might have slipped, which certainly didn’t help him, but getting stonewalled immediately on the biggest play of the game without getting an extra inch after contact is upsetting.
Green Bay had another quick scoring drive. Fortunately, Josh Oliver recovered the onside kick, closing out the game for good. A couple of kneel-downs in victory formation catapulted Minnesota to its first 4-0 record in nearly a decade.
It was unnecessarily close late in the fourth quarter, although a game that involves the low-percentage onside kick is never truly in play unless that onside kick is recovered. At the end of the day, the Vikings escaped with a victory and beat three consecutive playoff teams without ever trailing.
The Vikings Are Competitively Rebuilding
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt