Pack at Vikes Game Wrap
Joe Johnson
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The Green Bay Packers came to U.S. Bank Stadium with plenty of momentum, their team getting healthier and looking like the best team in the NFC North. But the Vikings, thanks to some great defense and enough offense, turned everything on its head in the division with a 23-10 win over their neighbors to the east.
The biggest blow in the game was the hit by Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr on Aaron Rodgers, knocking him out of the game in the first quarter, and the offense took over from there, methodically scoring in each of the remaining quarters to take the lead in the NFC North (if count the tie-breaker) with a 4-2 record.
The defense was the star of the game, playing the run tough, showing some decent coverage and very good tackling all around. The win puts the Vikings in a tie with the Packers in division as they host the Baltimore Ravens (who lost to the Chciago Bears at home) next week at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Trending
One of the biggest story lines coming into the game—or for any game against the Packers—was stopping Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers—and the biggest story coming out of the game was the same. In the first quarter on the game on the Packers second possession, Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr (who was spying on Rodgers in the first series and tipped a pass) tackled Rodgers, who was scrambling out of the pocket, and injured the quarterback’s throwing (right) shoulder). Rodgers was carted off the field and presumably had his shoulder x-rayed. He status was questionable to return but Rodgers never returned to the came and was diagnosed with a broken collarbone. His season is in jeopardy. On the play, Rodgers walked to the sideline and was chirping at Barr, presumably not happy with the tackle, but it was a legal hit that was not flagged.
In the battle of the backup (or “battle of the bastards” since Game of Throne’s Mountain blew the gjallarhorn) quarterback Case Keenum outdueled Packer backup Brett Hundley current supremacy of the North. Keenum had an up and down performance, at times being very creative (throwing a nifty 34-side-armed pass to Kyle Rudolph for a first down) and then missing him wide open across the middle and making a more difficult throw to the sidelines that was incomplete). It won’t go down as his best game as a Viking, but certainly his most important one thus far. While his performance (he finished 24 of 38 for 239 yards and a pick and a touchdown pass) doesn’t make for a terrible game by a backup, everything he does becomes magnified given the news on Sam Bradford below.
The defense played another great game and continues to be the steadying force on this team. Xavier Rhodes made a great, one-handed pick of Hundley (on which Barr received a deserved penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct) to set up the first score by the Vikings. Rhodes was bested by his secondary mate, Harrison Smith, who made an even better one-handed, diving pick in the fourth quarter. Smith is a true leader on this team, making play after play to help will the Vikings to victory.
The secondary blew coverage on the Packers touchdown reception by Davante Adams (who was wide open at the five yard line). But that was about their only mistake of the game. The Packers were gifted by turnovers that put the defense on short fields for both of Green Bay scores. The Vikings had four sacks on the game, and when Everson Griffen sacked Hundley late in the fourth, it essentially finished off the Packers’ last best threat to win the game. It is also worth mentioning the play of veteran defensive end Brian Robison, who had a great game and wreaked havoc in the backfield on Green Bay’s final drive. He knows what the win means to the team.
Worth Defending
Jerick McKinnon with an opportunity to plan in the wake of the Dalvin Cook injury, McKinnon is making the most of it with two good games in a row. On Sunday against the Packers, it was McKinnon who nearly scored on a pass play that was called by back by a questionable penalty and then a few plays later broke open the scoring with touchdown on a screen pass (a great call that nullified the Packers’ blitz). He finished the day with 16 carries for 69 yards and a score, plus five receptions for 30 yards and a touchdown.
The biggest blemish for McKinnon, of course, was his fumble down in Packers territory that was recovered by Clay Matthews and returned to the Vikings 18-yard line—setting up a Packers touchdown. But redeemed by getting the Vikings second score on a 3-yard run.
Pat Shurmur called a decent game for the Vikings offense. The screen pass to McKinnon was a smart call that beat the Packers rush (which had been getting closer and close to Keenum). And the McKinnon’s second touchdown was a gutsy call on third down and three yards to go for the touchdown. The offense was having trouble calling an effective pass play down deep and the run to McKinnon, not exactly a short-yardage guy, might have been risky, but turned out to be a good one. On the day the offense put 351 total yards.
Wide receiver Adam Thielen once again rose to the occasion for the Vikings, as he was missing his counterpart Stefon Diggs out with a groin injury. Thielen was introduced last to a hug ovation at U.S. Bank Stadium, and despite all that attention, plus the attention of the Packers defense, he still caught just everything thrown his way. He caught nine passes on 13 targets for 97 yards and was making his usual tough grabs along the way.
It is worth mentioning a nice game by second-year man Laquon Treadwell (who caught three passes for 51 yards) if for no other reason than the catch of the game. Treadwell stretched back for a back shoulder pass that he caught one-handed and appeared to pinch the nose of the ball between two fingers. The eight-yard play extended a scoring drive for the Vikings and turned the game into (at the time) a two-score game.
Should be Ending
It’s been reported that Sam Bradford went to New York to check out a new treatment for his ailing knee. While the procedure that sounds absolutely vampire-like (“blood spinning” which included taking blood out of his knee, somehow regenerated it and then putting it back into his knee) is right in time for Halloween, but it is no joking matter. Jay Glazer on FOX pregame show said “Sam Bradford’s knee is much worse than people know,” saying as well that the injury could possibly being career-ending. This guy (and, this team, for that matter) can’t catch a break. This is just terrible news for Bradford. Here’s hoping that Sam and his doctors can figure something out and get back on the field as soon as possible.
The penalties in this game were high—which in this game is somewhat understandable because the emotions are always the same—but there were way to many flags on the field. On the game, the Vikings committed seven 65 yards (to the Packers’ eight for 92), but the Vikings need to clean them up.
Turnovers were a big story in the game—the Vikings had two, including the first pick of the season by a Vikings quarterback—and they led to 10 points for the Packers. Turnovers haven’t been a huge issue for the team this year (the Vikings created three of their own), but the more they happen, they more they hurt the chances of a team on the margins to win. The Vikings aren’t dominant on offense, and any drives curtailed by turnover (and giving points away) are obviously detrimental.