Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers hands the ball off to RB Aaron Jones.
Tonight’s game between the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings was not competitive. The Vikings, without QB Kirk Cousins or WR Adam Thielen, came into Lambeau field and just were not the better team. As expected, the shorthanded Vikings could not beat the top team in the NFC and failed to win the offensive and defensive battles.
This game started out with high intensity from both teams’ defenses. Green Bay used their opening drive by going 58 yards, capping it off with a 35 yard Mason Crosby field goal. Neither team scored again until the 9:15 minute mark in the 2nd quarter, where the Vikings D held Green Bay to yet another FG. The Minnesota defense was doing their job in containing the highly explosive Packers offense to just 6 points in 20:45 minutes of play. But after this point, the wheels started to come off. In the Packers’ next two drives, Aaron Rodgers threw 2 TD passes to Allen Lazard and Davante Adams. The Vikings, with Sean Mannion under center, did not find an offensive spark the whole game. Their first points, and 3 of 10 they scored the whole game, came 5 seconds before the closing of the 1st half. At halftime, Green Bay held a 20–3 advantage over the Vikes. The situation did not get better in the second half. Minnesota came out of the locker room with a 3-and-out, and the Packers capitalized on their corresponding drive with a TD. Minnesota’s only touchdown of the game came at the end of the 3rd quarter on a Sean Mannion 14 yard pass to WR K.J Osborn. Green Bay ended up finishing the contest with 37 points, efficiently moving the ball and scoring both through the air and ground. Minnesota only put up 10 points on the board, and could not establish the ground game at all.
Minnesota QB Sean Mannion finished the night with 189 yards and 1 TD through the air. He also added 14 yards rushing, and believe it or not, led the Vikings in ground yards. RB Dalvin Cook only contributed 13 yards on 9 carries, holding an inefficient 1.44 yards per carry. RB Alexander Mattison did not handle a single carry, but caught 4 passes for 13 yards. Justin Jefferson led the Vikings’ receivers, accounting for 58 of Mannion’s passing yards and catching 6 passes. Minnesota’s defense did not record a sack tonight. As for the home team, QB Aaron Rodgers threw for 288 yards and 2 TDs, and possessed a 114.8 passer rating. He ran twice for 8 yards. RB Aaron Jones averaged 9.5 yards per carry, totaling 76 rushing yards on the night. AJ Dillon accounted for both of Green Bay’s rushing touchdowns, and also contributed 63 yards on 14 carries. Stud WR Davante Adams did not come short of expectations tonight, he amassed 136 yards and 1 TD on 11 receptions. The Packers defense was able to sack Sean Mannion 2 times.
The final score for tonight, 37–10 in Green Bay’s favor. With this win, the Packers have officially clinched the top seed in the NFC and the Vikes are eliminated from postseason contention. This could be Green Bay’s year to win it all, but they still have a tough road ahead and can’t take any team for granted. I didn’t do too bad with my predictions tonight, Green Bay’s offense did overwhelm the Vikings and while the total did go just over, it was a small play with very little confidence. Next week’s SNF will feature two AFC West rivals, the Chargers and Raiders, which will have huge playoff implications. That will be a game to look forward to all week folks.
Tomorrow, I will be posting an MNF preview and recap following the game. That game will showcase AFC North rivals, the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers. Thanks everyone again for reading. If you would like to read more sports related articles, make sure to follow my page and subscribe to my email list. Have a good night everyone.
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