Vikings-Packers

“I didn’t feel like we gave ourselves a chance to win.”

                            -Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer

In a game that the Vikings had to win for a shot at the playoffs they put up slight resistance in a 37-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers. It was the Vikings first loss of the season by more than a single score. 

The Vikings defense was a little feisty at the start of the game. They held Aaron Rodgers and the Packers to six points on their first four possessions. There were three red zone appearances and zero touchdowns. That’s pretty good. If only the Vikings offense had done anything when they had the ball. Their stat sheet was littered with three-and-outs. The Vikings defense was repeatedly returning to the frigid Lambeau field soon after they left it. It’s no wonder their feisty play didn’t last. After those first four possessions, Rodgers and friends rolled.

Touchdown

Touchdown

Touchdown

Field Goal

Touchdown

Jordan Love finished the game.

This game and the Vikings playoff chances were probably decided the moment Kirk Cousins tested positive for COVID on Friday. When he missed training camp practice time as a close contact it felt inevitable that the Vikings unvaccinated quarterback would miss a late-season, must-win game. This Vikings season has been filled with stuff like this. 

No Cousins meant Sean Mannion had to play. I hear that he’s outstanding in the quarterback room. Very smart guy. Understands the offense like no other. A coach on the field. All of those things that are so damn much fun to say when he spends the entirety of every game on the sideline. When he’s on the field it’s something different. The offense is stuck in neutral. Dalvin Cook has nowhere to run because the defense has zero concerns about the Vikings ability to throw the ball. The Vikings offense vs the Packers defense last night can be best summarized by a single play. Mannion threw a short pass to Tyler Conklin. An immediate collision popped the ball in the air. Center Garrett Bradbury made a shoe-top catch and rumbled 21 yards. That big play was the lone offensive highlight. That big play set up the Vikings lone touchdown. A 14-yard bullet from Mannion to K.J. Osborn. In short, the Vikings offense was terrible. 

When Osborn caught that touchdown pass I couldn’t help but think of the pass that he couldn’t handle last week agains the Los Angeles Rams. Both were at the goal line. Last week, the pass went off Osbron’s hands and into the hands of a Rams defender. It was a game-changer. The one Osborn didn’t catch meant much more than the one he did catch. It’s just another one of those things in a frustrating season. 

There really isn’t much to hash about with this game. The Packers rolled and the Vikings put up little resistance. It was a season-long feeling that Kirk Cousins would miss a game when his team needed him most. Due to his team’s pathetic vaccination rate, Zimmer speculated about this very scenario and this very game in the summer. This shitty 37-10 loss to the Packers felt inevitable. 

The Chicago Bears come to US Bank Stadium on Sunday to close the 2021 season.