Well, the bleak playoff hopes of the Minnesota Vikings are no more.
The Vikings were on the wrong side of a one-sided game for the second week in a row. Their 38-25 loss to the Packers in Green Bay yesterday was nothing like their 34-6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts last week. The Vikings actually played some football against the Packers. They didn't play anything resembling football against the Colts.
This game was actually much closer than the score or the broadcast team of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman made it seem. If the Vikings season-long problem of settling for short field goals rather than touchdowns hadn't plagued them again they might've been playing for the win in the final seconds. Instead they had a 19-point loss.
Speaking of Buck and Aikman, they spent so much time stroking Aaron Rodgers that one would think that he was the only player on the field. Now, Rodgers is a fantastic quarterback and due to his Cal past I'm a bigger fan of his than any life long Vikings fan should be but this is ridiculous. The love from that announcing booth is at least as bad as the two decade love affair that John Madden had with Brett Favre. There are supposed to be 22 football players on the field at any one time devoting more than 95% of the commentary to one player isn't right. They were even talking about Rodgers when the Packers defense was on the field.
Speaking of Rodgers, he's great. Despite what the scouts and league decision-makers said and thought about him more than ten years ago, the quarterback that we see today could be seen in the quarterback that played at Cal. His 2004 game against USC is the best I've seen from a college quarterback. Packers head coach Mike McCarthy was part of the San Francisco 49ers offensive brain trust that passed on Rodgers with the first pick of the 2005 NFL Draft. He doesn't deserve the quarterback that he inherited. That's enough about Rodgers. Maybe.
The Packers defense didn't really stand in the way of the Vikings offense. The Vikings out-gained the Packers 446 yards to 348.
Passing yards:
Vikings: 353
Packers: 308
Rushing yards:
Vikings: 93
Packers: 40
One might think that the Vikings pull out a win with only a glance at that yardage production.
What killed the Vikings in this game was settling for short field goals and a couple of turnovers.
Those damn short field goals.
The Vikings first two scoring drives were on their second and third possessions. They were nice drives that didn't end the way that they needed them to end. On the first of those possessions the Vikings had a first-and-goal from the ten. Three plays later they had a fourth-and-goal from the four. And a 22-yard field goal. There might not be a worse down-and-distance situation for the Vikings than a first-and-goal from the 10. They are terrible in short yardage situations and ten yards of short yardage situations are about eight yards too many. On that second possession the Vikings got as far as the Packers 8-yard line but had to settle for a 26-yard field goal. If the Vikings had scored touchdowns rather than 20-some-yard field goals this season they are probably getting ready for the playoffs. Priority #1 (probably priority #1, 2, 3, and 4) this offseason is improving the offensive line. That will help their running game which should improve their red zone scoring.
A couple of costly turnovers.
Late in the first half, the Vikings offense had the Packers defense on their heels. The defense was starting to handle Rodgers and the Packers offense. That changed when Vikings center Nick Easton "fumbled." How does a center fumble? He rolled a shotgun snap. Actually he didn't really roll the snap because that would imply that it went some distance in the direction that it supposed to go. The ball didn't really go anywhere. The more stunning thing than the act itself was that Easton didn't seem to realize what he'd done. Packers defensive lineman Kenny Clark picked up his early Christmas present and set up his offense for a quick touchdown.
The second turnover was the play that probably turned the game. Back-to-back sacks of Rodgers forced a punt and gave the Vikings momentum with 2:24 to play in the first half. The Vikings had the opportunity to turn the Packers 21-13 lead into a 21-20 (hopefully!) halftime lead and then receive the second half kickoff. The opportunity to turn the game and their playoff hopes in their favor was there for them. On second-and-one from the Packers 41-yard line, Clay Matthews blew by T.J. Clemmings, hit Sam Bradford, forced a fumble, and Mike Daniels recovered. And just like that, the Packers had the opportunity to flip the game solidly into their favor. Which they only needed 20 seconds to do. 28-13 Packers at the half.
Those two turnovers handed the Packers two quick touchdowns. You can't give any team extra possessions. You really can't hand an offense that can take advantage so quickly and easily extra possessions.
Penalties were also a problem for the Vikings. For some reason they are always a problem against the Packers. The Vikings had eight penalties for 70 yards. The Packers had three for 21 yards. None of the 11 penalties that were enforced were pass interference penalties. That's remarkable considering the fact that there was some interfering of passes. Like the time that Packers receiver Davante Adams pushed off of Vikings corner Trae Waynes on the Packers second touchdown.
The loss and playoff elimination overshadows the terrific game had by Vikings receiver Adam Thielen. 12 catchers for 202 yards and two touchdowns (71,8). A few of the catches were of the spectacular variety. Thielen has really emerged this season. He's been Bradford's go-to receiver in the last few games. That's mostly due to his terrific play but also due to Stefon Diggs' recent struggles with various injuries. Thielen's NFL story is a great one. Not only was he undrafted out of Minnesota State University-Mankato in 2013, he had to attend a tryout to earn a training camp invite. He was on the practice squad his rookie season, became a special teams staple in 2014 and 2015, and has become a weekly offensive contributor this season. The Diggs-Thielen receiving duo look like offensive bright spot moving forward.
For the season:
Thielen: 68 catches for 940 yards and five touchdowns
Diggs: 84 catches for 903 yards and three touchdowns
The Vikings have had only two 1,000-yard receivers (Nate Burleson and Sidney Rice) since the days of Randy Moss and Cris Carter. With decent games against the Chicago Bears next week they could have two this season. In a season that hasn't been an especially bright one for the Vikings they have a couple of receivers that have been.
Not only did the Vikings have a difficult day in Green Bay they had a difficult time getting there. Their plane slid off the runway after arrival in cheeseland Friday night. If that wasn't bad enough it took nearly six hours for the team to be unloaded from the plane. 1-2 players/coaches/personnel at a time via fire engine bucket. This is truly pathetic. The delay was due to the unfortunate fact that the airport wasn't equipped to handle the emergency unloading of a plane the size of the Vikings' charter. Gimmee a break! If a plane that size is landing at the airport they damn sure should be able to handle the emergency unloading of it. Pathetic.
As for the other games. Congratulations to those teams that have clinched playoff spots, moved closer to clinching playoff spots, or simply kept their playoff hopes alive. Damn few left.
And special congratulations to the Cleveland Browns for avoiding a season without a win with their 20-17 victory over the San Diego Chargers.
Merry Christmas Everyone!
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