What a finish at Lambeau Field.
Daniel Carlson missed a 35-yard field goal as time expired in overtime — his third miss of the day and second in overtime — and the Vikings and Packers played to their second tie in six seasons, 29-29.
Minnesota stormed back from 23-14 down and scored a touchdown with a two-point conversion to tie the game at 29 with 31 seconds to go. Mason Crosby missed a game-winning 52-yard field goal as time expired to keep the Vikings alive. Head coach Mike Zimmer called timeout just before Crosby’s first attempt that would have been good.
The Packers couldn’t put the Vikings away as they settled for field goals three times in the fourth quarter. Their last field goal came after a Kirk Cousins interception off Laquon Treadwell’s hands that seemed to ice the game, but Minnesota got the ball back down just eight points. Cousins was intercepted again on the game-tying drive, but it was nullified by a Clay Matthews roughing-the-passer call.
Kirk Cousins exploded for 425 yards. Stefon Diggs (131 yards) and Adam Thielen (128) both finished with 100-yard days. Diggs and Thielen both scored touchdowns in the fourth quarter on tremendous efforts that brought the Vikings back.
Poor special teams marked a poor first half for the Vikings and sent them to halftime with a 17-7 deficit — a precursor for what was to come. New punter Matt Wile had his first punt blocked when Green Bay sent an extra rusher and overloaded the right side of the Vikings’ line. Eric Wilson appeared to let Geronimo Allison through for the block, and rookie corner Josh Jackson caught the deflection for a touchdown.
Carlson missed two field goals in the preseason, hooking both to the left. Now his struggles have translated to the regular season, but all three of his misses Sunday were to the right. He missed a 48-yarder at the end of the first half and set up the Packers for a two-minute drive. Rodgers navigated into the Vikings red zone with two seconds remaining in the half to give Mason Crosby a 38-yard field goal that propelled the Packers to a two-possession lead.
Green Bay’s line blocked admirably for the hobbled Rodgers, only allowing one sack in the first half, but they surrendered a pivotal sack in overtime on third down that cost the Packers a shot at a game-winning kick. The quarterback played with a brace on his left knee but showed enough mobility to scramble for a first down on the same drive. Minnesota got charged with a roughing the passer call on Green Bay’s two-minute drive when Eric Kendricks hit Rodgers late, but it was unclear what part of the hit the officials deemed illegal.
Laquon Treadwell scored his first Minnesota touchdown for the Vikings’ lone score in the opening half, beating Kevin King on a post to catch Kirk Cousins’ pass. It took Treadwell two full season and an additional two games to find the end zone, but the former first-round pick will be scrutinized after this one following three drops.
Stay tuned for more coverage from Lambeau Field.
