Missed field goals cost the Minnesota Vikings a win in Green Bay earlier this season.
A determined second-half effort didn’t let it happen again as Minnesota allowed just three points after halftime, recovered a late onside kick and melted away the remaining clock to win 24-17.
Dan Bailey missed two field goals before halftime and, despite doubling the Packers in yards, the Vikings went to the locker room in a 14-14 tie, prompting Mike Zimmer to tell NBC that he would go for it on fourth down in the second half to avoid putting the game in a kicker’s hands.
While the coach’s threat turned out to be empty — Bailey hit a 37-yard field goal in the third quarter — the Vikings’ defensive fuel tank wasn’t as they harassed nemesis Aaron Rodgers in the second half. After completing consecutive scoring drives in the first half that amounted to 143 yards, the Packers offense gained just 62 yards on the next six drives. Included in the stretch was a 4th and 1 failure on a Harrison Smith run stop that led to Minnesota’s go-ahead field goal.
The difference was the Vikings’ interior defensive line. Sheldon Richardson arguably had his best game since Week 1 as he sacked Rodgers twice, while counterpart Tom Johnson added one of his own. Green Bay’s stagnant offense struggled to run the ball between the tackles after a good start to the game by Aaron Jones, and Rodgers rarely found a comfortable moment outside the pocket. Rodgers only had 116 yards through the air with 4:51 remaining and finished with a season-low 198.
It was a clamp-down defensive showing that could be considered a kickstarter for the team’s December push.
The bounce-back primetime performance for quarterback Kirk Cousins was on the same level. After laying an egg at Soldier Field a week ago, Cousins responded with 342 yards, three touchdown passes and no turnovers. He brought the Vikings back from two seven-point deficits in the first half — one with a 26-yard screen pass to Dalvin Cook, another with a 30-yard touchdown strike to Stefon Diggs. He completed a 3rd and 7 to Diggs on the first play after the two-minute warning to put the Vikings in Victory Formation.
Minnesota’s playmakers all shone. Adam Thielen (125), Kyle Rudolph (63) and Diggs (77) combined for 265 yards, while Cook added 76 all-purpose yards. Green Bay’s defense came in banged up and looked overmatched against Minnesota’s stars. Thielen woke up the crowd with a magnificent 33-yard catch over Jaire Alexander in the first half and dominated thereafter, catching a third-quarter touchdown that put the Vikings up 10.
Of concern, though, was the health of Xavier Rhodes, who has seemingly been playing less than 100 percent much of the season. Rhodes gave up a long pass to Davante Adams in the fourth quarter and came up holding his hamstring. With Tom Brady and Russell Wilson next on the schedule, the Vikings can’t afford to be without their premier corner.
With the win Minnesota moved to 6-4-1, half a game better than both Seattle and Carolina in the Wild Card standings. They face the New England Patriots next week.
Stay tuned for more coverage from U.S. Bank Stadium.
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