Get Sam Ekstrom’s first reaction to the Vikings-Packers Monday night showdown.
BIG PICTURE
This game was as much a litmus test between two good teams than it was a battle for playoff seeding. A Vikings win would have done little to assure them of the NFC North crown, while the Packers felt good, win or lose, about claiming a top-three seed. But the atmosphere was super-charged by a record U.S. Bank Stadium crowd expecting a duel between two contenders. What ensued with an unattractive display of offensive football which may only furthered the narratives that Kirk Cousins can’t beat quality opponents — and that Green Bay’s passing game may get exposed in the playoffs. A disjointed 23-10 Packers victory sent Vikings fans home unhappy for the first time this year.
UH-OH, KIRK
It couldn’t have been much uglier for Cousins, save one throw, a third-down dime to Stefon Diggs for the half’s lone touchdown.
Diggs touchdown pic.twitter.com/Vk4maRPRK5
— Arif Hasan, nondenominational holiday supporter ⛄ (@ArifHasanNFL) December 24, 2019
Aside from Diggs’ reception — his seventh straight game against the Packers with a touchdown — the Vikings hardly looked like themselves. Cousins was indecisive, the running game did little to establish play-action possibilities, and the offense generated a woeful two first downs by halftime. After a pass-heavy start, throwing on seven of the game’s first nine plays, the Vikings got conservative, failing to throw a pass on first or second down throughout their final four possessions of the first half.
More dishearteningly, Minnesota failed to fully capitalize on three Packers turnovers in the first half, all three of which occurred in Green Bay territory. The Vikings came away with 10 points off turnovers but would’ve liked to do more damage.
Cousins looked equally uncomfortable in the second half, throwing a bad interception into double coverage midway through the third quarter. The quarterback resembled the skittish passer who laid an egg at Lambeau Field in Week 2 – and the same one who’d posted an 0-8 record on Monday Night Football in his career. While many of those outings weren’t Cousins’ fault, this one fell largely on his shoulders. A second culprit might be the offensive line, which allowed five sacks and committed a holding call that wiped away a potential momentum-shifting touchdown to Bisi Johnson in the fourth quarter.
The Packers again shut down Minnesota’s play-action game, leaving the Vikings befuddled as to how they’d function. Missing star running back Dalvin Cook didn’t help either as Mike Boone failed to make the impact some supposed.
After an 11-game stretch where Cousins consistently delivered, he reverted to his old ways on Monday night, while Kevin Stefanski showed some potential warts as a playcaller, and the blocking resembled its unseemly 2018 form.
DEFENSE WORN DOWN
The Vikings’ defense got little help from an anemic offense, and the bend-don’t-break philosophy eventually caved as the Packers possessed the ball for nearly 38 minutes. Aaron Jones’ touchdown with 2:03 left in the third quarter gave the Packers their first lead and highlighted a strong night of rushing for the Packers. Green Bay finished with eight rushing first downs and over 180 rushing yards. While they struggled to punch the ball in throughout the first half, the Packers eventually wore Minnesota down just enough. Jones all but sealed the game with under six minutes remaining when he outran the defense 56 yards for a touchdown, Green Bay’s biggest play of the night.
After creating seven turnovers at Los Angeles in Week 15, the Vikings followed up that feat with three more against the Packers in the first half, including a fumble recovery on the game’s third play and Rodgers’ third interception of the year. Anthony Harris’s pick was his sixth of the year, the most for a Vikings player since 2005. But the offense squandered some of those opportunities.
FUMBLE!
Eric Kendricks recovers for Minnesota 💪
— PFF (@PFF) December 24, 2019
It’s hard to be too discouraged with the defense, however. They sacked Rodgers three times, broke up downfield passes and stripped the ball from receivers. The most negative development was injuries. Eric Kendricks left after his second fumble recovery, departing with a quad injury and promptly getting ruled out. The middle linebacker has been arguably the Vikings’ best defensive player this season. Any extended absence could be devastating for the defense. Anthony Barr and Shamar Stephen were also dinged up, leaving the Vikings beaten, and bruised, by game’s end.
X-FACTORS
Packers: Green Bay’s outside running resembled what Seattle was able to produce against the Vikings back in Week 13 when they rushed for over 200 yards. That’s something the Vikings will have to amend come playoff time.
Vikings: Minnesota’s inside rushers showed up again. Ifeadi Odenigbo recorded his sixth sack in a rotation role, while Stephen Weatherly came up with a big third down sack of his own. A rattled Rodgers only looked marginally better than Cousins in the game, but Green Bay’s running game proved the difference.
