For the second straight road game, the Minnesota Vikings faced a superior opponent and played the better game. Unlike Week 5 at Seattle, however, this time Minnesota came away with the victory, 28-22.
The Vikings offense sliced through the Packers thanks to Dalvin Cook‘s dominant performance, and the defense bore down in the second half to get a handful of key stops against Aaron Rodgers.
It was Minnesota’s first win over Green Bay since 2018 and their first win in Lambeau Field since 2017.
HOW’D THE OFFENSE DO?
As Gary Kubiak said Thursday, “How Dalvin goes, we normally go.” The Vikings got their star rusher back from a groin injury, and he had every bit of the explosiveness he showed before he went down in Week 5. Cook found the end zone four (!) times in victory, including a 3rd and 9, 50-yard catch and run off a screen pass.
With a steady diet of Cook, the Vikings offense marched methodically down the field time after time, not punting until there were under 12 minutes remaining in the game. Cook torched the Packers for 163 yards rushing, 63 though the air and 5.4 yards per carry. In windy, wintry conditions, Kirk Cousins was a complementary piece, needing only to make a handful throws to move the chains. The Vikings also benefited from two Packers pass interference penalties to extend their third touchdown drive.
With the downfield passing games largely held in check because of heavy wind gusts, the better rushing team was bound to win, and that was the Vikings on Sunday.
HOW’D THE DEFENSE DO?
After allowing 41 points to the Packers offense in Week 1, there was nowhere to go but up for the Vikings defense.
The unit was anything but effective in the first half. The Packers struck for two lengthy scoring drives that resulted in Davante Adams touchdowns, but if there was any silver lining, Green Bay wasn’t able to strike as quickly as they did at U.S. Bank Stadium in early September.
The Vikings offense kept the defense off the field and kept the pressure on the Packers, which was the first team to blink in the second half. Rodgers missed Equanimeous St. Brown on a 4th and 10 in the end zone, which turned the ball back to the Vikings, who scored on Cook’s fourth touchdown four plays later. Trailing by two possessions, the Packers were forced to get more aggressive but never got in a rhythm until late.
Green Bay scored with under three minutes left and went for 2 to pull within six, then got the ball back with 47 seconds on the clock and no timeouts. Their final drive came up short as D.J. Wonnum ended the game with a strip sack to prevent Rodgers’ Hail Mary.
The conditions might have been the equalizer the Vikings needed. With Mike Hughes and Holton Hill hurt — and Cameron Dantzler going down early in the game with a serious neck injury — the uber-stretched Vikings secondary made just enough plays to keep the Packers offense neutralized in the second half. Anthony Harris also may have gotten away with a pass interference in the fourth quarter on a key fourth down pass.
X-FACTOR
Blockers. It was a big day for anybody clearing traffic for Cook, which included Irv Smith Jr., C.J. Ham and rookie Ezra Cleveland, all of whom showed up with key blocks to spring the shifty ball-carrier.
Cleveland’s day was especially encouraging. The second-round pick struggled in his Week 6 debut when the Vikings trailed throughout, and Cleveland was asked to pass block frequently. With a run-heavy scheme on Sunday, Cleveland looked like he was in his element.
BIG PICTURE
The question remains whether Sunday’s win will do enough to change the team’s thinking at Tuesday’s trade deadline. The Vikings trail by three games in the division and still have major deficiencies on defense. Will decision-makers see the performance as an indicator of a competitive stretch upcoming or an outlier in an otherwise disappointing campaign?
