If you were hoping to see the Green Bay Packers’ backups play well on Sunday’s regular-season finale, hopefully you did not watch the team’s game against the Minnesota Vikings this afternoon. Clayton Tune and the Green Bay offense put up just 121 yards of total offense against the Vikings, the fewest in a single game for the franchise since gaining just 120 yards in a 35-0 loss to the Patriots in 2006.
Meanwhile, the offense put up negative-7 passing yards, tying the fourth-lowest number in team history
and putting up the first game with negative net yardage since 1976. Tune was sacked 4 times for 41 yards, outbalancing the 34 yards he gained on 6-for-11 passing. The only player to catch more than one pass from Tune was practice squad callup Jakobie Keeney-James, who had two receptions for 15 yards.
If you want to get an idea of just how badly this game went for a Green Bay Packers offense that had backups playing all over the lineup, Daniel Whelan put up the most gross punting yards in any NFL game this season. Whelan punted 8 times for 431 yards and a 53.9-yard average; that 431 yards ranks as the fifth-most in any game in Packers franchise history.
Defensively, the Packers — also with largely a second-string unit — gave up 363 yards to the Vikings, who saw J.J. McCarthy leave the game in the third quarter after reaggravating his right hand injury. Meanwhile, the Packers saw Bo Melton leave the game with a knee injury while making a special teams tackle, and Javon Bullard also went out late with an injury of his own.
The Packers will look ahead to next week’s Wild Card playoffs and will watch the late afternoon games to see if they will be traveling to Chicago or Philadelphia to try to break their recent 4-game losing streak. They finish the season 9-7-1, while Minnesota finishes the season with a winning record at 9-8, having won their last five games.
First Quarter
The Vikings started with the football and took an early lead on the first drive of the game. J.J. McCarthy completed three passes to Justin Jefferson for 39 yards but he was penalized for taunting after a 6-yard scramble, setting the Vikings back behind the sticks and leading to a 43-yard field goal by Will Reichard to open the scoring.
The Packers failed to gain a first down on their first series, as two short runs by Emanuel Wilson and a third-down pass by Tune was batted down at the line of scrimmage. Daniel Whelan boomed a beautiful 62-yard punt to pin the Vikings inside their own 3-yard line, and the Packers’ defense got a stop after giving up just one first down.
Chris Brooks picked up a first down with an 11-yard carry to start the next Green Bay drive, but Dallas Turner sacked Tune and forced a fumble on third down. The Packers recovered, but punted away for the second time.
Rookie pass-rushers Barryn Sorrell and Collin Oliver flashed on the next defensive series. Oliver tracked down McCarthy on a naked bootleg to record a QB hit and force an incompletion, while Sorrell recorded a quick pressure on McCarthy before making a big run stop for a loss on 3rd and short to force another Vikings punt shortly before the end of the first quarter.
Second Quarter
The punting would continue through much of the second quarter. Green Bay got just its second first down of the game thanks to an illegal hands to the face penalty on Minnesota, but punted away three plays later. Minnesota returned the favor after a few bad throws from McCarthy, including missing Jefferson by a mile on 3rd down. Then Green Bay picked up a 3rd and 6 on a called quarterback sweep by Tune, but got stuffed on 3rd and 3 a few plays later on the wrong side of midfield before another punt.
That play saw a meaningful injury strike one of the Packers’ key special teamers. Bo Melton made an excellent tackle on the Vikings’ punt returner, but stayed down on the field for some time before heading to the medical tent under his own power. The Packers ruled Melton as questionable to return with a knee injury, but they were predictably careful with him and he did not return to the game.
Finally, one offense got moving, as the Vikings made a few plays in the passing game. McCarthy picked up gains of 22 to Josh Oliver and 17 each to Jefferson and Jalen Nailor to reach field goal range. On 4th and inches, McCarthy just barely picked up the first down on a sneak, despite a challenge on the spot of the football by Matt LaFleur, setting Minnesota up at the Packers’ 20-yard line. After a 13-yard run from Jordan Mason set up 1st and goal, McCarthy threw three straight incomplete passes to bring on the field goal unit again and keep it a one-possession game at 6-0.
The Packers took over with three minutes left in the half and on the first play, Emanuel Wilson was stopped for a loss of 18 yards. That is not a typo — Wilson lost 18 yards on a handoff up the middle, as he ran around in the backfield and nearly ended up being taken down in the end zone for a safety. Take a look at this ridiculous play:
After a punt, a few plays later, the Packers finished the half with just 12 yards of total offense on 19 plays.
Minnesota did put together a two-minute drill, reaching field goal range once again with a 26-yard reception by Jalen Nailor. McCarthy found former Packer Ben Sims to reach the 3-yard line. Two plays later, fullback C.J. Ham bulldozed into the end zone from a yard out for the game’s first touchdown, giving Minnesota a 13-0 lead at the half.
Third Quarter
For the first time all day, the Packers’ offense got into a bit of a groove on the opening drive of the second half. Emanuel Wilson had runs of 26, 9, and 12 yards to get his total for the day back in the positive and get Green Bay to the edge of field goal range. But with the Vikings blowing up a wide receiver screen on third down, Dallas Turner got around left tackle Darian Kinnard on a speed rush and sacked Tune again, pushing the Packers out of field goal range and forcing a sixth punt by Daniel Whelan.
After the fist play of the Vikings’ next series, a screen to Jefferson, McCarthy pulled himself out of the game with apparent discomfort in his injured right hand, bringing on backup Max Brosmer. Sorrell picked up a sack on a scrambling Brosmer on a 3rd down a few plays later to bring on Ryan Wright to punt once again.
Tune picked up a gain of 16 yards on a scramble on the next drive, then Brooks picked up another 16 on two back-to-back carries and Wilson gained 11 as the offense reached midfield. However, once again a third down blitz got to Tune to force a punt.
Brosmer got a drive started just before the end of the third quarter, getting one first down before the timeout.
Fourth Quarter
After navigating into the red zone, Brosmer gave the Packers the first turnover of the game. Dropping back to pass, he fell down over his own lineman’s feet, then got up and tried to find a receiver. Brenton Cox then blew him up with a tackle, forcing a fumble that Barryn Sorrell recovered. Sorrell might have had a chance to return it for a score, but he tripped over Cox, who then got kicked in the back of the head by a Vikings player and was slow to get up. Still, it was perhaps the lone highlight of the game for the Packers, so it’s worth reliving:
Predictably, the offense did nothing with the turnover, going three-and-out on a series that featured a sack on first down, another drop by Matthew Golden on second down, and a swing pass on 3rd and 20.
Minnesota added another field goal with four minutes left in the game, bringing on the offense to see if they could give Daniel Whelan a chance at the Packers’ single-game punt yardage record. Instead, they picked up a few first downs, reaching field goal range at the two-minute warning. Instead of trying to conserve time and try to get in the end zone and make it a game — it was still a 16-0 game, so still just two possessions — they elected not to take any timeouts until facing a 2nd down with 28 seconds left. That play went incomplete, then Chris Brooks ran for a short gain before Brandon McManus came on for a field goal attempt with one second left. McManus hit it, avoiding a shutout but giving the Vikings a 16-3 win (and a cover of the final 12.5-point spread).
