MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jordan Love was stood up at the line on a fourth-and-1 sneak for the Green Bay Packers, disappearing from view beneath a pile of purple-clad Minnesota Vikings defenders as the fate of a pivotal drive was turned over to the NFL's virtual measurement system.
When the digitized image of the ball short of the sticks appeared on the giant videoboard, the crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium erupted.
The Vikings then drove 83 penalty-assisted yards
for the go-ahead touchdown and a 25-22 lead, and they went on to close the game with 29 straight points for a 39-22 victory that left Packers coach Matt LaFleur's decision to forgo a field goal and try for first down up for season-long debate.
Rookie Trey Smack's fourth field goal of the game would've put the Packers up 25-17, but an offside penalty on Vikings linebacker Dallas Turner tempted LaFleur to accept it and go for more.
“Sometimes you live and die by that, but we’re going to be aggressive and we’re going to try to go for the throat in that situation,” LaFleur said.
The Packers still had opportunities after that, but in concerning and infuriating fashion they erased three quarters of dominance over a division rival with an implosion down the stretch that looked an awful lot like the way they finished last season.
“The only people who can beat us are us. That’s it,” tight end Tucker Kraft said. “We’re the best team in the NFL, but if we don’t go out there and play like it, no one’s going to believe us.”
The Packers lost four times last season when leading by at least nine points in the second half, including their collapse in the wild-card round of the playoffs at another NFC North enemy, the Chicago Bears. The Packers were outscored 25-6 in the fourth quarter of that game and 22-0 in this one, extending their losing streak to six games.
LaFleur gave Love two plays to run on the fourth-and-1, and Love picked the sneak, which was not even close to the biggest mistake the Packers made late.
“You know, I think there’s some stuff I could have done better with my operation, and even with the play call,” Love said. “We had two plays called right there. Went with the quarterback sneak. Thought we can get it, and we didn’t.”
The Packers had four defensive penalties on the ensuing drive after their turnover on downs, starting with an encroachment call on Jonathan Ford.
Javon Bullard was called for illegal contact to negate a third-down sack. Rookie Chris McClellan was penalized for a late hit to wipe out a third-down incompletion. Then Xavier McKinney’s defensive holding call erased an end-zone interception by Evan Williams, and Aaron Jones scored for the Vikings on the next play.
Though the penalties on McClellan and McKinney were contested by the Packers, they had only themselves to blame for this collapse.
They had 12 penalties for 98 yards, went 3 for 12 on third down and 0 for 2 on fourth down, and scored only one touchdown and totaled just 10 points in four trips inside the 20-yard line. Even Smack's debut, which included a 59-yarder on a 4-for-4 performance on field goals, had a blemish with a missed extra point in the first quarter that could've altered the strategy late.
Love didn't take a sack until the last play of the third quarter and wound up with four, and he had a lost fumble and an interception deep in his own territory after the Vikings took the lead.
“We didn’t finish. I’m tired of saying this every time. I don’t want to talk about it no more,” linebacker Edgerrin Cooper said. “It’s what we've got to do. We've got to figure it out.”
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