MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings got a big lead on the rival Green Bay Packers back in September, going up 28-0 before nearly coughing up the advantage entirely. Three months later, they offered up a sequel for the U.S. Bank Stadium crowd, nearly surrendering a 27-10 fourth-quarter lead before outlasting their NFC North rivals for a critical 27-25 victory, their ninth straight on the 2024 season.
Sam Darnold turned in an MVP-caliber performance to help Minnesota dominate much of the afternoon, while Brian Flores' defense suffocated Jordan Love and Co. until the final quarter, when Green Bay surged back to life thanks to a couple of surgical drives through the air. Vikings kicker Will Reichard also contributed to the game's close finish, missing two of four field goals while also failing to hit the landing zone on a kickoff, granting the Packers favorable field position.
Sunday's anticipated showdown started slowly, with both sides trading stingy defensive stands, but Darnold settled in after feeding speedy wide receiver Jalen Nailor, who saw an uptick in opportunities with Green Bay zeroing in on star pass catcher Justin Jefferson. From there, he had little trouble spreading the ball to the array of weapons in Kevin O'Connell's lineup, with Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson all corralling at least five catches against a "D" missing star corner Jaire Alexander.
Flores' group, meanwhile, all but rendered the Packers' pass game a non-factor early. Missing deep threat Christian Watson, Love managed just 45 yards through the air in the game's first two quarters, and while bruising back Josh Jacobs had a heavy workload up the middle, Green Bay spent most of the rematch playing catch-up. Things finally clicked late, with Love guiding a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown drives while feeding Romeo Doubs, but it was too little, too late.
The win bumps the Vikings to 14-2 on the season and sets up a winner-take-all against the Lions in Week 18 for the NFC North title and home-field advantage. It also drops the Packers to 11-5 in the North.
Take your pick of Darnold's pretty throws, basically. This one to Addison helped give Minnesota a 20-3 advantage, showcasing the quarterback's steadiness as a pocket-climber and downfield thrower:
Darnold and Addison making it look easy 😮💨 TD @Vikings!
— NFL (@NFL) December 29, 2024
📺: #GBvsMIN on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/T2NQ7GQV0d
The Vikings (14-2) will close their 2024 season with a pivotal Week 18 rematch in Detroit, where they'll fight the Lions (13-2) for the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, plus the NFC North crown. The Packers (11-5), meanwhile, will finish their regular season against the Chicago Bears (4-12), who fell to the Seattle Seahawks in an ugly 6-3 contest in Week 17.
It wasn't pretty late, but Minnesota pulls it off, sealing the deal by getting a first down on a Sam Darnold-to-Cam Akers dump-off. Jordan Love's late-game heroics were strong, but it was too little, too late for Green Bay. The Vikings officially improve to 14-2, while the Packers drop to 11-5. What a finish.
Wow. Down 20-3 earlier, the Packers are suddenly within two points after Jordan Love orchestrates a beautiful nine-play scoring series. Feeding his entire makeshift receiving corps, including Romeo Doubs, Bo Melton and Dontayvion Wicks, he ultimately hits Malik Heath over the middle for the score. It's now 27-25 Vikings, and Minnesota has a chance to seal it by moving the chains on the ensuing drive. But things suddenly look tight, and the Vikings' errors on the margins could come back to bite them; they had 12 men on the field on the Packers' score, and kicker Will Reichard's two field goal misses look even more glaring now.
Don't turn this one off just yet. The Vikings have been dominating, but seemingly out of nowhere Matt LaFleur produces a nine-play, 67-yard scoring series headlined by a couple of long strikes from Jordan Love -- first to Bo Melton, then to Tucker Kraft. Josh Jacobs and Emanuel Wilson then share touches on the ground, with the latter powering forward for the score. It's 27-18 after Love finds Romeo Doubs for the two-point try, meaning Green Bay isn't done yet. Brian Flores' secondary nowhere to be found on this drive.
The Vikings have a chance to go up 30-10, but Will Reichard bangs a 43-yard field goal off the uprights. He's now missed two of four field goal tries on the day. Probably the only blemish for Minnesota thus far.
Green Bay has nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Down 27-10 with the clock ticking in the fourth, Jordan Love's pocket collapses and Andrew Van Ginkel sandwiches him for the sack to force a punt. That means the Packers went backwards two yards on their six-play series. They have just nine first downs on the day. We can't call this one yet, because the Pack did threaten a comeback against these Vikings despite falling behind 28-0 in their September meeting, but boy does this one look good for Minnesota.
Sam Darnold is 21 of 22 on passes between the numbers against the Packers, per ESPN. In other words, the Vikings are absolutely killing it over the middle of the field. Green Bay not having Quay Walker and Jaire Alexander hasn't helped. It's partly why everything's coming up purple in this one.
Everybody eats in Minnesota! Sam Darnold slings another beauty to Jordan Addison, who's up to six catches on the day, and after a couple of Aaron Jones tosses, Cam Akers gets the dump-off screen, fighting through a few would-be tacklers to reach the end zone and put the Vikings up 27-10. The Packers have no answers for the wide array of weapons. Minnesota now has 22 first downs to Green Bay's eight, and owns the time-of-possession battle 27:33 to 16:36. It's been a one-sided affair except for the one Darnold pick.
Four plays after Carrington Valentine's interception of Sam Darnold, the Packers score their first touchdown of the day, feeding Josh Jacobs at the goal line. It's now 20-10 Vikings, and we've got ourselves a ballgame. Jeff Hafley's "D" had struggled to get off the field for a while, so perhaps this will turn the tide.
Absolutely desperate for a big play, Green Bay gets one on the defensive side, baiting Sam Darnold into a sideline shot. Aiming for T.J. Hockenson with pressure in his face, Darnold instead zips it to Packers cornerback Carrington Valentine, with star safety Xavier McKinney also in the area. The much-needed takeaway puts Green Bay in scoring range about halfway through the third.
Christian Watson's injury-related absence is being felt by the Packers offense. Jordan Love has just a single pass completion over 10 yards in this game. Nobody's really separating downfield, and while Matt LaFleur's focus has been on wearing down Minnesota with Josh Jacobs, that approach isn't necessarily ideal when you're down 20-3. The Packers need a splash play in a hurry.
Jordan Love may have the most gifted arm in the NFC North, but it's yet to matter today. After finding Jalen Nailor for another big gain, Sam Darnold stands tall amid pressure off the edge and threads a perfect downfield end-zone shot to Jordan Addison, making up for an earlier deep shot that got broken up. Rookie safety Javon Bullard is on the wrong end of the pass coverage for Green Bay, and all of a sudden Minnesota leads this by three scores. That's passing touchdown No. 34 for Darnold on the year.
Will Reichard misses from 55 yards out on a last-second field goal try, but the Packers get flagged for offsides, giving the Vikings a second chance at extra points. Reichard delivers from 50, and we go into the break with Minnesota up 10 points, owning a 13-3 advantage. Credit to Brian Flores' defense for really limiting the Jordan Love-led aerial attack thus far. Sam Darnold also looks especially sharp, even with Justin Jefferson blanketed by the Green Bay secondary, zipping some chain-moving darts into tight windows.
Jalen Nailor is up to 59 yards on four catches as Sam Darnold's top target in lieu of Justin Jefferson drawing extra attention from the Packers. His latest reception, a 16-yarder, comes in a tight window and helps set up a 25-yard Will Reichard field goal, and we've got ourselves a 10-3 ballgame in favor of Minnesota. That scoring drive goes 69 yards over 10 plays. Halftime is fast approaching.
Josh Jacobs gets a big workload on Green Bay's latest series, and the Packers push the rock to the Vikings 23, but on fourth-and-3, Jordan Love gets jumpy in the pocket and can't quite connect with Jayden Reed over the middle. Reed has yet to secure a catch on the day, and the ball goes back to Minnesota. Love is 7 of 11 for 45 yards so far, and only Dontayvion Wicks has more than one catch. Most of Matt LaFleur's attack has centered on Jacobs' bruising ground game. The Vikings are toughing it out.
Injury alert: Vikings edge rusher Pat Jones II walks off after taking a shot to the knee from Packers tight end Tucker Kraft. Required some attention from trainers before limping his way to the sidelines.
Justin Jefferson is getting almost no looks as the Packers focus their attention on the Vikings' top pass catcher, but that opens the door for Jalen Nailor, who outraces the entire Green Bay secondary for a 31-yard score. That's Sam Darnold's 33rd touchdown pass of the year, and it puts the Vikes up 7-3 in this one.
Josh Jacobs rumbles into Minnesota territory with another strong dose of touches, but the Vikings hold firm inside the 10, with Josh Metellus stuffing Luke Musgrave on third down. So Green Bay goes up first but settles for a 22-yard field goal from Brandon McManus. It's 3-0 Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium. This one's been a gritty defensive affair thus far, with Brian Flores and Jeff Hafley both showcasing strong stuff.
Jordan Addison burns Keisean Nixon on the outside for a potential score, but Sam Darnold floats it high rather than with velocity, and Nixon makes a leaping recovery to break up the connection. Then Will Reichard boots a field goal try from 57 yards out, and it bounces off the crossbar. So we're still at 0-0 here. Darnold is facing some heat up the middle from the Packers front.
Green Bay takes to the air on its second series, perhaps as a response to Josh Jacobs' early fumble, and Jordan Love tries for three straight downfield shots, nearly connecting with Dontayvion Wicks. But the passes are just off, and the last one is nearly picked by Harrison Smith over the middle. So it's a punt, and the Vikings are back in control. Three drives so far, and three defensive stands.
Josh Jacobs' fumble put Minnesota in a great position near midfield, but Jeff Hafley's defense shows up, putting pressure in Sam Darnold's face on back-to-back plays to force a punt. Kenny Clark got the first pressure, and Rashan Gary nearly came up with a sack on third down.
Green Bay starts strong with a couple of tough Josh Jacobs carries and a quick first-down catch by Dontayvion Wicks, but then Jacobs coughs up the ball on a hit from Jerry Tillery. Vikings safety Cam Bynum (who else?) jumps on it, and we've got out first turnover already.
Former Vikings Pro Bowl defensive lineman Pat Williams shows up at U.S. Bank Stadium to blow the pregame Gjallarhorn ahead of the opening kickoff. A "Skol" chant follows, and we're ready to go.
The Packers win the coin toss and elect to receive the ball. It's Jordan Love up first in Minnesota.
The fake snow is falling inside U.S. Bank Stadium as the Vikings and Packers prepare to take the field.
Live from U.S. Bank Stadium, we've got you covered with all the key notes and analysis from today's matchup. First up: The Packers are without some big names in Minnesota, with Jaire Alexander, Christian Watson and Quay Walker among notable inactives.
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