On the eve of the New Year, the Minnesota Vikings (7-9) were defeated by the Green Bay Packers (8-8) in a 33-10 setback on Sunday Night Football. For the Packers, it was not just a win, but also a beneficial one, putting them in seventh place in the AFC playoff picture, thanks in part to the Seattle Seahawks’ loss.
The Vikings are just barely alive for a postseason berth, holding the 10th position and needing a miracle of sorts to earn one of the Wild Card slots. They controlled their own destiny going into the game, needing a win over the Packers in Week 17 followed by a win over the Bears in Week 18.The Vikings still need to beat Detroit in Week 18 to make the playoffs, but things get tough after that.
Because the Atlanta Falcons are in the early window, they must beat the New Orleans Saints and/or the Carolina Panthers must beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Following that, the Chicago Bears must defeat the Packers and the Arizona Cardinals must defeat the Seahawks.
Even if the Vikings were to experience a miracle and earn a Wild Card spot, the game against the Packers demonstrated that they are not a playoff-caliber squad. It was Minnesota’s third straight defeat and fifth in their past six games. This is primarily due to inconsistency in quarterback play.
Let’s start with who’s to blame for the Vikings’ Week 17 loss to the Packers.
At quarterback, Jaren Hall and Nick Mullens aren’t the solutJaren Hall only lasted a half-minute before being replaced by Nick Mullens, who had only recently started. Hall completed only 5-of-10 passes for 67 yards and an interception. Before being replaced, Hall also fumbled on a strip-sack by Preston Smith of the Packers. Both mistakes led to Green Bay scores, with the fumble coming with only 26 seconds left before halftime, putting the Packers ahead 23-3 after Jordan Love found Jayden Reed on a 25-yard completion three plays later.
According to ESPN, when Mullens took over in the second half, it was the fifth time the Vikings had switched quarterbacks this season since Cousins suffered his season-ending injury. Surprisingly, Cousins’ injury game was the final time the Vikings faced the Packers, and they won 24-10. That day, Hall took over for Cousins rather than Mullens. It didn’t matter, though.
Mullens did not have a turnover, but he did not help the Vikings offensively. Mullens and the Vikings scored their lone touchdown in just four offensive drives in the second half, while the other three drives resulted in two fumbles on downs and a punt. Mullens completed 13 of 22 passes for 113 yards and a touchdowThe Vikings defence allows 33 points and 470 total yards to the Packers.
The Vikings had now given up 30 points or more for the second week in a row. Prior to then, they had only done so once during the season, in a 34-28 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2.
Jordan Love appeared to be an easy replacement for Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay thanks to the Vikings defence. Love completed 24-of-33 passes for 256 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions, while also scoring on the ground. Love has been developing over the last month and a half, but the Minnesota defence didn’t sack him once and only made three quarterback hits in total.
