The Green Bay Packers have the strange and mostly useless status of having perhaps the strongest losing streak for any NFL team in recent memory.
The Packers have lost five games. They lost to the 13-2 Philadelphia Eagles, twice to the 12-2 Detroit Lions and, after Sunday, twice to the 13-2 Vikings. There isn’t a bad loss on their resume. And that mostly tells us that the Packers are good, but it won’t matter much if they can’t beat any of the top three teams in the NFC.
The Packers fell short again on Sunday, losing 27-25 to the Vikings. That means the Vikings’ game against the Lions in Week 18 will be for the NFC North title and the winner will be the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Vikings dominated the first three quarters before letting the Packers back into the game in the fourth quarter. The Packers cut the Vikings’ lead to two points with less than three minutes remaining, giving hope to the Lions, who could have clinched the NFC North with a win combined with a Vikings loss on Monday night. But the Vikings were able to hold on. Cam Akers made a huge catch on third-and-2 for a first down, allowing Minnesota to kill the rest of the clock. Sam Darnold continues his stellar play with 377 yards.
The Packers are 11-5 and have looked like one of the better teams in the NFL. But it won’t matter much until they show they can beat one of the teams ahead of them in the NFC standings.
Vikings dominate Packers through three quarters
The Packers have been playing well lately, which is why they were a popular underdog pick. Minnesota was a Minnesota was a very slight favorite or an underdog against the Packers, despite being a two-loss team at home that had already defeated the Packers at Lambeau Field earlier in the season.
That betting line didn’t take into account the fact that the Vikings were the better team all season. They were back again on Sunday.
The Vikings defense was very good in the first half. Jordan Love, who has been playing very well lately, only had 45 yards at halftime. Sam Darnold had 184 and a touchdown at halftime.
The Vikings took advantage of a huge penalty at the end of the first half. Will Reichard missed a 55-yard field goal on the final play of the half, but a questionable offside penalty was called on the Packers. Reichard got another chance and nailed a 50-yarder. That gave the Vikings a 13-3 lead at halftime.
The Packers fell behind 20-3 early in the third quarter as Darnold continued to split them up. Despite all the good things the Packers have done this season, they still seem to be a step behind the truly elite teams in the NFL.
Packers rise in fourth quarter
The Packers seemingly got back into the game on a Josh Jacobs touchdown in the third quarter, cutting the Vikings’ lead to 20–10. But Minnesota answered right back with Darnold’s third touchdown, which went to running back Cam Akers.
Green Bay rebounded in the fourth quarter after the game looked like a blowout. The love turned hot, leading the Packers to a pair of touchdowns in the final seven minutes, giving Vikings fans nervous moments. But the Packers couldn’t make the final stop they needed to give Love a chance to win the game.
The Packers didn’t have much to play for on Sunday. They couldn’t catch the Lions or Vikings for the division title. The Packers were playing for seeding as a wild card team, but that might not matter much as long as the Packers don’t fall to No. 7 and have a tough matchup against the Eagles to start the playoffs.
That may be a reason why the Packers didn’t look their best for most of Sunday, but the cause for concern is their 0-5 record against the top three teams in the NFC. Based on that, they seem like a very good team, but not a great team.
Things could change in the playoffs. The Packers have the talent to pull off some upsets and make a run. But there’s a reason why the Lions and Vikings will play for the division title in the regular season finale. In the four combined meetings against the Packers, they have shown that they are on a different level than Green Bay.
