What We Learned About the Minnesota Vikings in a Mostly Dominant Victory vs Packers

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Justin Jefferson, Jordan Love handshake - Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings
Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Vikings entered their week 17 NFC North rivalry matchup vs the Green Bay Packers with everything to gain, and plenty to lose. A win set up a winner-take-all NFC regular season finale vs the Detroit Lions.

A loss vs the Packers, however, wouldn’t just put the No. 1 seed at risk. It would mean they could still drop as far as the No. 7 seed, depending on how week 18 played out. In other words, we’ve had some big Minnesota vs Green Bay games throughout the history of this rivalry, but not many have had the implications that December 29, 2024 did.

What We Learned – Minnesota Vikings vs Green Bay Packers (Week 17)

Sam Darnold - Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings
Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

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And guess what? For the 9th-straight time, the Minnesota Vikings put a notch in the win column, defeating the packers 27-25 in a game that, thanks to a near disastrous final seven minutes, ended up way closer than it should have been. But look beyond the scoreboard tonight, and it was clear who the better team was. So, without further ado, here’s what we learned today about the now 14-2 Minnesota Vikings

Sam Darnold just keeps getting better…

Look, we know Sam Darnold was once a very talented quarterback. We’ve heard it over and over again, since he signed with the Minnesota Vikings. “If Kevin O’Connell can get the best out of Darnold…” or… “Ability isn’t the problem for Sam”.

But what reality unveiled during the 2024 Minnesota Vikings season is so much more than anything fans or pundits could have plausibly imagined. And on Sunday vs the Green Bay Packers, we saw the 27-year-old former 1st round bust take yet another step in his positive development as an NFL QB.

From his pre-snap reads and adjustments, to his cannon right arm delivering throws that make you double-take… Darnold did it all for the Vikings on Sunday, just like he has for the entire season. On the day, Darnold went 33-of-47 for 377 yards, 3 touchdowns and one interception.

Early on, the Packers made it impossible to get the ball to Justin Jefferson, so Sam threw it to everyone else, spreading it around to eight different receivers. As the game progressed, JJ stayed patient and delivered huge catches in the 3rd and 4th quarters.

When the dust settled, JJ still led the team with 8 receptions for 92 yards. His best one was called back for an offensive holding. But Jordan Addison caught six passes, including a touchdown. TJ Hockenson and Jalen Nailor both snagged five, Cam Akers caught a touchdown… you get it.

ReceiverRECYDSTD
Justin Jefferson8920
Jordan Addison6691
TJ Hockenson5680
Jalen Nailor5811
Aaron Jones4300
Cam Akers2151
CJ Ham2150
Johnny Mundt170

Darnold wasn’t perfect, and he made some mistakes late that certainly cost the Vikings big time, especially his interception. But no QB in this league is perfect. With just one game remaining, Sam has thrown for 4,153 yards 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions on the season. His completion percentage is 67%.

Will Reichard nearly cost the Vikings a huge win vs Packers

The Minnesota Vikings’ biggest problems on Sunday came via special teams. Brandon Powell’s muffed punt recovery could have been costly, but he recovered it, so there was no harm done. Instead, it was kicker, Will Reichard who cost them 6 points and an easy win.

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After starting off the season perfect, the rookie kicker out of Alabama sustained an injury that cost him four games, and his first two misses of the season. On Sunday vs the Packers, he missed kicks from 57 and 43 yards. One hit the cross bar, the other hit the left post.

Oh, and he missed a third attempt that didn’t count because of a Green Bay penalty. I was caught up in Will Reichard mania earlier this season, too. But there is something wrong with him right now, and the Minnesota Vikings need to get it figured out.

The only reason the Packers were able to make today’s game competitive was because Reichard left six points off the scoreboard. There is no plan B. Kevin O’Connell isn’t going to Mike Zimmer the kid. But, he is not in a good headspace for a place kicker on a supposed Super Bowl caliber team.

Doubt the Minnesota Vikings at your own risk

This week, I heard numerous NFL pundits say that the Green Bay Packers were a better football team than the Minnesota Vikings. Sure, the Vikings won their first matchup of the season, which was @ Lambeau. But ‘Jordan Love was injured’… or ‘this is a different Packers team now’… ‘this is Josh Jacobs team’.

Sure, the Vikings are on an 8-game winning streak, but the Packers had won nine of their last eleven, including two blowouts in their last two weeks vs New Orleans and Seattle. And at the end of the day, many still did not trust Sam Darnold, or a Vikings team that was projected to finish last place in the NFC North, heading into the season.

But after today’s convincing sweep over the hated Packers, it’s impossible those haters still exist, right? The Minnesota Vikings just stomped the Green Bay Packers for 3.5 quarters, before nearly allowing a 27-10 lead to evaporate. But they got it done and the stats tell the bigger story, compared to the final score.

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On Sunday afternoon, the Vikes offense outgained the Pack 441 yards to 271, even after their near collapse. They also won the time of possession battle 34:25 to 24:30. Sam Darnold was hurried just three times all day. Jordan Love was hurried six times by Vikings pass rushers. He threw for just 185 yards and 1 touchdown.

2024 is now the second greatest regular season in franchise history. The only other season the Vikings reached 14 or more wins when rookie Randy Moss lit the NFL world on fire for the 15-1 1998 Vikings. The purple went 15-1 in that 17-week regular season. The league expanded to 18 weeks in 2022.

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