green BAY, WIS. – The Vikings' first travel to Lambeau box with Mike Zimmer as head instruct came eight years ago, when they arrived with out their starting quarterback accessible, fell a long way at the back of by using halftime and watched the Packers relax for plenty of the second half.
Fifteen conferences later, on the end of a stretch where Zimmer's defenses have regularly proved a priceless foil for Aaron Rodgers, the Vikings lost 37-10 in a Sunday evening defeat that appeared like a bookend for Zimmer's first loss at Lambeau.
Time will tell no matter if the defeat in eco-friendly Bay turned into his ultimate.
The Vikings' playoff hopes had been euthanized Sunday evening, in a defeat that felt like an anthology of their worst moments towards their hated rival. With Kirk Cousins on the COVID-19 checklist, the Sean Mannion-led Vikings offense did not surpass one hundred yards until the end of the third quarter. Rodgers hit Davante Adams eight times for 118 yards and a touchdown within the first half by myself, before Zimmer made the choice for Patrick Peterson to shadow Adams within the second half.
The 27-point loss matched the eighth-worst loss to the Packers in Vikings history, tying two losses Minnesota took in 1962 (its second season) to Vince Lombardi's 2d championship crew. It become the fifth-most lopsided defeat in Zimmer's eight seasons, and his worst because the Vikings' 38-7 loss within the NFC Championship game 4 years in the past.
"I didn't suppose like we gave ourselves an opportunity to win," Zimmer mentioned in a postgame information convention that lasted simply over three minutes. "the first half type of received faraway from us, time of possession. We failed to stream the ball really in any respect. We got far from the working online game method too quickly, after which in the 2nd half, we did not play well satisfactory defensively, so supply them credit score. they may be a superb group, and they acquired after us."
The loss eradicated the Vikings from the NFC playoff race and deploy a meaningless season finale for the second yr in a row. it is the fifth time in eight seasons the Vikings have overlooked the playoffs in accepted supervisor Rick Spielman and Zimmer's time working collectively.
After constructing a 20-three led in the first half, the Packers leaned on their running game to pull away in the fourth quarter, when A.J. Dillon plowed throughout the Vikings protection for a pair of touchdowns.
Rodgers accomplished 20 of his 25 passes within the first half for 211 yards and two touchdowns, filleting a Vikings secondary that offered him a variety of matchups to select from with Peterson not shadowing Adams.
The Packers additionally ran for 88 yards in the first half, with Aaron Jones breaking two runs of greater than 25 yards in a online game for the first time in his profession. things could had been even more lopsided within the first half if the Packers hadn't settled for two container dreams early within the video game; tight conclusion Josiah Deguara dropped a touchdown pass on eco-friendly Bay's 2d possession after splitting the Vikings' two-protection look with a route up the core on eco-friendly Bay's first possession.
It turned into the kind of offensive performance that could require a masterful reply from the Vikings. playing devoid of Cousins, they got here out tentative.
BOXSCORE: green Bay 37, Vikings 10
They opted to delivery veteran Mannion, whom they'd signed on the end of the preseason, over rookie Kellen Mond, believing the third-round prefer may battle in a first-rate-time online game in frigid temperatures against the NFC's suitable seed. however after coach Mike Zimmer stated Mannion would deal with his possibility well, the Vikings could not get a hold of any reply for the Packers.
Mannion ended the first half with fifty seven yards on 9-for-15 passing; he failed to attempt a flow that traveled longer than 6 yards in the air until the Vikings' ultimate drive of the first half that resulted in a Greg Joseph field goal.
He complete the evening with 22 completions on 36 makes an attempt for 189 yards; Mannion threw the primary career landing circulate on the end of the third quarter to ok.J. Osborn, after core Garrett Bradbury caught Adrian Amos' deflection of a throw to Tyler Conklin and rumbled 21 yards for what was the Vikings' longest play of the evening at that factor.
"or not it's gut-wrenching for our group; it be gut-wrenching for me in my opinion," Mannion stated. "I need to come in here and play the most excellent soccer i can, and i hope that materializes in wins, and unluckily it did not these days."
The quarterback ended up with the Vikings' longest run of the evening on an eleven-yard scramble, as a Packers team that had allowed 499 speeding yards in its previous three games held Dalvin cook dinner to 13 yards on 9 includes.
afterward, Zimmer spoke of he didn't believe the Vikings caught with the run long satisfactory.
"I talked to [offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak] about, 'hi there, we have bought to preserve giving Dalvin the ball," Zimmer pointed out. "And the primary play of the [Vikings' fourth] possession, we get a sack."
After Dillon scored to make it 37-10, the Vikings brought Mond in for a series while the Vikings' medical staff helped Mannion deal with cramps in his throwing hand. Mond went 2-for-3 for 5 yards.
Zimmer pointed out he wasn't specifically attracted to seeing the rookie in next week's season finale in opposition t the Bears. Why not?
"I see him per week," Zimmer referred to.
What occurs to the Vikings next Sunday against the Bears will faded in magnitude to the selections they figure to face on the end of the season, now that they've long gone 14-18 following their travel to the divisional playoffs in 2019.
NFL convention standings
"We stated it all offseason: ability everywhere throughout the board," cornerback Patrick Peterson talked about. "but we have to go obtainable and execute at a excessive level should you're going out on Sundays. We had instances of that. We had times the place we achieved very neatly, we had instances where we had lapses."
The Vikings' first eight losses this season have been by using one score. Their ninth, the one which would make sure they might omit the playoffs once more, provided no dramatic conclude.
instead, as they left Lambeau box on a frigid night, the Vikings had been left to as soon as again stare at the expanse between themselves and the division's usual-bearer.
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