The Green Bay Packers absolutely imploded, losing 30-10 to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, and honestly, where do you even begin? It was a full-blown comedy of errors from the opening whistle: the offensive line got their butts kicked, crucial mistakes plagued the rest of the offense, and special teams looked lost. You had a tiny glimpse of hope, that split second where it felt like they might just pull it together, only for the team to let down everyone at Lambeau Field all over again.
The O-Line Was a Disaster From the Jump
Before kickoff, the news broke that guard Kevin Zeitler, who actually played pretty solid last week against the New England Patriots, wasn’t just not starting, he wasn’t playing at all. Zeitler, who was questionable all weekend with ankle and triceps injuries, was straight-up inactive. So, the offensive line rolled out Jordan Morgan, Laken Tomlinson, John Williams, Travis Glover, and Anthony Belton from left to right, while Aaron Banks, who was part of that three-man guard rotation last week, just watched from the sideline. Did that new O-line give the Packers the boost they needed? Absolutely not. This unit managed a measly 56 rushing yards all day and somehow gave up a mind-boggling eight sacks! Think about that: eight sacks! ESPN Research dropped a wild stat saying the Vikings are the first team since the 2015 Cardinals, who also sacked the Packers a ton, to rack up eight sacks and three takeaways in just the first three quarters of a game. And get this: there were still almost four minutes left in that third quarter when that stat came out. Brutal.
Offense and Special Teams Handed Points Away
This game was off the rails for the offense almost immediately. Head coach Matt LaFleur’s crew started their opening drive with a fumble by tight end Mark Redman. Our defense actually did a decent job early on, holding the Vikings to negative two yards over their first two drives, but because of starting field position, Minnesota still walked away with three points. Then, rookie kicker Trey Smack, who already came into the week as the second most costly kicker in the entire league, just behind Harrison Butker, missed a field goal when Green Bay finally got into scoring position. It just kept getting worse. The Packers even declined a penalty later on to try and push the Vikings out of field goal range on their next drive. What were they thinking?! Minnesota didn’t just convert that third down, they marched in for a touchdown to go up 10-0. And the momentum killer continued: Jordan Love threw an interception in the red zone, and it wasn’t even clear if tight end Tucker Kraft was expecting the ball. Seriously, what a mess.
Defensive Gaps and a Familiar Face Delivering the Final Blow
The next points on the board, naturally, came from Minnesota again. They converted a long third down when the Packers decided to trot out their dime defense, a package the team rarely uses. Cornerback Carrington Valentine, who usually handles the second slot in those looks, was forced to play right cornerback because Brandon Cisse was injured. That pushed Kamal Hadden into the slot role, and guess what? That conversion set up a touchdown for none other than former Packers running back Aaron Jones. He punched in the score to make it 17-0, and he even did his signature leap in what might be his final time at Lambeau. Ouch. Xavier McKinney did grab an interception off Kirk Cousins late in the first half, which was a nice play, but the Packers couldn’t do a single thing with that momentum. It was just a complete breakdown across the board.
This team needs a serious gut check. You can’t give up eight sacks and make that many crucial mistakes and expect to win. It’s time to figure out what’s going on, because that performance was unacceptable.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Acme Packing Company.
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