The Green Bay Packers won another NFC North title, and they did it in the best possible way. Aaron Rodgers and the boys defeated Minnesota Vikings on the road, 23-10, using something we haven’t seen that much from them in the previous seasons – defense.
Aaron Rogers said recently that he wouldn’t mind taking the Super Bowl trophy in an ugly way. Well, it seems that his teammates started preparing for that scenario. And the two-time MVP was happy about that following the match.
“It doesn’t matter how we get it done as long as we get it done,” he said.
Green Bay won without him throwing a touchdown pass, and by beating up Minnesota’s offense. Kirk Cousins was sacked five times, for 40 negative yards, and was picked in what turned out to be the crucial drive of the game, which could have shifted the momentum onto Vikings’ side. Midway through the third quarter, Minnesota forced a punt, to gain possession of the football. In those moments, the hosts were up 10-9, but CB Kevin King intercepted Cousins’ pass and made a 39-yard return.
Rodgers would take it from there, making a position for Aaron Jones, who scored his first of two touchdowns of the night. Packs’ RB was superb with 154 rushing yards on 23 carries, with the note that the second TD was after a 56-yard run.
Another guy who was excellent among the guests was Za’Darius Smith, with 3.5 sacks and five tackles for a loss. Green Bay’s LB smashed Cousins’ protection, disrupting the home team’s gameplan.
Rodgers himself was below the radar, with one interception and 216 yards, 26-for-40. He admitted that just a few things worked in his game, but luckily, the defense stepped up to erase all of his mistakes.
“First half on offense, we turned the ball over three downs, but then our defense keeps us in the thing and plays unbelievable,” the guy with No.12 on his pack said during the on-field interview.
On the other side, Cousins did have one TD pass, but also an interception and just 122 yards with 16 completions in 31 passing attempts.
“When you don’t convert third downs, go three-and-out, you just don’t have that many plays. You don’t have many bites at the apple to get going,” Cousins said
Although the fans across the social networks labeled him as the biggest disappointment in this event, it needs to be said that he played without Stefon Diggs, and that his running backs failed to meet the expectations. Minnesota had just 57 rushing yards in this contest.
The Vikings (10-5) missed a chance to improve their position in the standings and are now sixth in the NFC. Struggling Chicago Bears will be their final opponent in the regular part of the campaign.
As for the Packers (12-3), this is the first time since 2016 to win the division. Matt LaFleur’s guys will have a chance even to clinch the top seed in the NFC, but first, they have to beat the Detroit Lions and see the development of other matches.
