The Green Bay Packers have the odd and mostly useless status of having perhaps the strongest set of losses 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’s not a bad loss on their resume. And that mostly tells us that the Packers are good but it’s not going to matter much if they can’t beat any of the three best teams in the NFC.
The Packers came up 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, then they let the Packers back in the game in the fourth quarter. The Packers cut the Vikings’ lead to two points with less than three minutes left, which gave hope to the Lions, who could have clinched the NFC North with win on Monday night combined with a Vikings loss. But the Vikings were able to hang on. Cam Akers made a great catch on third-and-2 for a first down, which allowed 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 NFL’s better teams. But it doesn’t matter too much until they show they can beat one of the teams ahead of them in the NFC standings.
Vikings dominate Packers through 3 quarters
The Packers have been playing well lately and that’s why they were a popular underdog pick. Minnesota was a Minnesota was a very small favorite or a underdog against the Packers, despite being a two-loss team at home that had already beaten the Packers at Lambeau Field earlier in the season.
That betting line didn’t account for the fact that the Vikings have been the better team all season. They were again on Sunday too.
The Vikings defense was very good in the first half. Jordan Love, who has been playing very well lately, had just 45 yards at halftime. Sam Darnold had 184 and a touchdown at halftime.
The Vikings benefitted from 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 there was a questionable offsides penalty on the Packers. Reichard got another chance and nailed a 50-yarder. That put the Vikings ahead 13-3 at halftime.
The Packers fell behind 20-3 early in the third quarter as Darnold kept carving them up. For all of the good things the Packers have done this season, they still seem a step behind the truly elite teams in the NFL.
Packers rally in 4th quarter
The Packers seemingly got back in the game on a Josh Jacobs touchdown in the third quarter, which cut the Vikings’ lead to 20-10. But Minnesota answered back right away with Darnold’s third touchdown, which went to running back Cam Akers.
Green Bay did rally in the fourth quarter after the game seemed like a blowout. Love got hot and led the Packers to a pair of touchdowns in the final seven minutes to give Vikings fans some nervous moments. But the Packers couldn’t get the final stop they needed to give Love a chance to win the game.
The Packers didn’t have too 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 the No. 7 seed and a tough game at the Eagles to start the playoffs.
That might be a reason the Packers didn’t look their best for most of Sunday, but the reason for concern is their 0-5 record against the three best teams in the NFC. Based on that, they look like a very good team but not a great one.
Things can change in the playoffs. The Packers have the talent to pull off some upsets and make a run. But there’s a reason the Lions and Vikings will be playing for the division title in the regular-season finale. They showed over the four combined meetings against the Packers that they’re on a different tier than Green Bay.