MINNEAPOLIS – The Packers let a second-half lead get away, and then the Vikings ran away with the game in a 39-22 decision Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Here are five takeaways from the season-opening defeat:
1. The game flipped in the fourth quarter.
Leading 22-17 and facing fourth-and-6 just outside the red zone early in the fourth quarter, the Packers kicked a 40-yard field goal. But an offside penalty on the Vikings prompted Head Coach Matt LaFleur to take the points off the board and go for it on fourth-and-1.
From the moment QB Jordan Love's sneak was stopped, the rest of the game was all Vikings.
"We're going to be aggressive," LaFleur said in explaining his decision. "It was going to be an 8-point game. If it had been a two-possession game I probably would've thought otherwise.
"Sometimes you live and die by that. We're going to be aggressive and go for the throat in that situation."
Love had two play calls at the line of scrimmage, checked to the sneak based on the defensive front, but came up six inches short.
"I thought we could get it and we didn't," Love said. "Had two plays called right there, and obviously QB sneak didn't work. In hindsight, wish I would've run the other play."
2. The Vikings' ensuing go-ahead TD drive was incredibly frustrating defensively.
As Minnesota went 83 yards in nine plays to take its first lead of the game, Green Bay thought the defense had the stop three times.
But an illegal contact penalty on Javon Bullard wiped out a sack, a roughing the passer on Chris McClellan canceled an incomplete pass, and a defensive holding on Xavier McKinney nullified Evan Williams' interception in the end zone.
All three flags came on third downs.
"I thought we were going to get off the grass, got called for penalties," LaFleur said. "Obviously it had an effect. They were able to go down and score.
"A lot of times those (contact) plays happen down there but they called it. My point to the team is you can't put it in the hand of the officials."
3. From there, the Packers never answered.
Green Bay's next two drives fell apart due to pass protection miscues, as a strip-sack of Love and an interception on a twice-tipped ball set up two Minnesota touchdowns to run their scoring streak to 29 straight points.
"We were playing well, but in the fourth quarter it took a turn with a couple unfortunate plays," said Love, who threw for 387 yards. "We weren't able to overcome some of those."
Love was under duress for much of the game, and early on he was able to make the Vikings pay for their blitzes by gashing them with big plays down the field, including an 81-yard TD pass to Christian Watson (six catches, 147 yards, two scores).
But once the Vikings got the lead, they never backed off defensively and didn't let Love breathe. The final statistics credited the Vikings with 15 QB hits, including seven from edge rusher Dallas Turner.
"That's what they want," LaFleur said of getting to crank up the pressure. "They want you to play 11 personnel (with three WRs), get you behind the sticks, and they're lining up everybody at the line of scrimmage. That's tough to deal with. I thought we had some good answers early."
4. The Vikings simply hung in long enough to eventually turn the game with a backup QB.
Veteran Carson Wentz took over early for an injured Kyler Murray and grew more efficient as the game progressed, ultimately throwing three TD passes and putting up a 123.5 passer rating.
WR Justin Jefferson (eight catches, 92 yards, two TDs) didn't have the monster game Watson did, but in typical fashion he was tough to deal with. Only one of his nine targets was incomplete.
Penalties and third downs were the statistics that stood out the most as the Packers' 12-point lead with five minutes left in the third quarter became ancient history. The Packers were flagged 12 times for 98 yards to the Vikings' three for 15, and Green Bay was just 3-of-12 on third down to Minnesota's 8-of-15.
Donovan Jennings started at left guard in place of veteran Aaron Banks, who continues to deal with a knee injury, but it was the entire protection unit that ultimately broke down.
"We've got to play cleaner football," LaFleur said of the penalties. Regarding pass protection, "They cause a lot of people a lot of problems … We'd have a negative play, a negative run, and it opens up the floodgates and then it's a guessing game. Are they bringing it? Are they bluffing you? But that's the game they want to play."
5. Now the response is what matters.
It's another road trip next week to face the 1-0 Jets. The Packers had no answers as Week 1 got away from them, but they must answer in Week 2.
"It's get back to work," LaFleur said. "It's (time) to be critical of the tape. … We've got to rebound. We've got to pick up the pieces."
