MINNEAPOLIS – The Packers won the coin toss and took the ball, knowing full well how critical a fast start would be to their chances of beating the Minnesota Vikings on their turf.
But much like the teams' first matchup at Lambeau Field in September, Green Bay mustered just three points in the first half and couldn't dig out of an early hole during a 27-25 loss to its NFC North rivals at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday.
All three phases contributed to a sluggish start, though points were difficult to come by early. The Packers moved the ball on their first possession, but running back Josh Jacobs fumbled shortly after the drive crossed midfield.
"I feel like it drained the energy out of the team just starting early," said Jacobs, who finished with 69 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. "One of them plays where I feel, like I said earlier in the week, I take it personal on getting the team to start fast. Yeah, that's on me."
Green Bay went three-and-out on its second drive and punted on the third before a 22-yard Brandon McManus field goal gave the Packers a 3-0 lead after the first quarter.
After Minnesota responded with a touchdown-producing drive at the start of the second quarter, Green Bay turned the ball over on downs after forgoing a McManus 41-yard attempt.
Minnesota wound up tacking on two Will Reichard field goals to take a 13-3 lead at the half, with the Vikings having exactly twice as many total yards as the Packers (224-112).
"We just cannot start slow," receiver Romeo Doubs said. "I speak for myself because I play a part in this offense. Against really good teams, against a team like Minnesota, just collectively, as a core of an offense, we just have to stick together and stay away from the self-inflicted wounds that we create for ourselves."
Defensively, the Packers forced Minnesota to punt after Jacobs' fumble and got a key stop leading to Reichard missing a 57-yard field goal at the end of the second series.
After that, however, quarterback Sam Darnold led four lengthy scoring drives that produced 20 points over the next two quarters. Green Bay held Aaron Jones and the Vikings' run game to 69 yards on 26 carries (2.7 yards per carry) but conceded 377 passing yards to eight Vikings receivers.
Cornerback Carrington Valentine finally got a much-needed interception – his second in three weeks – in the third quarter to turn the momentum. The Packers parlayed the pick into their first TD drive, culminating in a 1-yard Jacobs run to cut the deficit to 20-10.
"Just doing our job, honestly," Valentine said. "We talk about as long as we do our job, plays will come to us. As long as we do our job, example – pick, did my job, the plays came to us."
Reichard missed a 43-yard field goal, allowing the Packers clawed their way back within two points in the fourth quarter. However, Green Bay's defense couldn't get the stop it needed on Minnesota's final series despite having all three timeouts and the two-minute warning to work with.
Ultimately, Darnold rollouts – a 9-yard pass to Justin Jefferson on second-and-11 and a 6-yard pass to Cam Akers on third-and-2 – allowed the Vikings to survive.
"They got the quarterback out on the run, on the boot, I think that's a safe play," defensive lineman Kenny Clark said. "We've got to do our job. Pre-snap, we've got to know where guys are at. They did a good job. They ran two boots and got guys out on the run, safe throws for the quarterback and got them the ball."
The parallels between the Packers' two meetings with the Minnesota Vikings this season were eerily similar, as Green Bay scored exactly 22 points in the second halves of both games.
In the first matchup, it wasn't enough to overcome the Vikings' 28-point first half during a 31-29 defeat at Lambeau Field. In the second encounter Sunday, Minnesota used the 27 points it scored in the second and third quarters to turn back the Packers.
Four of Green Bay's five losses came at the hands of Detroit and Minnesota by a combined margin of 17 points.
"We've just got to finish," cornerback Keisean Nixon said. "It's not about who we can and can't beat. We can beat everybody. If we figure out how to finish, we'll win games.
"It's playoff time now. It's win-or-go-home. So either we figure out how to finish or we go back to the crib. We have to figure it out."
