Packers play just a little less sloppy than the Vikings to win

For the second week in a row, the Packers won a sloppy game in which they played just a little bit less sloppy than their opponent, beating the Vikings 21-16. Indeed, the Vikings left 15 points on the field due to a missed field goal, a touchdown negated by that new rule on reviewing pass interference, a missed extra point, and a late interception on first-and-goal. The Packers, on the other hand, didn’t leave any points on the field; two decent drives and converting on a short field after a Kirk Cousins’ fumble in the first half gave the Packers a 21-0 lead just barely inside the second quarter, but that was essentially all the offense the Packers mustered. 

Three-and-outs were the rule rather than exception the rest of the game; after losing the ball on downs in the second quarter following Cousins’ first interception, the Packers didn’t cross midfield again until the final minutes as they were trying to run out the clock. And as he did last week, Aaron Rodgers just seemed to run out of gas in the second half, throwing for just 58 yards on 12 pass attempts. The Packers lone “big play” occurred on their very first offensive play, a 39-yard pass to Davante Adams; their only other play to cover as much as 20 yards was another pass to Adams. At this point it is still impossible to say that Matt LaFleur’s new offensive “system” is working its way toward some semblance of semblance; the best that can be said is that it continues to be a “work in progress.”

Defensively, the Packers otherwise good play was marred by a series of big plays, including a 75-yard touchdown run by Dalvin Cook, a 61-yard pass play to Chad Beebe that was followed by the negated touchdown pass, and a 45-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs. Those plays certainly inflated the Vikings final numbers; they gained nearly 200 yards on the ground, and Cousins’ numbers didn’t show how bad he actually was. But even as bad as Cousins looked for most of the game, just one less bad play would be the difference between winning and losing. It was easy to see the Packers actually losing this game by, say, a score of 31-14; but as last week’s game against the Bears proved, sometimes the ball bounces in odd, unpredictable ways in your favor; for some reason, I recall a couple of 60’s TV shows with the witch and the genie who help the guy who is an awful golfer hole impossibly ludicrous shots. 

On the positive side, the Packers run game greatly improved over the previous week, with Aaron Jones rushing for 116 yards, and Rodgers’ play improved somewhat since last week, throwing for 151 yards and two touchdowns in the first half; at least that holds out some hope that maybe some of that might dribble into the third quarter sometime soon, and while the Packers on paper don’t have the toughest schedule in the league, it isn’t “easy” enough to depend on a hope and a prayer every game. Still, you can't argue with two wins against their principle division rivals who might not be as good as billed.