Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings: Third Quarter Open Thread

The Green Bay Packers picked up pretty much where they left off to start the second quarter against the Minnesota Vikings, continuing to push the ball down the field. The Vikings actually got a stop on third down. . .however, the Packers went for it on 4th-and-1 and converted to keep the drive going. But with a 3rd-and-9 from the Minnesota 11-yard line, the Vikings got a stop on a sack by Chad Greenway to stall the Packers drive, and Green Bay settled for a 30-yard field goal from Mason Crosby to make the score 10-7.

The Vikings took over at their own 20-yard line following a touchback, and drove the ball to midfield. It appeared they had been stopped on a third down, but thanks to a personal foul on Packers' rookie Datone Jones, the drive continued. Minnesota pushed into the Green Bay red zone, and had Joe Webb lined up in a Wildcat-style formation that they messed up by committing a false start. The drive eventually stalled, and the Vikings brought in Blair Walsh for a 36-yard field goal attempt, which he drilled to tie the score again at 10.

The Packers' next drive was short, as the Vikings forced the Packers into another third down situation. On 3rd-and-6 from their own 24-yard line, Rodgers found Jordy Nelson again, and he did the rest, outrunning the entire Minnesota defense for a 76-yard score to give Green Bay a 17-10 lead.

Minnesota got the ball back, and promptly went three-and-out, punting the ball back to the Packers. This also proved to be a bad move, as Micah Hyde took the punt from Jeff Locke and returned in 93 yards for a touchdown to make the score 24-10 in favor of Green Bay.

The Vikings put something together at the end of the first half, pushing down to the 14-yard line thanks to a pass interference penalty on Tramon Williams. The Vikings slammed it into the end zone thanks to. . .who else. . .Adrian Peterson on an 8-yard touchdown run to close the gap to 24-17, and that's where we stand going into the half. It was a strange call by Bill Musgrave. . .I know, I'm surprised, too. . .but it worked, and the Vikings closed the gap before halftime.

The Packers get the ball coming out of the locker room for the second half, folks. Can the Vikings pull this one off? There's thirty minutes remaining to make it happen.