:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/21893935/20131027_lbm_ah7_278.0.jpg)
The final contest at the Metrodome between the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers went exactly the way. . .sadly. . .that many of us expected that it would. Minnesota couldn't stop the Green Bay offense all night long, and I mean that in the most literal sense possible.
Green Bay was a ridiculous 13-of-18 on third down on the evening, and on two of the third downs that saw the Vikings actually stop them, the Packers easily gained the yardage on the ensuing fourth down. The other three resulted in Mason Crosby field goals of 30, 20, and 45 yards.
Yes, the Packers had eight possessions on the evening. They scored five touchdowns and three field goals, and did not punt one time. The Packers could have deactivated Tim Masthay. . .and I want to use his name because he's not going to get mentioned anywhere else. . .and nobody would have noticed.
The Packers held the ball for nearly 41 of the game's 60 minutes, because Minnesota simply couldn't get off the field defensively.
The game wasn't completely devoid of Vikings' highlights. . .Cordarrelle Patterson took the opening kickoff for an NFL record-tying 109-yard touchdown to give the Vikings a 7-0 lead. That would be the only lead they would have all evening. Adrian Peterson had a very nice touchdown run at the end of the first half to make the score 24-17 going into the locker room, and Toby Gerhart had a 13-yard touchdown run in what might be his last game in purple and gold with Tuesday's trade deadline looming.
The score wasn't nearly as close as the final tally would indicate, as the Vikings got the Gerhart touchdown and a 19-yard touchdown run from Ponder to make the score nominally closer.
We can say what we want about Minnesota's quarterback situation. . .lord knows we have and we will. . .but tonight was all about the complete ineptitude of the Minnesota defense. There wasn't one Minnesota defender that came even remotely close to earning their paycheck this evening, as they just got shredded from pillar to post all night long.
We'll have more about this game in the next day or so, including Ted's Stock Market Report, among other things. But, the Vikings dropped their final game against the Green Bay Packers at the Metrodome, and did so in pretty embarrassing fashion.