Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings: Fourth Quarter Discussion

Tied at 14 coming out of the locker room, the Minnesota Vikings kicked the ball to the Green Bay Packers to start the second half of play. Jamaal Williams returned the ball to the Green Bay 25-yard line to give Aaron Rodgers and company the ball to start the second half. The Packers got things started with a 4-yard run by Aaron Jones and a 10-yard pass from Rodgers to Jones to move the chains. Two more runs by Jones picked up another first down for the Packers, and suddenly they were at midfield. After a short pass to Davante Adams on first down, Rodgers threw a pair of incompletions, and the Packers brought on J.K. Scott to punt the ball away. Marcus Sherels let it go over his head, and the ball bounced into the end zone for a touchback.

Kirk Cousins and company took over at the 25-yard line (after a penalty on Green Bay) for their first possession of the third quarter, and they got things started with a short run by Dalvin Cook. An incompletion on second down made it 3rd-and-7, and Cousins was taken down for a short gain on third down to force a three-and-out. Matt Wile came in to punt the ball away for Minnesota, and Tramon Williams got a nice return on it to set the Packers up at their own 35-yard line.

Aaron Jones got the next drive started for Green Bay with a five-yard run, and a short pass to Jones was stopped by Xavier Rhodes to bring up a 3rd-and-2. Jones was short on a third down run, and the Packers elected to go for it on 4th-and-inches from the Green Bay 45. They handed the ball to Jones again, and he was stopped short by the Vikings’ defense for a turnover on downs! Minnesota got the ball in great field position at the Green Bay 44.

Dalvin Cook got things started on the next drive, catching a swing pass for 13 yards and a first down. Cousins then found Stefon Diggs for a short pick-up, and then he hit Adam Thielen for another first down to the Green Bay 13-yard line. After a run by Cook was stopped for no gain, Cousins scrambled down to the 10 to set up another third down. Unfortunately, Cousins was sacked by Kenny Clark to end the drive, and Dan Bailey came on for a 37-yard field goal attempt. After a pair of misses, Bailey finally put one down the middle to give the Vikings their first lead of the night at 17-14.

The kickoff from Bailey went through the end zone for a touchback, giving the Packers the ball at their own 25 once again. Jones got things started again with a short run, and Rodgers threw incomplete under pressure from Stephen Weatherly on second down. The Packers were called for delay of game to make it a 3rd-and-13 from the Green Bay 22, and Rodgers was sacked by Sheldon Richardson for a huge loss to force the three-and-out. Scott punted it away, and Marcus Sherels got a huge return to the Green Bay 36, and a penalty on the Packers gave the Vikings the ball at the Packers’ 31.

Cousins tried to hit Diggs on a deep route on first down, but his pass was just short and fell incomplete. Diggs then took an end-around for a gain of 12 and a first down. Cook then had a run for five yards, and then Cousins rolled to his right and found Adam Thielen, who plowed his way into the end zone for a 14-yard score! Dan Bailey added the extra point, and the Vikings were up by 10, 24-14.

Bailey’s kickoff went for a touchback, and as we move to the final quarter of play, the Packers are looking at a 2nd-and-4 from their own 31-yard line.

Fifteen minutes of football left from Minneapolis, folks, and the Vikings lead the Packers by 10, 24-14. Can they hold on for what would be a huge boost to their postseason hopes?