There’s no shame in losing to the Green Bay Packers, they’re one of the best teams in the NFL. Still, this was a frustrating loss for the Minnesota Vikings for a couple of reasons.
One is the fact that they were at home and could have really used a win over the Packers. For years, they keep falling just short in their division and a win here or there over Green Bay could have been the difference. Starting this season with them in their own dome could have led to a much-needed early advantage over their biggest nemesis.
The other issue was how bad the defense played. Normally one of the best defensive teams in the NFL, the Vikings were gashed by the Packers to the tune of 43 points. They also had no answers to either the run or pass as Aaron Rodgers had 364 yards with four touchdowns and no picks as the ground game went for 158 yards and a score for Green Bay.
Minnesota did score 24 in the final quarter but that could have been due to the Packers slowing down believing it was all over. In the end, that simply made the score look closer but they might be able to find something to build on since Kirk Cousins and Adam Thielen were dealing in the final 15 minutes.
Either way, Mike Zimmer can’t be happy with his defense after this one and they need to find a way to get things corrected on that side.