I probably can't say it any better than Peter King of Sports Illustrated in his Monday Morning Quarterback column. I've trumpeted for years how good the Minnesota-Green Bay rivalry is, even when compared to overhyped NFL matchups such as Cowboys-Redskins and Steelers-Browns, among others.
King notes that the last 14 meetings between the Packers and Vikings have been decided by 4, 5, 3, 3, 3, 14, 3, 3, 6, 2, 7, 34, 5, and 1 points. Even counting the Packers' 34-0 win last year (in which Brooks Bollinger was the Vikings' quarterback and Adrian Peterson got hurt), the average is less than seven points per game.
Yes, the Packers had won five straight in the series, but that average margin of 10.8 is not terribly impressive when you think about one of those games ending 34-0. The Packers' average margin was five points in the other four games.
It's a great rivalry. Sunday's game had everything you could ask for. Superb defensive line play, a great running back, big plays turned in by defense and special teams, two safeties, at least one officiating controversy, and some terrible coaching.
And get this: The terrible coaching wasn't Brad Childress' doing. At least not this time.
At one point in the third quarter, Green Bay led 24-21 on the strength of 98 offensive yards.
Yes, I said 98. Peterson had more, and Taylor almost had more total yardage than that by this point in the game.
The Packers led because Gus Frerotte tossed three picks, one of which was returned 59 yards for a touchdown by Nick Collins. That score cut into a 21-10 Minnesota lead, and the Packers took the lead on the Vikings' next possession. Minnesota was forced to punt, and Will Blackmon ran around virtually the entire Vikings' coverage team on his way to the go-ahead score.
As for that double-digit Vikings lead, the defense played a huge part in it. Jared Allen played despite a bum shoulder and terrorized Packers left tackle Chad Clifton and quarterback Aaron Rodgers. He got Rodgers for a safety late in the first half. It marked Minnesota's second safety of the second quarter. The first one was rather odd. PFT has noted the controversy, and I'm not going to step on the toes of our own Zebra Report, which will surely chime in on this play.
Clearly, Rodgers is out of the pocket, and his throw, while rather unconventional, does land pretty close to tight end Tory Humphrey, an eligible receiver.
To me, this is a case of an official looking at a play, seeing an obvious desperation ploy by Rodgers to avoid a safety, and deciding to make a call in spite of the rules.
It didn't cost the Packers the game, though. That honor belongs to Mike McCarthy.
After Peterson's 30th carry, a 28-yard scoring burst off the right side, the Vikings took a 28-27 lead. 2:22 remained in the fourth quarter, and the Packers had two timeouts. McCarthy foolishly challenged the touchdown, claiming Peterson either didn't get in the end zone before his knee hit the turf, or that he lost the ball before it crossed the plane.
Neither was close to being true, and all McCarthy did was waste a timeout for his team.
The Packers advanced the ball to the Minnesota 40 before the two-minute warning, and then things really went downhill for McCarthy. He called two straight runs out of the timeout, leaving the clock to run. After a false start set the Packers back to third-and-ten, he called a short pass to Donald Driver, leaving Driver to gain close to seven yards on his own to make the play work for a first down.
When that failed, he was forced to send in Mason Crosby for the 52-yard field goal attempt that you surely know missed wide right.
It was possibly the worst play-calling sequence of McCarthy's tenure in Green Bay. Indefensibly conservative, carrying the "playing not to lose" mantra everyone hated about Mike "Draw Play on Third and Ten" Sherman.
With Green Bay now at 4-5 and staring up at rivals Chicago and Minnesota in the NFC North, there is little to no margin for error remaining for them. Minnesota, meanwhile, is 5-2 with Frerotte at quarterback, despite his best efforts to screw it up.
Look out, because that defense is starting to come to life, and Peterson has already proven he can carry the team for weeks at a time.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
The fact that Rodgers was out of the pocket is insufficient to avoid a call of intentional grounding, because according the the NFL rules, the pass in such as case must also land "at or beyond the line of scrmmage". This pass landed yards short of that line.
I totally agree with Bruce on McCarthy's play calling late in the fourth quarter. When you know that you can't run effectively against the Vikings, why would you do it twice especially with the talent receivers Green Bay has. He was playing not to lose which cost them the game. Rogers did not have a good game and played nervous the whole game. It's a shame because the defense of the Packers was outstanding and overshadowed Perterson's performance. You can't blame Cosby missing the FG. McCarthy had plenty of time to move the ball closer to the goal line. By the way, that challenge by McCarty was the most idiotic decision especially with the time left and had he won, it would have taken valuable time off the clock. So in summary, McCarthy blew it big time.
Who says it wasn't Chilly's worst play calling? Every week it's his lously play calling! Anybody could stand on the sidelines with a playcard over his face & call the same 3 plays- Taylor up the middle-Peterson up the middle-Freotte throw a short pass! How exciting! The Vike's didn't win, the packers missed a field goal & lost.