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The Packers and the Vikings have both made the playoffs but they faced off in Week 17 of the 2024 NFL season with a lot on the line.
Green Bay had an 11-4 record coming into this match. Minnesota, who were playing at home, were 13-2. The home team knew that a win would take them atop the NFC North and the NFC, giving them the leadership of both the division and the conference. That would put the pressure on the Lions, who have the same 13-2 record, prior to their Monday Night Football clash against the 49ers.
The visiting Packers are also in the postseason but can finish anywhere from fifth seed to seventh seed. If they win today, they will have a chance to usurp their opposition today as the second-best team in the NFC North if they also lose against the Lions in Week 18. Lose this, however, and suddenly they have the same record as the Commanders if Washington wins at home later tonight.
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With so much to play for, this is how the game turned out.
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Packers vs. Vikings box scores
Packers box scores
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Vikings box scores
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Packers vs. Vikings game summary
The Packers and the Vikings have a reputation for expansive, attacking football, but the defenses were on top in the first quarter. Josh Jacobs fumbled on the first drive, giving Minnesota a chance to counter. Green Bay's defense answered by forcing the home team to punt.
The Vikings' defense responded in kind, but they missed a field goal from 57 yards out to keep the score 0-0. The Packers finally opened the scoring with a converted goal late in the first quarter to go 3-0 ahead.
That caused Sam Darnold and Aaron Jones to wake up as they led their team on a mammoth drive that ended in a touchdown. With all eyes on Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, it was Jalen Nailor who reeled in a perfectly thrown pass in the endzone to give his team a 7-3 lead.
With the pressure building on Green Bay, they tried to covert a fourth-and-two on their next possession and failed. It turned the ball over on downs and Minnesota went down the other end to get three more points of their own before the two-minute warning.
The home team's defense also came up trumps in the final couple of minutes in the first half to force a punt from the opposition and the Vikings had possession to end the half. They missed their first field goal attempt but an offside penalty gave rookie kicker Will Reichard a chance to redeem himself. On the next attempt, Matt LaFleur called a timeout to ice him but he put the ball through the goalposts on the third try to give the Vikings a 13-3 lead going into the break.
Minnesota received the ball to begin the second half and marched down the field for a touchdown. Sam Darnold threw to Jordan Addison to take a 20-3 lead. Green Bay was being blown away and their luck did not improve when they had to punt on the next drive. But a huge interception by Carrington Valentine gave them a chance and fortune smiled on them after he fumbled the ball on return, only to see his teammate recover it.
That set up a critical drive for the Packers and Josh Jacobs delivered a touchdown to narrow the score to 20-10. However, the Vikings showed why they are in contention for the NFC top seed with an immediate response. Sam Darnold made a couple of good throws, Aaron Jones took it into the red zone against his former team, and Cam Akers took a screen into the endzone to restore a 17-point lead.
The home team's defense came up big to begin the fourth quarter and sacked Jordan Love to force a punt. However, their offense and special teams could not convert that advantage on the next drive after a few wayward throws and another missed field goal, this time from 43 yards.
It gave the visitors a chance to reduce the margin and they thought they had it when Josh Jacobs blasted through into the endzone. However, a penalty called it back, and although Emanuel Wilson finally scored to make it 27-16, it left just six minutes for Green Bay to execute a turnaround. Matt LaFleur chose to go for a two-point conversion to make it 27-18.
The Packers' defense then forced the Vikings' first three-and-out on the next possession to get the ball back with a little more than four minutes remaining. Jordan Love led an up-tempo drive to throw a touchdown pass to Malik Heath before the two-minute warning to make it 25-27 and set up a grandstand finish.
However, the Vikings are the masters of winning close games. And they pulled it off by picking up a crucial first down with a naked bootleg throw to Cam Akers. By that time, two great catches by C.J. Ham and Justin Jefferson had burned through a couple of the Packers' remaining timeouts already and they were forced to use their final one here. All that was then left was for Sam Darnold to kneel down and run the clock down to take his team atop the NFC with a 14-2 record.
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