Green Bay Still in Playoff Contention After Crushing the Vikings
Last night, the Green Bay Packers marched into Minnesota and made a statement 33-10 win, to currently hold the seventh and final playoff spot in the NFC. If the Packers can win next week against the Chicago Bears at home, Jordan Love who’s in year one starting with Green Bay has brought the team to the playoffs. We are finally close to the end of the 2023 NFL regular season, and if one week left, there are many possibilities for teams to clinch the last couple of playoff spots available. Let’s look into how the Packers won this Sunday Night Football matchup.
During the first quarter, Packers’ kicker Anders Carlson ripped a 34-yard field goal to get the first point of the game on the board. Just a minute later, Green Bay would get the ball back, and quarterback Jordan Love threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Reed. With Carlson knocking down the extra point, the Packers led 10-0. Minnesota would finally get themselves on the board a couple of minutes into the second quarter. Vikings kicker Greg Joseph nailed a 54-yard field goal to make it a 10-3 ballgame. Green Bay would go on a scoring rampage before halftime. With four minutes left in the first half, Jordan Love rushed two yards into the end zone for a touchdown, and Carlson hit in the extra point extending the Packers' lead. 17 seconds left before halftime, Love chucked a 25-yard touchdown to Jayden Reed once again, making it a 23-3 lead with two more quarters of action left.
There wouldn’t be any scoring in the third quarter, until the last minute when Love threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Bo Melton, and with Carlson successfully kicking in the extra point, the Packers had a 30-3 lead. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Vikings quarterback Nick Mullens threw a six-yard touchdown pass to tight end Johnny Mundt, and with Greg Joseph hitting in the extra point, Minnesota trailed 30-10. The game's final points would come with six minutes remaining when Anders Carlson squared in a 37-yard field goal. Green Bay would dominate in the 33-10 win, improving to 8-8 on the year. While the Vikings dropped to 7-9, both Green Bay and Minnesota are still in the hunt during the final week of play for the final NFC Wild Card spot. The Packers will go on to play the Chicago Bears in Week 18, and the Vikings will have a showdown with the Detroit Lions.
Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love went 24 for 33 hurling 256 passing yards and three touchdowns. Packers running back Aaron Jones had 20 carries for 120 rushing yards, and wide receiver Bo Melton had six catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. Vikings quarterback Nick Mullens went 13 for 22 with 113 passing yards and a touchdown, while backup Jaren Hall went five for ten for 67 yards and an interception. Minnesota’s running back Ty Chandler had ten carries for 40 yards, while receiver Justin Jefferson had five receptions for 59 yards.
