I see in the postgame review, you state the offense “didn’t maximize their opportunities” in the second half. I’d describe it as not being given a chance to maximize their opportunities. It seemed the play calling was based more on the fear of making a mistake, than in trying to deliver the knockout punch. Greg Olsen repeatedly mentioned it throughout the broadcast. We won’t go far in the playoffs with such a conservative approach.
The eons of folks out there asking about the ultra-conservative offense in the second half need to watch LaFleur’s postgame press conference and read my Rapid Reaction piece. They were simply channeling ol’ Herm Edwards: You play to win the game.
Two sacks or not, what are you doing throwing a shoulder on your own teammate against the sidelines?
Brock from West Lafayette, IN
Good morning! Was that the cleanest-played game from a penalty standpoint this season? Felt like we rarely saw the referees and felt like that game went really fast. Was really nice not seeing the refs so much.
Two penalties for 10 yards. That’ll play. The flags were down. So were the drops. The defense caught the ball, too. It’s amazing how a team can look when it reduces the controllable errors.
Great win today. I see a lot of the Packers in the Vikings: good players, young, solid core…and a lot of self-inflicted mistakes. Play of the game has to be the punt/fumble recovery. Thankfully that was one our ST was able to have go their way for a change.
That play allowed the Packers to win the special teams battle against probably the best unit in the league, which is saying something when the Vikings hit field goals from 52 and 59 and pinned Green Bay on the 2- and 8-yard lines with punts. Minnesota’s special teams have made two costly blunders the last two games, and their margins are incredibly slim with a young, struggling QB.
Not to take anything away from the D – which dominated – but McCarthy looked lost out there. It’s like things are moving too fast for him. How much of this was due to a great defensive performance and how much was due to McCarthy being not ready for primetime?
It was his sixth NFL start. The Vikings let a QB who won 14 games for them walk out of the building – for a reasonable (in QB contract land) three years, $100M from Seattle – to turn their offense over to a draft pick whose rookie year was a wash due to injury. He didn’t get to practice, didn’t get to run the scout team, didn’t get to do anything but study and rehab. Maybe McCarthy will turn out to be really good in the long run, but they did that collection of weapons (Jefferson, Addison, Hockenson, Jones, Mason) no favors in the short term.
Once again the NFC North is proving to be one, if not the, best divisions in the NFL. Thoughts on how you think the last third will play out? Gotta believe Chicago will slip with the toughest remaining schedule and a minus-3 point differential. MN fading with poor QB play. Hoping for a two-horse race to the end with GB controlling their fate with four division games remaining. Fingers crossed a healthy Jayden Reed can boost the offense to pair with a solid defense the rest of the way. Gonna be fun (I hope).
The Vikings are in run-the-table mode, if it isn’t already too late for them. With the Packers playing the Lions on Thursday and the Bears playing the Eagles on Friday, there are a number of different ways this could look heading into next week.
Pete from Hillsborough, NC
Awful play call (IMHO) by Giants on fourth down inside Lions’ 10-yard line with under two minutes to play (they should have kicked a field goal) shows why one can’t rely on help from anyone else in the NFL. Teams have to go get it themselves.
Your last statement is very true. That was a tough call for New York on fourth-and-goal from the 6, up by three points. There were actually three minutes on the clock, and the Lions had one timeout (plus the two-minute). The Giants’ previous head coach lost his job when they kicked a field goal to go up 10 against the Bears, instead of trying to go up 14, and the defense blew it. With only two wins on the year, I can see why they went for the game-sealing TD in this case, even though I would’ve kicked it to go up by six and given my defense the whole field to defend.
Steve from Cedar Falls, IA
Could you explain the analytics of not taking the ball first in overtime?
You’re guaranteed a possession now, so knowing what you need to win or tie the game after your opponent’s possession is an advantage.
Observations: D was dominant but, JJ is almost unplayable now, Goff won’t be the same. O was conservative and did enough but, need a huge game Thursday against a bad Lions D. Gibbs is superhuman (264 from scrimmage) and the D can’t let him leak. The Bears keep getting’ breaks and taking advantage of them. Just me or was Hutchinson’s game-ending sack the definition of a hip-drop tackle? It was in the open, too. Gonna be an interesting battle in Detroit. I don’t know what to make of it either way.
The Lions’ defense gave up 500-plus yards and was on the field for 77 plays. The Packers’ defense gave up 145 and was on the field for 44 plays. Every game is a new game, but on a short week, that could factor in here.
