GREEN BAY, Wis. — The game briefly appeared to be there for the taking on Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field after the Vikings managed to force a punt shortly after halftime.
The offense had proven capable of moving the ball, even if it hadn’t found the end zone. The defense had proven capable of getting the necessary stops, even if it hadn’t forced a turnover.
The tenor changed on a inexplicable decision by rookie returner Myles Price. After opting not to call for a fair catch near the goal line on the ensuing punt, Price accidentally made contact with the ball as it bounced off the turf. It resulted in a turnover that opened the floodgates on the Vikings in what ended up a 23-6 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Though the blunder on special teams was undoubtedly the turning point, the fact that the Vikings were manhandled by the Packers in the immediate aftermath spoke volumes about the bigger picture.
This is an imperfect group that needs to be perfect to even sniff victories at the moment. If it weren’t for a couple of long field goals by Will Reichard, the Vikings wouldn’t have scored. He was the lone bright spot amid a total system failure.
If that feels like too harsh of an assessment, listen to the way head coach Kevin O’Connell talked about the Vikings after the loss. He perfectly summed up the existential dread some fans might be feeling, saying, “Our margin of error is clearly pretty razor thin right now.”
That’s an understatement. The only way it feels like the Vikings can actually win a game is by fully committing to bleeding out the clock from the onset with hopes of keeping the score as close as possible. If they fall behind by more than a single possession, it legitimately feels like the game is over.
That was proven true as there was virtually no pushback from the Vikings after the Packers went up 17-6 shortly after halftime. The deficit might as well have been 100 with how badly the offense peformed with J.J. McCarthy under center.
Every single dropback from McCarthy started to feel like an adventure for the Vikings. It often ended in disaster as star edge rusher Micah Parsons completely took over the game for the Packers after halftime.
It devolved into a complete disaster for the Vikings that ended with the Packers mercifully running out the clock.
The final stat line for McCarthy will show he completed 12 of 19 passes for 87 yards, no touchdowns, and a pair of interceptions. Those horrific numbers look even worse when accounting for the fact that he was sacked a handful of times for a loss of 35 yards.
“It sucks losing more than anything,” McCarthy said. “It’s just all about that growth and staying steadfast to the process and making little tweaks here and there.”
Maybe the worst part was that the Vikings clearly entered with a mindset of asking McCarthy to do as little as possible.
“We’ve got to keep putting together plans that give us a chance to express what we want to be as an offense with some real talented players in that huddle, while also giving him a chance to grow. But not putting the game totally in his hands where the variance of a young quarterback will cost our whole team,” O’Connell said. “I think there’s a needle to thread there, and we’ve got to just keep on building on the foundation of playing the position.”
The opening drive was a perfect example, as the Vikings used a big run from Aaron Jones and an easy completion from McCarthy to Justin Jefferson to set up a 52-yard field goal from Reichard that made it 3-0.
Even when the Packers responded with a touchdown run from Emanuel Wilson to make it 7-3, the Vikings didn’t put McCarthy in a spot where he felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders.
There was a healthy dose of running back Jordan Mason on what ended up being the longest drive of the game for the Vikings before a turnover on downs stopped them.
After the Packers added a field goal to stretch their lead to 10-3, the Vikings got a 59-yard field goal from Reichard that made it 10-6 at halftime.
Though the Vikings weren’t perfect by any means, they were still very much in the game. That changed when Price muffed the punt and the Packers got another touchdown run by Wilson to stretch their lead to 17-6.
“We’ve got to get some things corrected that are proving to be somewhat fatal in certain areas of our team right now, well beyond just having a young quarterback,” O’Connell said. “That’s my job, and I’ve got to do the things that we think will fix some of those problems.”
It wasn’t a competitive effort from there as the Vikings’ offense didn’t cross midfield. The ineptitude featured McCarthy being brought down by Parsons and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt a couple of times.
A couple of field goals from the Packers finalized the score at 23-6, while the Vikings continued to toil away with McCarthy throwing a couple of interceptions for good measure.
As he tried to explain the loss, Jefferson struggled to find the words to say, settling on the frustration that continues to bubble up.
“It’s frustrating,” Jefferson said. “It’s frustrating to be up here saying the same things every single week.”
The stark reality is there’s not much to suggest it’s going to get any better in the short term. Not with McCarthy struggling this badly.
“It’s still definitely a work in progress, O’Connell said. “There are little things that come up here and there that just continue to limit our chances of having ultimate success.”
There’s no doubt that the young quarterback is at the top of that list.
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