The Green Bay Packers imposed their will on the Minnesota Vikings Sunday for a 23-6 victory at Lambeau Field. The Pack outscored the Vikes 13-0 in the second half behind a steady ground game and fierce pass rush while Special Teams complemented both sides of the ball.

“All three phases contributed to the win,” coach Matt LaFleur said via packers.com. “I thought it was a dominant defensive performance which allowed us to play the way we played. Then you can’t discount how critical of a role special teams played in this.” 

The Packer offense did enough to earn a 17-6 lead early in the second half. The two-score deficit forced Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell to open up his playbook more for quarterback J.J. McCarthy. In passing situations, the Packers pass rush preyed on the first-year starter from Michigan. 

McCarthy threw two interceptions and took four sacks in the second half alone. As a team, Minnesota netted -1 yard of offense in the final 30 minutes on 15 plays. The Vikings never moved the ball past their own 36-yard line and McCarthy threw for a paltry 87 yards on 12-of-19 passing for the day. 

“It was the first time in a while where I thought our guys could pin their ears back and go,” LaFleur said. “It just goes to show the importance of getting a lead and putting a team in situations where they feel like they have to throw the football.” 

Micah Parsons set the tone on the defense’s first snap in the second half when he beat left tackle Christian Darisaw inside for a sack. Parsons added his 10th sack of the season on the next series, and immediately followed that play with possibly his most impressive pressure of the year. 

Parson’s second-down sack forced Minnesota to snap the ball with a third-and-17 from its own seven. As he often does on third and long, Parsons aligned standing up behind a nose tackle to get a running start at the interior offensive linemen. Veteran center Ryan Kelly – who has over a 50-pound advantage – braced for the charging ‘backer. Parsons knocked Kelly straight back to his butt, creating havoc in the pocket. Devonte Wyatt cleaned up the mess for the team’s second sack in as many plays. 

The Vikings had to throw more due to the game script, and it was the Green Bay punt coverage unit that forced Minnesota’s hand. The Packer offense squandered its opening second-half drive and opportunity to go up two scores. Daniel Whelan placed a 42-yard punt to the Viking eight with a 10-6 lead. The Minnesota return man let the ball bounce behind him and stepped up to block gunner Zayne Anderson. Anderson alertly shoved the blocker into the bouncing ball creating contact with the Viking player, and then jumped on it for the recovery. Two plays later, Emmanuel Wilson ran in for the score, 17-6. 

“That changed the entire game; I can’t say enough about that play,” LaFleur said. “It was a great punt, first of all by Daniel. And then Zayne Anderson, his ability to drive his man into the football and somehow come up with it – I thought that was the play of the game.” 

While the defense tormented McCarthy in the second half, the offense turned to Wilson and Brandon McManus. After the 17-6 lead, the Packers ran the ball 20 times on 29 plays. They twice settled for short McManus field goals, who was a perfect 5-of-5 kicking (three field goals, two PATs) after dealing with a quad injury. On the fourth drive, LaFleur called seven run plays on seven snaps leading to a McManus chip shot. 

“I’ve never called the same run so many times, consecutively,” LaFleur said. “It was like three yards and a cloud of dust, but it was effective. I thought with the way our defense was playing, we took the air out of the ball and said ‘go win it for us.’” 

Wilson proved to be a throwback workhorse in his first start for an injured Josh Jacobs. He toted the rock 28 times for 107 yards and two scores. Chris Brooks added 21 yards on eight carries. 

Green Bay’s defense didn’t have the same pass-rush opportunities in the first half. O’Connell sheltered his struggling quarterback with the run game, much in the same manner the Giants, Panthers, and others have previously accomplished against the Packers this year. 

“We had three possessions in the first half,” LaFleur lamented. “It was like a lot of games this year where possessions are at a premium. We had long drives on all of them, unfortunately we had 10 points.” 

Minnesota opened the game with a seven-play drive resulting in a 52-yard field goal. Green Bay countered on its opening drive by going 70 yards in seven plays for a Wilson touchdown, 7-3. Jordan Love was a perfect 3-of-3 passing on the drive and teamed with Luke Musgrave for a 24-yard defensive pass interference penalty. 

After the teams traded punts, the Vikings drove inside the red zone. On third-and-1, Minnesota used tight end T.J. Hockenson under center for a sneak. However, Nazir Stackhouse led the charge in blowing up the attempt for no gain. The Vikings tried a traditional handoff to running back Jordan Mason on fourth down, but Kingsley Enegbare cleanly beat the right guard with a swim move for the stop. 

The teams then traded field goals for the 10-6 halftime score. 

Isaiah McDuffie – getting starter minutes for an injured Quay Walker – led the team in tackles with nine, and gathered McCarthy’s first interception. Rashan Gary appeared to hit the ball or McCarthy’s arm as he attempted the throw. Gary earned a sack and was credited with two quarterback hits. 

Evan Williams caught the other pick thanks to a bad overthrow. It was Williams’ second interception in as many games. 

Jordan Love finished 14-of-21 passing for 139 yards. Both Love and LaFleur didn’t seem to have concern about the quarterback’s left shoulder injury and didn’t attribute the game plan to it. Love was also handing the ball off with his right hand, even when the ball carrier was to his right. 

Christian Watson led the team in targets (7), receptions (5), and yards (49). 

Other Notes

• The offense started the game with a right guard rotation, again, consisting of Jordan Morgan and Anthony Belton. However, only Belton played in the second half. LaFleur praised his play style as a “mauler.” 
• Kesian Nixon left the game in the first half with a stinger when he ran into Wyatt on the sideline. Kamal Hadden played the rest of the way in his place
• The Packers have a short turnaround with a Thanksgiving Day match up at Detroit. The Lions (7-4) played an extra 10 minutes of football, beating the Giants in overtime. 
• The Bears (8-3) also won, keeping Green Bay (7-3-1) second place in the division. 
• The Vikings (4-7) are now four games back