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; and the defense had proven capable of getting the necessary stops, even if they 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 blowout loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Though the 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.
Heck, if it weren’t for a couple of long field goals from kicker Will Reichard, the Vikings legitimately would’ve been shutout. He was the lone standout in a total system failure across the board.
There was virtually no pushback from the Vikings after the Packers took a 17-6 lead shortly after halftime. They couldn’t move the ball on offense.
Every single dropback from quarterback J.J. McCarthy the rest of the way looked like it might end in disaster. It often did. He completed 12 of 19 passes for 87 yards, no touchdowns and a pair of interceptions.
It was a complete disaster for the Vikings that ended with the Packers mercifully running out the clock so not to make it look worse.
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