GREEN BAY — It’s hard to effectively sum up how bad the Vikings were after halftime in the embarrassing 23-6 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field. The ineptitude displayed might go down as the worst 30 minutes that will ever be put forth under head coach Kevin O’Connell.

It was a total system failure across the board for the Vikings after rookie returner Myles Price muffed a punt near his own goal line.

That opened the floodgates as quarterback J.J. McCarthy was forced to take on a heavier workload than he could bear. He looked completely overwhelmed for prolonged stretches while struggling to put together consecutive positive plays from scrimmage.

Here are some takeaways from the game:

The game looks too big for J.J. McCarthy right now

It’s a major problem that McCarthy seems to be regressing.

Though growing pains were to be expected for a young signal caller, there aren’t a lot of things to suggest he’s actually getting better. At least not at the moment. He completed 12 of 19 passes for 87 yards, no touchdowns, and a pair of interceptions for the Vikings against the Packers. He also appeared to be visibly rattled down the stretch

There was clearly a concerted effort from O’Connell in the early stages to limit the amount of times McCarthy had to throw the ball. He relied on the running game more than usual as a way to control the pace of the game as best he could.

The game script eventually called on McCarthy to shoulder more of the load, however, and he proved time and time again that he wasn’t up for the challenge. Not only did he turn the ball over twice, his pocket presence disappeared while taking a handful of sacks.

Is it going to get better for McCarthy in the short term? It’s hard to see a pathway at this point.

The offensive line can’t stay healthy

The highly anticipated return of center Ryan Kelly meant the Vikings finally had their entire projected starting offensive line playing together for the first time. That positive development didn’t last very long as left tackle Christian Darrisaw and rookie left guard Donovan Jackson both left the game with injuries.

The loss of both players up front came with the Vikings already getting dominated by the Packers in the trenches.

The impact that star edge rusher Micah Parsons brings to the table was palpable as he lived in the backfield against a depleted offensive line across from him. He finished the game with a pair of sacks and also paved the way for a couple of sacks from defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt.

The extent of the injures for Darrisaw and Jackson are still unclear. It would be a crushing blow if either player had to miss an extended period of time.

The defense needs to start forcing turnovers

It wouldn’t be fair to put too much blame on the defense when considering the way the Vikings managed to make life hard on the Packers in some respects.

It wasn’t an prolific outing for quarterback Jordan Love through the air he only completed 12 of 21 passes for 139 yards. It almost felt like the Vikings were content to let backup running back Emanuel Wilson beat them and he did to a degree by posting  28 carries for 107 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The more glaring issue for the Vikings is the lack of turnovers being created by the defense. After finishing tied for the league lead in takeaways last season, they have yet to reach double digits this season. That’s simply not good enough from a unit that’s identity is predicated on takeaways.

The last time the Vikings forced a turnover in any capacity came a few weeks ago when linebacker Blake Cashman forced a fumble in the upset win over the Detroit Lions.

The mistakes for Myles Price are adding up

The game got turned upside down for the Vikings when Price lost a fumble on a punt return shortly after halftime. After deciding not to call a fair catch near his goal line, Price accidentally let the ball hit him. That resulted in a turnover and the Vikings never fully recovered against the Packers.

The blunder from Price wasn’t too far removed from a couple of weeks ago when he lost a fumble on a kickoff return in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens. As much as the undrafted free agent has shown flashes of brilliance, he’s also had a number of costly errors to start his career. That trend can’t continue if Price wants to keep his spot on the roster.

The excellence of Will Reichard shouldn’t be overlooked

The lone bright spot from the game was the performance from kicker Will Reichard. He was the only reason the Vikings scored any points against the Packers.

After making fact a 52-yard field goal, Reichard followed it up by making a 59-yard field goal. He made both kicks look like chip shots despite the fact that he was kicking in a venue that isn’t exactly kind to kickers.

There’s no doubt the Vikings got it right by using a draft pick on Reichard once upon a time. He’s slowly but surely establishing himself among the best players at his position.

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Stephanie Beckman, Lisa Beane, Liz Kramer and Anne Rasmusson are the four candidates recommended for consideration to fill two upcoming vacancies on the Minnesota Court of Appeals, according to a news release from the office of Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.

The vacancies will occur upon the retirement of Judges Louise Dovre Bjorkman and Randall J. Slieter. One vacancy is currently at large while the other seat is designated for Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District.

Earlier this year, a merit selection panel consisting of members of Walz’s administration and at-large members of the Commission on Judicial Selection took applications from candidates and recommended the four finalists. The panel announced its decision Thursday.

The news release provides the following biographical information about the four candidates:

Beckman is currently chief judge of Minnesota’s Eighth Judicial District. Her seat is chambered in Meeker County.

Beckman was previously the Meeker County Attorney and an assistant county attorney in Stearns County. During her time on the bench, Beckman helped start a district-wide treatment court, assisted with starting a child protection specialty court and a district-wide housing court. She serves as a board member on the Board on Judicial Standards and the Minnesota Rules of Evidence Advisory Committee to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Beckman’s community involvement includes being a board member for the Litchfield Area Mentorship Program and the Meeker County Law Library.

Beane is a senior associate general counsel at the University of Minnesota’s Office of General Counsel. She was also previously an associate at the Minneapolis office of Jones Day and at Robbins Kaplan LLP. She was also a law clerk to Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright at the U.S. District Court for the District Court of Minnesota and at the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Beane serves as a member of the Minnesota Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure and is also on the board of directors for the Minnesota Lavender Bar Association.

Kramer currently serves as solicitor general for Minnesota, defending the constitutionality of state laws and representing Minnesota in state and federal appellate courts. Kramer was previously a partner at Stinson LLP, where she practiced complex commercial litigation. She was previously a law clerk to Judge Helen M. Meyer on the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Kramer’s community involvement includes sitting on the boards of the Minnesota State Fair Foundation and the Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society.

Rasmusson is assistant chief judge of Minnesota’s Ninth Judicial District. Her seat is chambered in Polk County.

During her time as judge she established and served on the White Earth/Mahomen DWI and Drug Courts and the DWI Courts for Polk, Red Lake, and Norman Counties. She was previously a partner at Rust, Stock and Rasmusson P.A.

Rasmusson is also chair of the Minnesota Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the General Rules of Practice, chairs the Ninth Judicial District Case Flow Committee and is a member of the Children’s Justice Initiative Committee.

Rasmusson has also chaired the RiverView Healthcare Association Board of Directors and the Polk County Developmental Achievement Center.

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While Sunday saw a record high temperature in the Twin Cities, cold air will bring rain and snow this week across the state, the Twin Cities office of the National Weather Service posted online.

The day’s new record high was 56 degrees, barely higher than the previous record of 55 degrees in 1905.

Colder weather is coming this week, the NWS predicts, with rain Tuesday turning to snow Wednesday morning. Central Minnesota may see strong northwesterly gusts above 40 mph, and a few inches of snow accumulation.

The NWS also outlined a winter storm watch for the northern part of the state and eastern North Dakota, to be in effect Tuesday and Wednesday. It includes just about every county in eastern North Dakota as well as a number of counties throughout northern Minnesota, except Pembina in North Dakota and Kittson and Roseau in Minnesota.

Cities in the watch are within a large swath, from Bottineau, Rugby, Harvey and Jamestown in North Dakota, all the way to Bemidji, Thief River Falls and Detroit Lakes in Minnesota. It could result in minor impacts to holiday travel, the NWS reported in the media packet.

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Today is Monday, Nov. 24, the 328th day of 2025. There are 37 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Nov. 24,1971, a hijacker calling himself “Dan Cooper” (but who became popularly known as “D.B. Cooper”) parachuted from a Northwest Orient Airlines 727 over the Pacific Northwest after receiving $200,000 in ransom; his fate remains unknown.

Also on this date:

In 1859, British naturalist Charles Darwin published “On the Origin of Species,” which explained his theory of evolution by means of natural selection.

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Today in History: November 23, Liberia elects its first woman president

In 1865, Mississippi became the first Southern state to enact laws that came to be known as “Black Codes” aimed at limiting the rights of newly freed Blacks; other states of the former Confederacy soon followed.

In 1947, a group of writers, producers and directors, who would become known as the “Hollywood Ten,” was cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions about alleged communist influence in the movie industry.

In 1963, Jack Ruby shot and mortally wounded Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy, in a scene captured on live television.

In 1974, the bone fragments of a 3.2 million-year-old hominid were discovered by scientists in Ethiopia; the skeletal remains were nicknamed “Lucy.”

In 1991, Queen singer Freddie Mercury died in London at age 45 of AIDS-related pneumonia.

In 2012, fire raced through a garment factory in Bangladesh that supplied major retailers in the West, killing 112 people; an official said many of the victims were trapped because the eight-story building lacked emergency exits.

In 2014, it was announced that a grand jury in St. Louis County, Missouri, had decided against indicting Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown; the decision enraged protesters who set fire to buildings and cars and looted businesses in the area where Brown had been fatally shot.

In 2017, a terrorist attack on a mosque in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula killed at least 235 people. The attack was ascribed by authorities to a local Islamic State affiliate.

In 2021, three white men were convicted of murder in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, the Black man who was running through a Georgia subdivision in February 2020 when they chased and shot him.

In 2023, Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering Black man George Floyd, was stabbed by another inmate and seriously injured at a federal prison in Arizona. He was subsequently transferred to another prison.

Today’s Birthdays:

Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson is 87.
Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue (TAG’-lee-uh-boo) is 85.
Rock drummer Pete Best is 84.
Actor-comedian Billy Connolly is 83.
Basketball Hall of Famer and former Detroit mayor Dave Bing is 82.
Basketball Hall of Fame coach Rudy Tomjanovich is 77.
Filmmaker Emir Kusturica is 71.
Actor Conleth Hill is 61.
Actor Danielle Nicolet is 52.
Author Arundhati Roy is 64.
Actor Colin Hanks is 48.
Actor Katherine Heigl (HY’-guhl) is 47.
Actor Sarah Hyland is 35.