The Green Bay Packers got 125 total yards and two scores from Emanuel Wilson, five sacks and two takeaways from Jeff Hafley’s defense and a game-changing performance from the special teams in a 23-6 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at Lambeau Field.
With injuries mounting, complementary football had to lead the way. Mission accomplished. The Packers also got star performances from a few backups at important spots to fuel a valuable win inside the division.
Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly coming out of the Packers’ win in Week 12:
The Good
The second half defense: The Packers defense was borderline great from start to finish, giving up only six points and 145 total yards, but the second half was defense on another level. The Vikings had five possessions — three ended in three-and-outs, the other two ended in interceptions. By net yardage, including penalties and lost yardage on sacks, the Vikings had -1 yards over the final 30 minutes. Micah Parsons had a pair of sacks, Devonte Wyatt had a pair of sacks on third down inside the 5-yard line, Isaiah McDuffie intercepted a pass off a pressure from Rashan Gary and Evan Williams delivered the dagger with a late pick. The defensive front, led by Parsons, took over the game, and a struggling young quarterback had absolutely no answers.
The special teams: Brandon McManus made all five of his kicks, including all three field goals, while Daniel Whelan put three punts inside the 20-yard and had a net average of almost 45 yards. Zayne Anderson made the game-changing play on one of Whelan’s punts, driving the returner into a backwards bouncing punt inside the 10-yard line and creating a huge takeaway to start the second half. In a battle against PFF’s top rated special teams unit, the Packers were excellent in the third phase.
Next man up: No Josh Jacobs? Emanuel Wilson rushed for a career-high 107 yards and scored twice. No Quay Walker? Isaiah McDuffie logged nine tackles, a sack, an interception and two stops on third down. No Keisean Nixon for most of the final three quarters? Kamal Hadden played his first snaps of the season, Carrington Valentine followed Justin Jefferson, and the Vikings receivers combined for four catches. Also, Sean Rhyan appeared to settle into his new role as the starting center, and Luke Musgrave drew a 24-yard pass interference penalty on the opening touchdown drive.
Winning the turnover battle: The Packers got a game-changing takeaway from the special teams unit and then clinched with the win with interceptions of J.J. McCarthy late. The 3-0 turnover margin represented the most takeaways from the Packers this season and also the sixth time the Packers have avoided a turnover (6-0 in those games). Thanks to the run game and stingy defense, the Packers dominated time of possession, holding the ball for over 37 minutes.
The Bad
First half run defense: It’s a stretch to find much “bad” from this performance, save for some conversative calls and failed runs from the offense in the second half. So let’s get nit-picky and go back to the first half, when both Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason rushed for over 40 yards and helped power two scoring drives. Jones produced 16 rushing yards on the opening drive, Mason created a 22-yard run in the second quarter, and Jones had 14 more rushing yards to help set up the field goal to end the half. This game could have stayed close had the Vikings kept running the ball effectively. But the Packers front adjusted, shut down the run early in the second half and dominated the rest of the way.
The Ugly
A few failed third downs: The Packers were 7-for-14 on third down, but a few of the failures were glaring. On 3rd-and-1 near midfield in the third quarter, Emanuel Wilson was stopped for -1 yards on an inside zone run from shotgun. On 3rd-and-3 from inside the red zone in the fourth quarter, Wilson was stopped for -1 yards after the Packers mostly ran the ball down Minnesota’s throat on the drive. On 3rd-and-3 from the Vikings’ 22-yard line midway through the fourth quarter, Wilson was stopped after a 1-yard gain. Three third-and-shorts, three failures. The Packers are a terrific offense overall on third down, ranking first in the NFL entering Week 12, but converting on third-and-short is one area where the Packers are falling short too consistently. Being predictable is one thing; blowing blocks up front is another.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Good, bad and ugly from Packers’ win over Vikings in Week 12
Reporting by Zach Kruse, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
