Packers Stopped Vikings Short of Road Sweep
On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings had a chance to save their season and shock the NFL landscape. Despite a 4-6 record, they could have pulled off an NFC North road sweep with victories against all of their division rivals. It quickly became apparent that it wasn’t going to be in the cards.
A Minnesota Vikings win over the Green Bay Packers would have represented an NFC North road sweep, but it wasn’t in the cards.
The 4-6 record already seemed prohibitive from a playoff standpoint. At 4-7 with the rest of the division having at least seven wins, the only focus is next season. It didn’t need to be that way, but once again, J.J. McCarthy couldn’t get out of his own way.
No Cigar for the Vikings in an NFC North Road Sweep
Minnesota’s signal caller was bad, worse, and now injured (again). He threw for negative yards in the second half and was picked off twice. Now carrying a 6/10 TD/INT through the first six games of his career, there’s no way to sugarcoat the level of disappointment fans and the organization have to feel.
Green Bay moved to 7-3-1 this season with the win. The problem is that they are a beatable team. Even with McCarthy looking inept, it was a 10-6 game at halftime, and just an 11-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter. As has been the case multiple times this season, Minnesota’s defense continued to do its job, keeping the team in it.
Jordan Love doesn’t need to clear a high bar when playing against McCarthy, but he looked pedestrian in his own right. The Packers’ signal caller threw for just 139 yards, and he never put the ball in the end zone. While Emanuel Wilson racked up 107 yards, he did so on 28 carries (3.8 yards per carry). That’s not an efficient run rate, and Christian Watson didn’t light the world on fire with his team-leading 49 yards receiving either.
A loss like the one on Sunday is almost more frustrating because of the opportunity that was there. Minnesota didn’t need to drop that contest to the Packers, and it remained possible they wouldn’t, despite their quarterback’s play. It’s just another mark against McCarthy as he tries to substantiate the belief that he can be the guy next season and beyond.
Right now, Green Bay and anyone else within the division wouldn’t mind seeing Minnesota keep it that way.
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