The Packers lose 31-29 to the Vikings after their furious comeback attempt failed

At least the Green Bay Packers made Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings interesting.

After about 25 minutes of play, it appeared that the Packers might be on their way to one of their worst home losses in history. Minnesota took a 28-0 lead with five minutes left in the second quarter, thanks in part to two early interceptions by Jordan Love. Green Bay was unable to put a point on the field during this period due to kicker Brayden Narveson’s ongoing struggles, as the rookie also missed kicks from 37 and 49 yards early in the game.

But the Packers made it a game in Aaron Jones’ first visit to Lambeau Field, forcing the Vikings to pull out a narrow win. Jordan Love led three touchdown drives in the fourth quarter – one for 96 yards in less than 90 seconds – to cut the Vikings’ lead to just two points.

The Packers have had impressive performances from several players recently, including Love, Kraft, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks. However, each of these players, with the exception of Reed, were responsible for costly mistakes that proved too much to fix. An interception by Love and a fumble by Tucker Kraft between some of those scores in the fourth quarter cost the team dearly, while Wicks dropped several passes early and in the middle of the game before making his big appearance in the fourth quarter. Some of those drops were drive-killers on third downs as well, and two came on potential touchdowns that could have given him three or four instead of the two he scored late.

However, with the Packers scoring points fast and furious in the final 15 minutes, Narveson’s misses became even more painful in hindsight, leading to points that should have given the Packers a comeback victory.

The first half was one of constant pressure on Jordan Love as the Vikings sprinted out to a big lead early on. But linebacker Isaiah McDuffie dropped an interception on the Vikings’ first drive, setting the tone for the first half as Minnesota capitalized with a 29-yard touchdown from Sam Darnold to Jordan Addison.

Narveson immediately continued his struggles early in the season, missing both of his field goals on the Packers’ first three drives. After a 24-yard catch by Reed put the Packers in the red zone, the team had to make do with a 37-yard attempt in which Narveson directed the football away from the right upright and out of bounds. Narveson then pushed a 49-yarder wide right two drives later to end the half 0-2.

Between those misses, the Vikings scored two more touchdowns, first a two-yard pass from Darnold to Josh Oliver and then an end-around from Addison for a 21-0 lead. The latter came on the heels of the Packers’ first turnover, when Love was picked off over the middle while attempting to hit Christian Watson in triple coverage. Watson was injured on the play and had to be carted to the locker room, making the injury worse.

Love was later blocked again, leading to another Vikings score. Luke Musgrave passed a pass that appeared to be intended for Romeo Doubs, and after the ball bounced off Doubs’ hands, Shaquill Griffin caught it. Darnold then found Justin Jefferson to extend Minnesota’s lead to 28-0.

But the Packers finally managed to get back into the game after a Vikings mistake with seconds left in the first half. After Jalen Nailor failed to gain a first down within the two-minute warning, Daniel Whelan’s high punt was parried and Bo Melton recovered the ball at the 3-yard line. Love threw a great ball to Reed for a touchdown a few plays later, giving Green Bay its first points of the game just before halftime.

The second half started much like the first, at least as far as Green Bay’s offense was concerned. The Packers made a three-pointer on the first drive of the second half thanks to a questionable turnover after an apparent catch by Dontayvion Wicks on third down and were tied. Wicks probably had five drops in the game, including another on the Packers’ next third down, which was followed by another bizarre replay review on the Vikings’ next series.

Xavier McKinney was credited with his fourth interception in four games when he picked off Darnold at the one-yard line. However, it appeared he attempted the catch three times and brought it in when he was already out of bounds, but the play was ruled a pick on the field and surprisingly stood after review.

The two teams traded punts, with Quay Walker eventually registering the first sack against Darnold before the Packers managed to get Wicks going. He had a couple of catches when the team reached the Minnesota 32-yard line, but had another costly drop on a cover-2 hole shot on 4th-and-8. The ball bounced off his chest as he attempted to make a diving catch in front of a Vikings defender as the Packers turned the ball over on downs for the second time in the game.

But despite trailing by three touchdowns early in the fourth quarter, the Packers finally started to put things together. have pulled off their longest ride of the day. Love’s best throw of the game came on a run from Bo Melton, giving him a 28-yard gain and sparking the offense to life. Finally, he beat Wicks wide from the slant for a six-yard score that pulled the Packers back to within 14 points. The drive traveled 89 yards in 11 plays, and they did it while taking less than four minutes of rest.

Two plays into the Vikings’ next drive, Green Bay had its best attack of the game on defense. Keisean Nixon got free on a blitz and sacked Darnold, stripping him of the football, and Edgerrin Cooper sprinted in to retrieve the football. After a 7-yard run by Josh Jacobs, Tucker Kraft took a swing pass and rolled over several defenders, taking the ball across the goal line for a touchdown.

Matt LaFleur capitalized on his team’s momentum and called for a two-point conversion to cut the Vikings’ lead to six points. A scrambling Love showed Kraft was open over the middle, and he hauled in the football to pick up his first career octopus.

That left ten minutes left, but the Vikings were moving. Darnold hit Jefferson for a big gain as the Minnesota line launched a blitz, then Jefferson gained another 28 yards after getting some big yards after the catch on a short pass. But a miscommunication between Darnold and Aaron Jones and an incomplete pass set up a short field goal for the Vikings, and Will Reichard scored from 33 yards to give the Vikings a nine-point lead.

Love got the Packers off to a good start, hitting Wicks for 35 yards. But on the next play, he hurled a deep ball into the end zone, with an unblocked blitzer in his face and the Vikings holding no safeties deep, and Wicks never pursued him. Byron Murphy intercepted the pass in the end zone, limiting the Packers’ threat.

However, the Vikings made another three-pointer and gave the ball back to Love and Company at their 37-yard line with 4:30 left. The game’s practical end came shortly thereafter when Murphy scored on another turnover and Kraft knocked the football out of his hands near the sideline, causing the Packers to lose the game for the fourth time. The Vikings forced the Packers to use all of their timeouts on defense and got a highlight reel toe-tap catch from Jefferson that moved the chains and ate up more time.

The defense managed to hold the Vikings, getting a fourth-down stop inside the five-yard line with just over two minutes left. Before the two-minute warning, the Packers got a run from Emanuel Wilson and a pass to Doubs inside their own 20 zone. After the timeout, they only needed three plays to find the end zone. After two big wins over Reed, Love Wicks delivered a perfect throw for the receiver’s second touchdown of the game, bringing the Packers back within two points.

This set up the decisive onside kick, and punter Daniel Whelan was the one who took the kick instead of Narveson. But Whelan’s dropkick went straight into the hands of tight end Josh Oliver, ending the Packers’ furious comeback attempt.

Love’s stats in the game were more reminiscent of Brett Favre than Aaron Rodgers, as he finished the game with 389 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. Jayden Reed accounted for 139 yards and a score on seven catches, while Wicks caught just five of a whopping 13 targets for 78 yards and two scores. Jones, meanwhile, celebrated his return to Lambeau with 139 total yards — 93 on the ground and 46 through the air on four receptions.

The Packers fall to 2-2 with the loss, while the Vikings maintain their undefeated record and improve to 4-0. Green Bay will have a chance to take out their frustrations on a weakened Los Angeles Rams team next week, while Minnesota travels to London for a date with old friend Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets.