The Packers dropped their final regular season game this past weekend, as the Minnesota Vikings defeated Green Bay 16-3 in Minneapolis on Jan. 4.
Even though this loss counts as the same for all of the other games played this season, Green Bay’s Week 18 matchup felt more like a preseason contest than a regular season game for a couple of reasons.
First, entering the week, Green Bay was locked into the NFC’s seventh seed. The Packers could not have moved up with a win or moved down with a loss. The second reason was because of the amount of injuries that Green Bay suffered this season.
With so many injuries and nothing to play for, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur elected to sit a number of Green Bay’s key contributors in this game against Minnesota, including quarterback Jordan Love.
“I think we did the right thing today, and time will tell. I feel better about this than a year ago after the game,” said LaFleur, on his decision to sit many starters. He also alluded to Christian Watson’s injury last season in Green Bay’s Week 18 loss to Chicago. “It was a double whammy when we lose the game and you lose a key player for us to go into that run, so I thought this was the best decision.”
Without Love, who served as the backup quarterback this week, Clayton Tune started under center for the Packers. Malik Willis was ruled out of the game with a shoulder injury. In his second career start, the first coming with the Arizona Cardinals in 2023, Tune completed 6-of-11 passes for 34 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions.
Then there was Jakobie Keeney-James, signed from Green Bay’s practice squad the day prior, who led the team in receiving, as he finished with 15 yards on two receptions. Rookie Matthew Golden added 8 yards on one reception, while tight end Josh Whyle recorded 4 yards on one reception.
In the run game without Josh Jacobs, Chris Brooks led the Packers, recording 61 yards on 13 carries. Emanuel Wilson added 4 yards on 18 carries, while Tune ran for 23 yards on four carries.
Green Bay’s only score of the game came very late. Down 16-0 with 4:09 left in the game, Green Bay started its march down the field. Using the run and quick pass game, the Packers worked down to the Vikings’ 5-yard line and called timeout with one second left on the clock. LaFleur trotted out the field goal unit, and Brandon McManus nailed a 24-yard field goal to prevent the shutout.
As for the Vikings, they dominated the majority of the game, as Minnesota finished with 363 total yards, compared to Green Bay’s 121. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy led the way for the Vikings, completing 14-of-23 passes for 182 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions.
He left the game due to a hand injury, which allowed backup Max Brosmer some extended time. Brosmer finished the game completing 7-of-8 passes for 57 yards.
Justin Jefferson was the leading receiver for the Vikings, as he recorded 101 yards on eight receptions. Coming into the game, Jefferson needed 53 receiving yards to extend his 1,000-plus yard receiving streak to six seasons. Jalen Nailor added another 49 yards on three receptions, while Josh Oliver recorded 29 yards on two receptions.
In the run game, Jordan Mason paced the Vikings’ backfield, totaling 94 yards on 14 carries. Ty Chandler added 23 yards on 10 carries, while Zavier Scott recorded nine yards on three carries.
In what was a fairly uneventful game, there was one silver lining in this game — which can be good or bad, depending on how it is viewed. Packers punter Daniel Whelan finished the game punting the ball eight times for a gross punting yard total of 431 yards. That number ranks as the most gross punting yards in a game this season.
“I was just doing my job, trying to help out the team,” said Whelan.
Now that the regular season is over, Green Bay enters the playoffs as the NFC’s seventh seed for the third straight season. That sets up a matchup with the Chicago Bears, who finished as the NFC’s second seed. On Jan. 10, Green Bay and Chicago will match up for just the third playoff game in the two franchise’s histories.
