For the second time this season, the Packers fought back against the Vikings but came up two points short.

Where have Green Bay Packers fans heard this before?

In the first half against the Minnesota Vikings, the Packers turned the ball over and struggled to move the ball at all on offense. They had to mount a late rally, finding their groove in the fourth quarter and pulling back to within striking distance, but ended up falling just short and losing by two points.

No, this is not the recap of the two teams’ game from week four at Lambeau Field, when the Vikings won 31-29. Instead, the week 17 matchup played out rather similarly to that game, and the Packers nearly came back from a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the defense could not make a critical stop in the final two minutes and allowed the Vikings to run out the clock.

The Packers can again look back at self-inflicted mistakes as a reason for this loss. Josh Jacobs’ fumble on the first drive is one; a drop by Jayden Reed on a 4th-and-2 is another. There was also a phantom offsides call on Edgerrin Cooper on a missed field goal at the end of the first half, which allowed Minnesota to kick again and provide a final margin of victory.

Then there was consistently poor pass protection for Love in the first three quarters, as he was at just 64 yards at halftime. But he came alive late in the game with the Packers in hurry-up mode, finishing with 185 yards and a touchdown.

Meanwhile, Josh Jacobs disappeared again in the second half after an impressive first-half performance. He carried the football just four times after halftime, giving way to Emanuel Wilson for long stretches. He did score a touchdown, his 15th of the season and making this his seventh consecutive game with a score, but was largely a non-factor late.

Defensively, the Packers got another standout performance from Edgerrin Cooper, whose four tackles for loss led the way. But they could not get pressure on Sam Darnold, as the Vikings quarterback consistently got the ball out of his hand just before the Packers’ pass-rushers could get home. He finished the day 33/43 for 377 yards, three touchdowns, and one pick, as he easily picked apart a banged-up Packers secondary that had yet another injury as Zayne Anderson suffered a concussion on kickoff coverage early.

This game was yet another reminder that the Packers are talented enough to play with the best teams in the NFL, but that they continue to make mistakes that the best teams do not. Now, they will need to hope that the Washington Commanders lose one of their last two games in order to have a chance at avoiding the #7 seed in the postseason for a second straight year.

First Quarter Recap

As they do so often, the Packers elected to receive after winning the opening coin toss. After picking up an early third-down conversion on a nice contested catch by Dontayvion Wicks, an early disaster struck: Josh Jacobs’ third carry of the drive went for 8 yards but defensive tackle Jerry Tillery managed to strip the ball loose and cornerback Camryn Bynum recovered for an early turnover.

After allowing one first down, Green Bay’s defense forced a stop near midfield, getting pressure on Sam Darnold and forcing a punt on Minnesota’s first possession. Jordan Love threw three straight incomplete passes on the Packers’ second drive, bringing Daniel Whelan on for his first punt of the day. His 50-yarder set up the Vikings at their own 35.

Minnesota nearly had a touchdown early on their next series, but Keisean Nixon tracked down Jordan Addison in the end zone and broke up Darnold’s deep pass. That led to the Vikings attempting a 57-yard field goal, but Will Reichard’s attempt was just short, grazing the front of the crossbar.

Green Bay’s first big play of the game on offense came from Tucker Kraft on the next series. Kraft took a screen pass up the middle for 18 yards, and the officials tacked on an extra 15 yards for a low block on Harrison Smith. That gave the Packers the first red zone opportunity of the day, but the offense stalled out. Instead of keeping the offense on the field on 4th-and-3 from the 4-yard line, Matt LaFleur sent Brandon McManus out for a short field goal and the first points of the game shortly before the end of the first quarter.

Second Quarter Recap

The Vikings picked up a pair of 13-yard gains to Jordan Addison on their next drive, as Darnold beat the Packers’ blitz both times, but it was a coverage bust that cost Green Bay’s defense. Darnold found a wide-open Jalen Nailor for a 31-yard score as the third-year receiver put Minnesota on the board and into a 7-3 lead.

Green Bay’s next drive ended in Vikings territory with a drop. After driving well across midfield behind Jacobs, Love threw short of the sticks to Romeo Doubs on 3rd-and-5. Facing a 4th-and-2 from the 23-yard line, Love fired a dart to Jayden Reed over the middle, but he could not haul in the pass and the Packers turned the ball over on downs.

Decision models had the decision to go for it as the correct one as shown below, but Reed’s drop was still a frustrating one.

—> GB (3) @ MIN (7) <—GB has 4th & 2 at the MIN 23, Q2 07:33Recommendation (STRONG): 👉 Go for it (+2.6 WP)Actual play: 👉 (No Huddle, Shotgun) J.Love pass incomplete short middle to J.Reed.

— NFL 4th Down Bot (@nfl4th.com) 2024-12-29T22:22:18.384426Z

Minnesota finally got Justin Jefferson into the game flow on their ensuing drive, first drawing a pass interference penalty on Keisean Nixon and then getting the receiver his first catch on a short pass to the left. Darnold later found Nailor for a 3rd-down conversion to the 25-yard line, then Cam Akers broke off a big run to give the Vikings first-and-goal at the 10. Green Bay’s defense stiffened, forcing a pair of incompletions around a short gain to Addison and bringing on Reichard for a short field goal and a 10-3 Vikings lead with a little more than two minutes left.

Green Bay got a short run from Jacobs before the two-minute warning, then a scramble from Love to come up a half-yard short of a first down afterwards, but an illegal formation penalty on Wicks erased a conversion by Jacobs. Love threw a deep incompletion after the penalty and the Packers had to punt.

Darnold led the Vikings down the field, getting just to the edge of Reichard’s range for another long field goal attempt before the end of the half. Reichard missed wide right from 55 yards away but Edgerrin Cooper was allegedly offsides, giving him another shot from 50. He hit this one, giving the Vikings a 13-3 lead at the half.

Third Quarter Recap

Out of the break, Minnesota picked up where it left off, gashing the Packers’ defense through the air. With the Packers’ pass rush always a step slow to get to Darnold, he found Nailor for a big gain of 22 and Jefferson for 15, then hit Jordan Addison for an 18-yard touchdown to extend the Vikings’ lead to 20-3. The drive covered 70 yards over nine plays and just over five minutes, putting heavy pressure on the Packers to put points on the board down by three possessions.

Green Bay did start their next drive at the 40-yard line, however, thanks to a mis-kick by Reichard on the ensuing kickoff. But they could do nothing with it, getting a 12-men penalty and then failing to give Love any time to throw on 3rd-and-9 before punting once again.

Carrington Valentine gave the Packers their first big play on defense on the ensuing drive. Valentine jumped a route by T.J. Hockenson at midfield and picked off Darnold, returning the ball inside the red zone. Valentine was stripped of the football, but Karl Brooks fell on it to give the offense the football at the 16-yard line.

YESSSIR!#GBvsMIN pic.twitter.com/cpYeaPRATd

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 29, 2024

After Love hit Doubs for a first down inside the 5, the second of two runs by Jacobs finally found the end zone to pull the Packers back to within ten points.

Josh Jacobs doing what he does best.

TOUCHDOWN!#GBvsMIN pic.twitter.com/VrCRORcCBC

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 29, 2024

In no time, the Vikings struck back to regain their 17-point lead. Using Jones and Cam Akers out of the backfield and running in-breaking routes in the middle of the defense, Darnold continued to pick apart the secondary. He finished it off with a 9-yard swing pass to Akers, who scampered into the end zone to extend the Minnesota lead back to 27-10.

Before hitting the end of the third quarter, the Packers ran three plays, picking up a third down on a pass to Doubs over the middle.

Fourth Quarter Recap

The Packers’ drive ended quickly after the fourth quarter began, with Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores dialing up pressure on 2nd- and 3rd-and-long. Love took a sack on third down to force another punt.

Darnold found Jefferson for a huge play on the next series, picking up 37 yards on a catch-and-run over the middle. That put Minnesota in field goal range, but after yet another tackle for loss by Edgerrin Cooper — his fourth of the game — Reichard again hit the post, this time drilling the left upright on a 43-yard attempt.

Finally, the Packers got their first explosive play of more than 20 yards as Tucker Kraft found a soft spot in zone coverage for a 35-yard gain. Jacobs then put together an incredible 19-yard touchdown run, but it was called back for a hold on Sean Rhyan. Instead, Emanuel Wilson came in for a few plays, picking up 14 yards on a swing pass and then walking into the end zone from five yards out. The Packers elected to go for a two-point conversion, and Love hit Doubs to make the score 27-18.

Green Bay’s defense then did its job, forcing its first three-and-out of the day and resulting in a short punt, letting the offense take over again at their own 38 with more than 4:30 on the clock. After taking a sack on first down, Love found Doubs for 18 yards to move the chains on third down, then went back to Doubs for another 13-yard gain. With time ticking towards the two-minute warning, Love found Malik Heath in the back of the end zone for a touchdown, pulling back to within two points at 27-25.

MALIK HEATH TD!#GBvsMIN pic.twitter.com/u74Wa9TgtU

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 30, 2024

That left Green Bay with all three timeouts and the two-minute warning, needing a stop. But on first down, Darnold rolled out and hit fullback C.J. Ham for a first down and he stayed in bounds, taking the clock down to the two-minute mark. Coming out of the timeout, Rashan Gary made a big tackle for loss on first down, then Darnold hit Jefferson short of the sticks on second down. That set up a 3rd-and-2, and Darnold found Akers for a diving catch just past the sticks to move the chains and seal the deal.