Vikings Defense Dominates Packers with 8 Sacks in 30-10 Win

Jordan Love spent most of the afternoon getting chased by Vikings defenders. Minnesota sacked him eight times and registered a dozen quarterback hits. He still managed to complete 17 of 27 for 220 yards and a touchdown. The constant pressure wrecked any rhythm Green Bay tried to establish on the day. Every time Love tried to settle in, someone was in his face.

One of the big plays by the Minnesota defense came early in the second quarter. Love threw toward Tucker Kraft in the end zone and Harrison Smith was waiting. Smith picked it off for the 41st interception of his career. With that pick, it moves him into sole possession of third place on the Vikings’ all-time list. The Vikings couldn’t capitalize on the play, but it took away a scoring opportunity from Green Bay.

Minnesota also recovered three fumbles, one by Andrew Van Ginkel and one by Dallas Turner on the defensive side of the ball. Rookie Jake Golday added another one on a kick off recovery. Between the interception and those two recoveries, the defense created three turnovers on its own. Green Bay simply couldn’t keep the ball, and they were #2 in the NFL in the take/give stat category coming into this game.

The sacks were plentiful in this second matchup. In week 1, Minnesota got to Love 4 times. Today, they doubled that with EIGHT!

Levi Drake Rodriguez had two of them and was a constant problem inside. It felt like Oprah was giving out sacks today as Eric Wilson, Elijah Williams, Van Ginkel, Turner, Kyle Van Noy, and Jalen Redmond each got one. It wasn’t one or two guys dominating the Packers offensive line. It was an onslaught of Vikings defenders living in the backfield. Green Bay’s running game never got going either, so Love had nowhere to hide.

Minnesota had a 17-0 halftime lead and even built a 20-0 lead before the Packers finally got on the board in the third quarter with a touchdown to J. Michael Sturdivant. That was about all Green Bay was able to muster with a made field goal, and a miss early in the game. The Vikings defense kept answering every time Green Bay tried to make it interesting.

The no-huddle offense from Green Bay did get Minnesota on their heels a bit in this game and didn’t allow Minnesota to rotate in fresh defenders which was noticeable. When this defense is fresh, it is potent. Allowing 10 points only to a Green Bay offense that just put up 372 passing yards and 45 points last week against the New England Patriots is impressive.

This was a game where the Minnesota Vikings were beat up. Didn’t have their Green Dot signal caller in Blake Cashman. Missing several weapons on offense with Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, and Jauan Jennings all shelved. Kirk Cousins still got it done on the offensive side of the ball. That was a difference in the game that kept the defense fresh. The offense did enough, but the defense set the tone from the start and never let Love get comfortable. That’s the version of the Vikings that just sent a message to the rest of the NFL that they are once again a contender.