Updated: Vikings' offensive explosion makes for instant classic

Justin Jefferson went off as the Vikings got back to .500 with remarkable win over Packers

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Editor’s note: The previous version of this story was sent out by mistake before it was finished, here is the full article. Apologies and thanks for your patience…

By Matthew Coller

MINNEAPOLIS — When the Minnesota Vikings flew out of LAX last Sunday, they felt like they had found something in the City of Angels: Their offensive identity.

On Sunday afternoon at US Bank Stadium, they proved that to be the case with a dominant performance on offense in an incredible 34-31 win over the Green Bay Packers.

The memorable win has the potential to propel them down the stretch against the weaker portion of the schedule and into the postseason — that’s if they can continue to force the issue with their top receivers.

Following the victory over the Chargers, Mike Zimmer made it clear to the world that he wanted quarterback Kirk Cousins to push the ball downfield to Justin Jefferson more often. Right out of the gate versus Green Bay, Cousins obliged. On a play-action pass, he found his superstar receiver running wide open for a 43-yard gain to put the Vikings deep in Packers territory.

While the Vikings only finished their opening drive with a 51-yard field goal, the message was sent that they weren’t going to back away from Jefferson as they had in previous weeks.

Early in the game, it appeared Rodgers was going to struggle. He barely practiced last week with a toe injury and it showed from the start. The Packers went field goal, punt, missed field goal, punt on their first four drives and Rodgers looked shaky in the pocket and inaccurate when throwing deep. He missed several open receivers that he would normally easily find.

The Vikings’ offense took advantage by pushing the ball downfield themselves. On the second drive of the game, Jefferson cruised open across the middle of the field and caught a flawless pass in stride for a 56-yard gain to the goal line. Dalvin Cook slammed the ball into the end zone to give the Vikings a 9-3 lead (after a missed Joseph extra point).

The Vikings kept their foot on the gas on the following drive. Cousins flung the ball deep to Jefferson despite Green Bay having a safety over the top. That same safety committed a pass interference penalty for a 37-yard gain to set the Vikings up for another score.

The game wasn’t without good breaks for the Vikings. The Packers committed another penalty after the PI, this time they roughed the passer on an interception that would have been returned to mid-field by the Packers. The Vikings didn’t wait to make them pay for the miscue, scoring instantly on a touchdown pass to Adam Thielen.

Up 16-3, the Vikings proved that they haven’t quite solved every issue. On third-and-1, CJ Ham received a pitch and was stuffed in the backfield, forcing the Vikings to punt and open the door for the Packers.

Rodgers responded instantly, leading a nine-play, 74-yard drive that was capped by a brilliant touchdown throw rolling to his left.

Rather than being in complete command, the Vikings ended the half much like they’ve played all year: In a tight game.

However, they opened the second half like they didn’t want it to stay that way.

This time they didn’t make the same mistake twice, converting two third-and-short attempts with Cook runs en route to a 14-play drive that was capped by a shade of creativity with Jefferson. The Vikings’ unstoppable receiver came out of the backfield and ran over the middle wide open to put the Vikings up 23-10.

Naturally, there’s Randy Moss comparisons to Jefferson when he torches defenders and makes contested catches but his route from the backfield was Percy Harvin-esque.

Minnesota was in control at that point but Aaron Rodgers is still Aaron Rodgers. He responded by looking like it was 2011 again, ripping off big gains on back-to-back plays to Davante Adams to get into Vikings territory.

Rodgers proved that real doctors have been working on his toe as he ran for 18 yards, then rolled around in the pocket and delivered a strike to Adams in the back of the end zone to bring Green Bay within six late in the third quarter.

Not only did the Packers’ QB look more comfortable as the game went on, the Vikings’ front four struggled to get pressure on him. That forced Zimmer to send more blitzers, which cost the Vikings when Rodgers or the Green Bay offensive line were able to pick up the rush. It’s safe to say Danielle Hunter was missed.

The Vikings’ offense looked like it was going to continue to steamroll the Packers but they had a fit of conservative play again right before the end of the third quarter. They ran for no gain with Alexander Mattison on second-and-long and then opened themselves up for a Preston Smith rush that beat Christian Darrisaw for a drive-killing sack, giving the ball back to Green Bay to open the fourth quarter.

Following a coffin-corner punt by Jordan Berry, Rodgers continued to take advantage of every chance the Vikings gave him.

A sack pinned the future Hall of Fame quarterback back, but he completed a 13-yard throw on third down to get the drive rolling. Then Rodgers found Equanimeous St. Brown for 26 yards and then converted another third down by beating the Vikings’ rush for a touchdown pass to Adams.

The play came with some controversy as it had appeared Rodgers was trying to call timeout but it wasn’t granted. But as the Vikings have gotten used to over the years, Adams ran an unstoppable route and fooled Mackensie Alexander for the TD.

Overall Patrick Peterson’s return, the secondary showed its weakness.

Down one point with just over seven minutes to go, Cousins opened with a downfield throw to KJ Osborn for a first down for 19 yards. From there, the Vikings’ QB started picking the Packers apart. Six yards to Jefferson, seven to Thielen, another seven to Thielen on a big third down that brought them within Greg Joseph’s range.

Then with pressure in his face, Cousins threw the ball up in Jefferson, who broke free from the cornerback and caught another touchdown.

You can see why there was so much demand to put the entire offense in Jefferson’s hands. His score gave the Vikings a 31-24 lead (after the successful 2-point conversion) with 2:17 remaining.

But it didn’t take more than a few seconds for Rodgers to strike back in this instant Vikings-Packers classic. He spotted man-to-man coverage with speedster Marquez Valdes-Scantling and flipped the ball into his hands for a 75-yard touchdown.

That gave Cousins a chance to do the thing he’s been doing all year: Lead a last-second drive.

It nearly came crashing down in dramatic fashion when a deep throw to Jefferson was underthrown and picked off but upon review, it turned out that Darnell Savage dropped the ball on his way to the ground, giving the Vikings another shot.

Things kept breaking Minnesota’s way as Thielen caught a pass in front of a Packers defender who got turned around and Thielen ended up running free down the sideline, setting up the game-winning field goal.

The Vikings’ 34-31 win at US Bank Stadium not only puts them in a position to roll down the stretch as they face struggling NFC opponents going forward but it also gives them a season-defining win in which the offense and its aggressive mindset drove their success.

Now they have their identity and an opportunity to use it every week the rest of the way and springboard themselves into the season that they expected to have when training camp began back in July.

Oh, by the way, Jefferson finished just 41 yards short of the single-game Vikings record for yards in a game. That’ll play.

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