WEBVTT - #436 Packers Unscripted: Victory No. 2 0:00:00.800 --> 0:00:20.200 Hi, everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.200 --> 0:00:22.880 I am Mike Spofford, sitting next to the one and 0:00:22.960 --> 0:00:25.320 only West Hodkowitz. Were coming to you here from our 0:00:25.360 --> 0:00:28.960 studios at lambeau Field and West coming off of a 0:00:29.880 --> 0:00:33.919 sixteen Green Bay Packers victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Boy, 0:00:33.960 --> 0:00:36.479 there's a lot to dissect from this one, whether you 0:00:36.520 --> 0:00:38.839 want to talk about the twenty one nothing start, the 0:00:38.960 --> 0:00:42.280 Vikings rally, the interception in the end zone second week 0:00:42.280 --> 0:00:46.120 in a row. The Packers defense preserves of victory with 0:00:46.159 --> 0:00:49.960 an end zone interception late in the fourth quarter. Bottom 0:00:50.000 --> 0:00:52.960 line is, the Packers got through these first two division 0:00:53.000 --> 0:00:56.000 games at two and oh, and you can't ask to 0:00:56.040 --> 0:00:57.600 be in a better position. It's a great spot for 0:00:57.640 --> 0:00:59.560 the Packers to be in right now, Michael. The Packers 0:00:59.560 --> 0:01:01.400 off to the is two and oh start since two 0:01:01.440 --> 0:01:03.480 thousand fifteen, their first two and oh start in the 0:01:03.520 --> 0:01:06.760 NFC North since two thousand thirteen. So it's been a 0:01:06.760 --> 0:01:09.360 minute trying to get some momentum back. And one thing 0:01:09.360 --> 0:01:11.119 that really stuck with me in the locker room, Yesterra. 0:01:11.120 --> 0:01:13.200 It didn't even make its way into my postgame content, 0:01:13.240 --> 0:01:15.480 but it was a quote that Kenny Clark said that 0:01:15.480 --> 0:01:17.840 I thought really hit home with me and that we're 0:01:17.880 --> 0:01:20.720 just trying to get back to winning again. You gotta remember, 0:01:20.720 --> 0:01:23.080 there's some guys in this two thousand sixteen draft class 0:01:23.080 --> 0:01:25.280 that they went to the NFC Championship Game as rookies, 0:01:25.520 --> 0:01:27.520 and they haven't been in the playoffs the past two years. 0:01:27.760 --> 0:01:30.640 The two thousand seventeen and eighteen draft classes haven't been 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:33.720 to the playoffs at all. They haven't tasted much success. Frankly, 0:01:33.880 --> 0:01:35.319 in the fact that I looked it up to this 0:01:35.360 --> 0:01:37.319 is the first back to back wins the Packers have 0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:40.000 had since Tampa Bay and Cleveland in two thousand seventeen 0:01:40.080 --> 0:01:43.240 December of seventeen. So to change that narrative was I 0:01:43.280 --> 0:01:47.240 think really important. We've we discussed this so many different times. Michael. 0:01:47.560 --> 0:01:51.840 I'm not all about the whole fast start mentality. I 0:01:51.880 --> 0:01:53.200 think you are what you are at the end of 0:01:53.240 --> 0:01:54.760 the season and you just try to get the wins 0:01:54.760 --> 0:01:57.320 when you can get them. But that being said, I mean, 0:01:57.360 --> 0:02:00.880 you cannot discount the fact that wins in the NFC 0:02:01.000 --> 0:02:03.440 North this time of the year put you in the 0:02:03.520 --> 0:02:06.040 driver's seat in good position for how the season's gonna 0:02:06.080 --> 0:02:08.880 unfold and right now, the Packers, for all the ups 0:02:08.880 --> 0:02:11.400 and downs here early on, they are what their record 0:02:11.400 --> 0:02:14.040 says they are. Well. This game on Sunday against the 0:02:14.120 --> 0:02:17.440 Vikings could not have started any better for the Green 0:02:17.480 --> 0:02:21.720 Bay Packers. By the first minute of the second quarter, 0:02:21.800 --> 0:02:24.919 the Packers were ahead twenty one to nothing. The offense 0:02:24.960 --> 0:02:28.520 had put together three touchdown drives. I believe I counted 0:02:28.560 --> 0:02:32.320 it was nineteen plays, and thirteen of those nineteen plays 0:02:32.360 --> 0:02:34.240 games six or more yards. I mean, they were just 0:02:34.440 --> 0:02:36.639 they were just taking the field in chunks from the 0:02:36.680 --> 0:02:40.240 Minnesota Vikings. The first three drives in the meantime, the 0:02:40.320 --> 0:02:42.679 Vikings that had a drive and a missed field goal, 0:02:42.960 --> 0:02:46.040 and then also a turnover that gave the Packers a 0:02:46.080 --> 0:02:49.160 short field. So things were sitting at twenty one to nothing. 0:02:49.280 --> 0:02:52.880 Matt Lafleur and Aaron Rodgers in the offense, everything was clicking, 0:02:52.919 --> 0:02:56.720 the defense was flying high. And then really it was 0:02:56.800 --> 0:03:00.120 that seventy five yard run by Dalvin Cook that it 0:03:00.240 --> 0:03:02.160 got the Vikings back into the game and it seemed 0:03:02.200 --> 0:03:04.760 to just completely shift the momentum of the football game. 0:03:04.840 --> 0:03:06.840 So it's very interesting. One of your big keys of 0:03:06.960 --> 0:03:08.600 this game that we talked about last week because you 0:03:08.639 --> 0:03:11.320 thought if Aaron Jones had more rushing yards and Dalvin Cooking, 0:03:11.360 --> 0:03:13.560 Packers would win this game. That's not to say that 0:03:13.560 --> 0:03:16.320 that couldn't be. They couldn't still that cook still couldn't 0:03:16.320 --> 0:03:18.400 have more rushing yards and the Packers couldn't win it. 0:03:18.880 --> 0:03:21.359 But what I really liked about that theory is that, 0:03:21.400 --> 0:03:24.640 to me, those two guys really determined the outcome of 0:03:24.680 --> 0:03:27.519 this football game. And what I mean by that is offensively, 0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:29.760 Aaron Jones is the most consistent player on the field 0:03:29.760 --> 0:03:33.040 for the Packers. Twenty three carries, a hundred and sixteen yards, 0:03:33.160 --> 0:03:35.920 one touchdown off the two yard run out of the 0:03:35.960 --> 0:03:38.560 pistol formation in the second quarter. He did not have 0:03:38.600 --> 0:03:40.960 a carry more than fifteen yards, but yet he was 0:03:41.040 --> 0:03:44.040 so consistent. The offensive line gave him room to work with, 0:03:44.280 --> 0:03:46.040 and he helped them finish that game with the four 0:03:46.080 --> 0:03:49.480 minute offense. They also tested out that new little package 0:03:49.520 --> 0:03:51.800 where him and Jamal Williams are both on the field together. 0:03:51.840 --> 0:03:54.960 They had Jones coming on jet sweeps. To me, I 0:03:55.000 --> 0:03:57.560 wrote about it on Packers dot Com. Aaron Jones this 0:03:57.600 --> 0:04:00.040 game showed what he was capable of this offense in 0:04:00.120 --> 0:04:02.320 terms of Delvin Cook. Why I think that he had 0:04:02.320 --> 0:04:05.320 a big outcome on This isn't just the seventy yard run. 0:04:05.760 --> 0:04:08.000 This is the first time that the Packers defense got 0:04:08.000 --> 0:04:11.280 punched in the mouth, that they got tested, that their 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:15.120 their will to hold their ground when things maybe aren't 0:04:15.120 --> 0:04:18.200 going their way really was stressed. And while they did 0:04:18.240 --> 0:04:23.120 give up three big plays in that way, they still 0:04:23.160 --> 0:04:25.000 were able to bounce back and get the stops when 0:04:25.040 --> 0:04:27.599 they needed them to. That's what the Packers need to 0:04:27.600 --> 0:04:30.200 do defensively this season. They need to answer that call 0:04:30.520 --> 0:04:32.919 when the times are going that the offense maybe not 0:04:33.080 --> 0:04:35.800 isn't putting up forty two points. That's what I thought 0:04:35.880 --> 0:04:39.040 was impressive about that performance. Yeah, I mean, everybody's wondering, Okay, 0:04:39.080 --> 0:04:42.160 how can the Packers offense score three quick touchdowns and 0:04:42.200 --> 0:04:45.880 then the offense sort of disappears and things were such 0:04:45.880 --> 0:04:48.200 a struggle the rest of the game. I'll say a 0:04:48.240 --> 0:04:52.440 couple of things. One early in the season September football, 0:04:52.600 --> 0:04:56.400 unscouted looks and all that the Packers clearly were pencil 0:04:56.400 --> 0:04:58.200 whipping the bikes, I guess is what I'd like to 0:04:58.240 --> 0:05:00.359 say in terms of just drawing stuff up XS and 0:05:00.360 --> 0:05:02.120 knows the stuff they were using early in the game. 0:05:02.160 --> 0:05:05.200 They were catching the Vikings off guard. Things were working, 0:05:05.240 --> 0:05:08.120 things were clicking. You can't play sixty minutes of football 0:05:08.160 --> 0:05:11.600 that way. Nobody can draw up that many that many 0:05:11.680 --> 0:05:14.560 brand new things when you're playing in the NFL. So 0:05:15.240 --> 0:05:19.120 that sort of ran out on the Packers and the other. 0:05:19.240 --> 0:05:21.599 The other two things I will say is that a 0:05:21.760 --> 0:05:25.159 the Vikings defense is still pretty good, and they proved it. 0:05:25.200 --> 0:05:28.200 But B there were a couple of opportunities in the 0:05:28.200 --> 0:05:30.960 second quarter when the Packers had a chance to extend 0:05:30.960 --> 0:05:33.080 this lead, when the Vikings were getting back into the 0:05:33.080 --> 0:05:36.720 game where they did for themselves. I mean, Geronimo Allison 0:05:37.000 --> 0:05:39.760 catches a short swing pass, has a first down, he's 0:05:39.760 --> 0:05:42.080 fighting for extra yards, he coughs up the ball, and 0:05:42.120 --> 0:05:45.279 then all the confusion towards the end of the first 0:05:45.320 --> 0:05:48.360 half when Aaron Rodgers thought he had a first down 0:05:48.400 --> 0:05:50.880 with Geronimo Alison, then the ball gets spotted it was 0:05:50.920 --> 0:05:53.719 actually fourth down. Rogers thought he was just running a 0:05:53.760 --> 0:05:56.719 play on first down and hustling everybody up to prevent 0:05:56.800 --> 0:06:00.279 them from reviewing the spot of the ball under two minutes, 0:06:00.640 --> 0:06:03.160 but the spot of the ball actually was fourth out 0:06:03.200 --> 0:06:05.720 and Matt Lafleur didn't communicate to Aaron Rodgers, hey, I 0:06:05.760 --> 0:06:09.200 want to kick the field goal. It was a big miscommunication, 0:06:09.240 --> 0:06:11.800 a big misunderstanding that was going on. The bottom line 0:06:11.880 --> 0:06:14.480 is it cost the Packers a shot at a forty 0:06:14.560 --> 0:06:17.159 three yard field goal, which you like Mason Crosby's chances 0:06:17.240 --> 0:06:20.479 there so as much as the pencil whipping stuff ran 0:06:20.520 --> 0:06:23.400 itself out and the Vikings defense stepped up, the Packers 0:06:23.480 --> 0:06:27.000 also had a couple of opportunities where they simply shot 0:06:27.040 --> 0:06:30.799 themselves in the foot and and this the Packers should 0:06:30.839 --> 0:06:33.120 have had more than twenty one points in this game. Yeah, 0:06:33.160 --> 0:06:35.760 that two minute series was weird at the end because 0:06:35.800 --> 0:06:39.200 it was a terrible spot. The referees just blew that 0:06:39.600 --> 0:06:42.320 where it looked like to me, at least my eye, Ellison, 0:06:42.360 --> 0:06:45.160 I believe it was Allison. Yes, it was Allis. I 0:06:45.200 --> 0:06:47.440 mean it was for no gain, but yet the way 0:06:47.480 --> 0:06:49.680 they marked it it looked like a first down. Well 0:06:49.680 --> 0:06:51.400 that that was the thing is from from where we 0:06:51.400 --> 0:06:53.520 were in the press box, it was basically on that 0:06:53.600 --> 0:06:56.160 sideline and it was right below us. And when the 0:06:56.200 --> 0:06:59.280 side judge or line judge whatever they call him, when 0:06:59.320 --> 0:07:02.719 he initially spotted the ball with his foot. He was 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:05.560 giving Allison the first down, and that's what Rogers saw. 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:08.360 And I was thinking, like, oh, well, they're gonna review this. 0:07:08.480 --> 0:07:10.600 They're going to review the spot because that that was 0:07:10.680 --> 0:07:13.920 definitely a bad spot. Well then somewhere between where he 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:16.120 was spotting the ball along the sideline and then when 0:07:16.120 --> 0:07:18.480 they put it on the hash mark, they actually put 0:07:18.480 --> 0:07:21.880 it in a more correct place because they did spot 0:07:21.880 --> 0:07:24.720 it short of the first down, except Rogers didn't see 0:07:24.760 --> 0:07:27.600 that change in things and didn't know that it was 0:07:27.640 --> 0:07:31.120 actually fourth down. So it was it was a big 0:07:31.280 --> 0:07:33.880 It was a big mix up, and unfortunately, and in 0:07:34.160 --> 0:07:37.040 the haste of you know, trying to hustle up and 0:07:37.040 --> 0:07:40.120 do something quickly, and ended up cost costing the Packers 0:07:40.120 --> 0:07:42.640 of scoring up. It was a bizarre sequence because to 0:07:42.680 --> 0:07:44.480 me it looked like and it was a great job 0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:46.800 by the Vikings that gang tackle. The first guy held 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:48.560 him up, the second guy came and helped out. I 0:07:48.600 --> 0:07:51.160 thought they stopped him. I mean I I thought ultimately 0:07:51.200 --> 0:07:54.720 the spot was correct, even though Aaron Rodgers misunderstood what 0:07:54.760 --> 0:07:56.840 was going. Then when the referee, the side just rose 0:07:56.880 --> 0:07:58.960 the referee they give him the extra yard. Then it's back. 0:07:59.000 --> 0:08:01.040 I mean, you can understand why Rogers, you know, wasn't 0:08:01.040 --> 0:08:03.560 able to understand at that point. I thought something that 0:08:03.680 --> 0:08:05.200 Lafleur said hit it right in the head. I mean, 0:08:05.200 --> 0:08:07.480 it's it's a moment. You're gonna learn from that and 0:08:07.520 --> 0:08:09.960 you'll keep persevering on after because I don't think anyone 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:11.560 was really to blame, to be honest with you, I 0:08:11.600 --> 0:08:14.320 think Rogers did the heads up thing thinking that they 0:08:14.320 --> 0:08:16.440 had the first down to keep things moving because now 0:08:16.440 --> 0:08:18.240 you're inside two minutes and the booth review has to 0:08:18.240 --> 0:08:19.840 be one right if you and if he can get 0:08:19.840 --> 0:08:23.080 the snap off before they before they stopped play. Rogers 0:08:23.160 --> 0:08:25.800 essentially what I wrote in my column and my editorial 0:08:25.880 --> 0:08:29.120 was that Rogers was willing to sacrifice the first downplay 0:08:29.280 --> 0:08:32.160 of the next series to prevent the review from happening, 0:08:32.200 --> 0:08:34.439 and then with enough time on the clock, he was 0:08:34.440 --> 0:08:36.559 gonna let the clock run down to a minute or 0:08:36.600 --> 0:08:38.960 so and assess the rest of the series. Second down, 0:08:39.000 --> 0:08:41.120 third down, see if you can still move the ball 0:08:41.160 --> 0:08:42.880 and get a touchdown or if you settle for a 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:46.280 field goal. The key being not leaving the Vikings anymore 0:08:46.320 --> 0:08:47.800 time at the end of the first half to try 0:08:47.840 --> 0:08:51.079 to score, and ultimately that was the mentality that cost 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:54.120 the Packers because really what happened is they should have 0:08:54.200 --> 0:08:56.440 used one of their time outs there, but I think 0:08:56.480 --> 0:08:58.360 in the back of their minds they didn't. You know, 0:08:58.400 --> 0:09:00.520 at least from la Fleur's point of view, he didn't 0:09:00.520 --> 0:09:02.040 want to do that because he didn't want to leave 0:09:02.080 --> 0:09:04.520 any time for the Vikings, and by calling a time out, 0:09:04.600 --> 0:09:06.920 he's obviously going to stop the clock. So there were 0:09:06.960 --> 0:09:10.160 a lot of thoughts and strategies and everything that we're 0:09:10.200 --> 0:09:12.960 going on. There was all happening really really fast, and 0:09:13.040 --> 0:09:16.280 unfortunately the Packers still went into halftime with just twenty one. Yeah, 0:09:16.320 --> 0:09:17.640 and then that was a tough one too, because it 0:09:17.720 --> 0:09:19.880 was such an emotional play right before. I mean, Darnell 0:09:19.960 --> 0:09:23.080 Savage made a phenomenal Uh did a phenomenal job of 0:09:23.120 --> 0:09:24.959 breaking up a pass from Kirk Cousins in the middle 0:09:24.960 --> 0:09:27.800 field that tips up Preston Smith just plays all over 0:09:27.840 --> 0:09:29.600 the place, so he was in the vicinity of the ball. 0:09:29.640 --> 0:09:31.679 He got the interception. That's what allowed the Packers to 0:09:31.720 --> 0:09:35.319 take over at their the Minnesota forty seven and you're 0:09:35.320 --> 0:09:37.160 in a position to put more points on the board. 0:09:37.480 --> 0:09:40.120 It was it again, I think these are things that 0:09:40.160 --> 0:09:41.840 you have to work through early in the season. But 0:09:41.880 --> 0:09:44.200 as we saw last year, Mike, it's easier to work 0:09:44.200 --> 0:09:46.280 through these things when you're winning, when when you have 0:09:46.679 --> 0:09:48.800 when you have that taste of victory, when you have 0:09:48.920 --> 0:09:52.160 the win and the wind column, because everybody to some 0:09:52.240 --> 0:09:54.319 extent is dealing with something this time of the year. 0:09:54.440 --> 0:09:57.480 So the big keys that I took away offensively for 0:09:57.520 --> 0:10:00.360 the Packers, where Davante Adams was right where they needed 0:10:00.400 --> 0:10:01.840 him to be when they needed him to be there. 0:10:02.200 --> 0:10:04.600 Three of the five third down condigent versions that they 0:10:04.640 --> 0:10:07.720 made were Davante Adams. It was a big reason for 0:10:07.720 --> 0:10:09.959 their success on third downs in the first half before 0:10:09.960 --> 0:10:12.440 that waned in the second half. And then when Rogers 0:10:12.520 --> 0:10:14.440 need to run out the clock, him and baktr went 0:10:14.480 --> 0:10:16.319 to the huddle. They said, we need two first downs 0:10:16.360 --> 0:10:19.160 to seal this game after the defense got them another stop, 0:10:19.600 --> 0:10:22.360 and that's exactly what they did. With the thirteen yard 0:10:22.400 --> 0:10:25.040 run by Aaron Jones, the seven yard passed to Davante Adams, 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:28.560 Packers chime out victorious. Yeah, real quickly here West before 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:32.960 I forget select cousin subs locations are now offering delivery 0:10:33.320 --> 0:10:36.720 whether you're ordering catering or your favorite subs, they're delivering 0:10:36.800 --> 0:10:39.400 right to you when you order online at Cousin Subs 0:10:39.440 --> 0:10:43.120 dot com. Cousin Subs, we believe in better all right. 0:10:43.280 --> 0:10:46.920 In the fourth quarter here west the Minnesota Vikings you 0:10:46.920 --> 0:10:49.120 had mentioned, they hit on the big plays. Dalvin Cook 0:10:49.160 --> 0:10:52.960 gets the seventy five yard touchdown run. There's the sixty 0:10:53.040 --> 0:10:56.600 one yard catch and run by Chad Beebe, which I 0:10:56.640 --> 0:10:59.160 give Kirk Cousins credit. He was going down and he 0:10:59.200 --> 0:11:01.800 flips the ball to him and then the guy takes off. 0:11:02.000 --> 0:11:04.400 That ends up getting the Vikings a field goal after 0:11:04.440 --> 0:11:07.200 a touchdown was wiped out by the replay review, which 0:11:07.240 --> 0:11:10.240 is a topic perhaps for another day. Then in the 0:11:10.280 --> 0:11:12.920 second half, the forty five yard touchdown passed it to 0:11:13.120 --> 0:11:16.120 Stefon Diggs, and then with him taking off his helmet 0:11:16.120 --> 0:11:19.120 and getting a penalty, the Packers actually blocked the extra point. 0:11:19.240 --> 0:11:24.040 So we're at twenty one to sixteen. But then from 0:11:24.200 --> 0:11:27.880 basically five minutes left in the third quarter to three 0:11:27.880 --> 0:11:30.960 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Minnesota Vikings had 0:11:31.040 --> 0:11:35.160 four possessions with a chance to score and take the 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:38.560 lead after being down twenty one to nothing early and 0:11:38.600 --> 0:11:42.560 The Packers defense got the stop on all four possessions, 0:11:42.559 --> 0:11:45.120 and yes, that Kevin King interception in the end zone, 0:11:45.360 --> 0:11:47.280 that's the highlight of it. It was goal to go 0:11:47.400 --> 0:11:49.720 from the eight yard line. But when you look at 0:11:49.800 --> 0:11:53.559 I mean four consecutive possessions west because the Packers offense 0:11:53.640 --> 0:11:56.120 was not able to add to the lead. This Packers 0:11:56.160 --> 0:11:59.959 defense stood tall and got the stops when they needed 0:12:00.040 --> 0:12:04.760 it and uh boy, just just an impressive close out 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:07.439 performance by Green Bay's defense. So a few things here. 0:12:07.480 --> 0:12:09.719 The first one is we talk a lot about that 0:12:09.760 --> 0:12:12.960 interception for Kevin King. Absolutely, the pressure that Dean Lawry 0:12:13.040 --> 0:12:15.400 had Lawry, it won't show up in the stack box. 0:12:15.400 --> 0:12:17.120 He had one of his best days in a Packers 0:12:17.200 --> 0:12:20.240 uniform in this game. They knew that he was at 0:12:20.400 --> 0:12:22.240 the boot. Action was going to be a big thing 0:12:22.280 --> 0:12:24.760 with Kirk Cousins. It was basically Dean Lawry's job to 0:12:24.760 --> 0:12:26.640 shut that down and he did that. When you have 0:12:26.679 --> 0:12:28.680 a six ft six guy in your face, it's gonna 0:12:28.720 --> 0:12:30.880 make life difficult on the quarterback. Yeah, he made those 0:12:30.880 --> 0:12:33.000 throws tough for Cousins. But the other thing I want 0:12:33.000 --> 0:12:34.760 to highlight here that I don't think you can overlook 0:12:34.800 --> 0:12:36.599 and it's an underrated aspect of this game is the 0:12:36.640 --> 0:12:40.480 Tony Brown block. You have to understand when you get 0:12:40.520 --> 0:12:42.840 a touchdown like that, and there was so much moment 0:12:42.960 --> 0:12:45.719 momentum that the Vikings are extracting at that point, they're 0:12:45.760 --> 0:12:49.000 within a score they end up getting. As you mentioned 0:12:49.000 --> 0:12:51.640 the with Digs taking his helmet off, a fifteen yard 0:12:51.720 --> 0:12:54.840 penalty makes it a forty eight yard point after attempt 0:12:54.840 --> 0:12:58.280 now for Dan Bailey, after the Packers chose to use 0:12:58.320 --> 0:13:01.000 the personal on that play instead of on the kickoff. 0:13:01.080 --> 0:13:03.679 The kickoff, so Tony Brown comes from blocks and I 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:05.720 asked Tony about this in the locker room afterwards, and 0:13:05.760 --> 0:13:07.640 he said, I mean, that's a moment that you should 0:13:07.679 --> 0:13:11.160 just be uni laterly, you know, big for the Vikings 0:13:11.200 --> 0:13:14.520 in terms of momentum. That took something away from it, 0:13:14.679 --> 0:13:17.880 and then the Vikings come back offensively. A really unique 0:13:17.960 --> 0:13:21.120 game for Kirk Cousins. I mean, only fourteen of thirty 0:13:21.160 --> 0:13:23.840 two if you take away his three explosive plays, he 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:26.000 was only eleven of twenty nine for like ninety four 0:13:26.120 --> 0:13:28.520 yards in this game. It was really bizarre. But the 0:13:28.559 --> 0:13:32.200 Packers defense, particularly in the red zone again showed up 0:13:32.440 --> 0:13:34.880 and when it did finally look like Cousins was driving. 0:13:34.880 --> 0:13:38.320 With the Vikings offense, Lawry gets the pressure, King gets 0:13:38.320 --> 0:13:40.480 the interception, and then when you need the stops down 0:13:40.520 --> 0:13:43.920 the stretch, they got them. The Packers didn't do it 0:13:43.960 --> 0:13:45.959 with twenty sacks either, They only had one. It was 0:13:46.040 --> 0:13:48.280 Kevin King or Kevin Kenny Clarks, and it was a 0:13:48.320 --> 0:13:50.960 huge one early on, but with the turnover with the 0:13:50.960 --> 0:13:53.880 strips act. But what they did is they just came 0:13:53.920 --> 0:13:55.520 together as a group and I thought you saw the 0:13:55.559 --> 0:13:58.839 pass rush in the secondary really working in sync together. Well. 0:13:58.880 --> 0:14:01.640 The other thing I will say too about the explosive plays. Obviously, 0:14:01.640 --> 0:14:05.120 the Packers defense uh not happy with allowing those three 0:14:05.120 --> 0:14:08.079 explosive plays that led to all sixteen points for the Vikings. 0:14:08.080 --> 0:14:11.079 But the fourth explosive play, the Vikings had the thirty 0:14:11.160 --> 0:14:13.760 yard catch to Feeling that got them out to midfield. 0:14:13.800 --> 0:14:16.000 I'm still not convinced he caught the ball, but again 0:14:16.200 --> 0:14:19.000 that's a discussion for another day. The replay that the 0:14:19.040 --> 0:14:21.400 Packers challenged it, but the replay upheld it and I 0:14:21.400 --> 0:14:24.480 still don't quite get it. But that being said, that 0:14:24.560 --> 0:14:27.480 was the fourth really explosive play for the Vikings. But 0:14:27.600 --> 0:14:30.240 the defense did not let that one lead to points. 0:14:30.280 --> 0:14:33.280 They stood. They stood tall on that one. And then 0:14:33.280 --> 0:14:35.040 on the first and goal from the eight yard line, 0:14:35.080 --> 0:14:38.440 I said this an insider inbox. That's absolute quarterback malpractice 0:14:38.520 --> 0:14:42.080 by Kirk Cousins. It is first in goal. The Vikings 0:14:42.080 --> 0:14:44.400 were running the ball really, really well. They just run 0:14:44.400 --> 0:14:46.760 the ball three straight times for twenty five yards to 0:14:46.760 --> 0:14:48.720 get to the eight yard line. So you go play 0:14:48.760 --> 0:14:50.840 action on first and goal. I get that you're gonna 0:14:50.840 --> 0:14:53.920 try to catch the Packers overplaying the run. Somebody slips 0:14:53.960 --> 0:14:55.480 free for a quick pass you might get in the 0:14:55.560 --> 0:14:58.520 end zone on first and goal, Cousins decides to scramble 0:14:58.600 --> 0:15:00.560 off the boot to try to get away from Lowry 0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:02.400 and then just throw the ball up for grabs to 0:15:02.440 --> 0:15:04.640 the corner of the end zone. And yes, he's saying 0:15:04.680 --> 0:15:07.000 he's trying to throw it where Diggs would catch it 0:15:07.080 --> 0:15:10.760 or nobody would. But Kevin, Kevin King is just as 0:15:10.800 --> 0:15:13.200 fast as Stefon Diggs. He closed the gap in the 0:15:13.200 --> 0:15:14.840 corner of the end zone. He went up and made 0:15:14.880 --> 0:15:17.960 the play. Just a bad, bad decision by Kirk Cousins, 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:20.200 and the Packers took advantage. And he also gotta put 0:15:20.240 --> 0:15:22.240 I mean we talked so much about Kevin King's height, 0:15:22.480 --> 0:15:25.080 almost probably to the point that it's over the top. 0:15:25.680 --> 0:15:27.840 But you have to respect the fact that it's a 0:15:27.880 --> 0:15:30.640 six ft three cornerback that you're putting a fifty ball 0:15:30.720 --> 0:15:33.960 up for. It's your odds are not great in terms. 0:15:34.280 --> 0:15:35.720 And when you look and when you look at the 0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:37.720 slow motion, I mean the ball was in the air 0:15:37.800 --> 0:15:40.960 for so long that both King and Digs were on 0:15:41.000 --> 0:15:44.360 their way down from their jumps as King got his hands. 0:15:44.440 --> 0:15:47.360 It wasn't the balls the ball wasn't actually high pointed, 0:15:47.600 --> 0:15:50.440 you know, at the peak of the jump. Both guys 0:15:50.440 --> 0:15:53.000 were actually still on their way down because Cousins put 0:15:53.080 --> 0:15:55.520 so much air under the ball and King was able 0:15:55.560 --> 0:15:58.640 to get it and fortunately hang on. And the replay 0:15:58.680 --> 0:16:01.520 review of the odd amatic review of the turnover, even 0:16:01.560 --> 0:16:03.560 though the ball kind of squirted out there as he 0:16:03.960 --> 0:16:05.760 landed and rolled over on the ground. I was a 0:16:05.760 --> 0:16:09.600 little worried that that was going to be declared incomplete. 0:16:09.600 --> 0:16:12.760 But again I don't quite understand all the rules anymore. 0:16:13.240 --> 0:16:15.120 But it stood for the Packers and it was a 0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:17.840 It was the biggest turnover of the football game. I 0:16:17.840 --> 0:16:20.160 want to touch on really quickly that thirty yard catch, 0:16:20.480 --> 0:16:22.640 and as you mentioned, we can talk about the whether 0:16:22.680 --> 0:16:24.600 it was a catch or not another day. Maybe we'll 0:16:24.640 --> 0:16:27.560 partner it with the pick play role. Yeah, maybe maybe tomorrow. 0:16:27.560 --> 0:16:29.840 Maybe tomorrow's show is just to talk about all of 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:32.320 these controversial things that we're trying to figure out. But 0:16:32.760 --> 0:16:34.800 something that stood out to me about the play is actually, 0:16:34.840 --> 0:16:37.040 I believe it was Davante Adams. I hope I don't 0:16:37.040 --> 0:16:38.560 miss quote the player here, but I believe it was 0:16:38.640 --> 0:16:41.440 Davantae Adams this past week that was talking about the 0:16:41.560 --> 0:16:44.640 value of special teams and a player like j K Scott. 0:16:44.680 --> 0:16:46.000 You might be like, Okay, what does this have to 0:16:46.040 --> 0:16:48.280 do with the third yard catch. J K Scott had 0:16:48.320 --> 0:16:50.600 one of his best punts of the day on that play, 0:16:50.640 --> 0:16:52.680 a forty eight yard of that put Minnesota back at 0:16:52.680 --> 0:16:55.320 the twelve yard line. The point that Adams made in 0:16:55.360 --> 0:16:57.680 his statement was that the farther back that you push 0:16:57.720 --> 0:17:01.040 an offense, the more it in ables your defense to 0:17:01.200 --> 0:17:04.320 absorb and explosive play. The Packers did that there. That 0:17:04.440 --> 0:17:06.240 was the one big play that the Vikings made on 0:17:06.280 --> 0:17:08.760 that drive, and it only got them to their forty 0:17:08.760 --> 0:17:10.840 eight yard line. The Packers were able to make the 0:17:10.920 --> 0:17:13.840 stand after that. Yes, when you play well on special 0:17:13.840 --> 0:17:16.920 teams and you control the field position, it doesn't allow 0:17:17.000 --> 0:17:19.480 those plays to be as backbreaking as they could have been. 0:17:19.840 --> 0:17:22.159 That should have been a scoring series for the Vikings 0:17:22.160 --> 0:17:25.760 and they ended up having to punt the ball. Yeah. Absolutely, Well, Um, 0:17:26.119 --> 0:17:28.200 before we go here, West And as I said, I 0:17:28.240 --> 0:17:31.280 think we'll talk about some of these other longer conversations 0:17:31.359 --> 0:17:33.840 maybe on tomorrow show as far as what's going on. 0:17:33.960 --> 0:17:37.440 But I have a trivia question for you. There are 0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:40.879 six rookie head coaches in the NFL this year, and 0:17:40.920 --> 0:17:44.000 I'm talking rookie head coaches, not new head coaches. And 0:17:44.040 --> 0:17:47.399 if they've coached been a head coach elsewhere, six rookie 0:17:47.480 --> 0:17:50.800 head coaches in the NFL, how many collective wins do 0:17:50.880 --> 0:17:53.919 those six rookie head coaches have right now as we 0:17:53.960 --> 0:17:57.000 speak today? Well, Vick fan Joe got robbed of his 0:17:57.200 --> 0:18:02.840 right So that's another other discussion for another day. Um, 0:18:02.880 --> 0:18:07.080 I'm gonna go with three the answers to Matt la 0:18:07.119 --> 0:18:11.280 Fleur owns both of them, because all the other rookie 0:18:11.320 --> 0:18:14.760 head coaches, Brian Floores, Vic Fangio, and I don't have 0:18:14.800 --> 0:18:17.120 the entire list in front of me to steal. Yeah, 0:18:17.119 --> 0:18:21.280 Cliff Cliff Kingsbury has a tie, you know, but no, 0:18:21.480 --> 0:18:24.120 the other the other rookie head coaches as of this 0:18:24.160 --> 0:18:27.240 moment are O eight and one, and Matt Lafleur is too, 0:18:27.240 --> 0:18:29.760 and ol Freddie Kitchens has a chance Monday Night Football 0:18:29.800 --> 0:18:32.360 to get his first victory. He's he's oh and one. 0:18:33.040 --> 0:18:37.440 But um boy, oh boy, I mean, um that says 0:18:37.440 --> 0:18:39.199 it all right there about how tough it can be 0:18:39.280 --> 0:18:41.320 to win in this league. Now, Matt Lafleur has a 0:18:41.320 --> 0:18:43.840 two time m v P quarterback and everything like that, 0:18:43.880 --> 0:18:46.880 but it's not easy to come out of the gate 0:18:46.960 --> 0:18:48.800