It was a whooping from start to finish as the Green Bay Packers walloped the Minnesota Vikings 41-17 to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Green Bay hit Minnesota with power punches multiple times in the first half. After Minnesota blocked a punt and had to settle for a field goal despite starting from the Packers' 2-yard line, Keisean Nixon staggered the Vikings with a 105-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
Then Darnell Savage hammered Minnesota with a 75-yard interception return for a touchdown. He grabbed a tipped pass out of the air and took it to the house for a 14-3 Green Bay lead. Making matters worse was right tackle Brian O'Neill suffered a calf injury on that play, ending his day and raising concerns for the end of the season and playoffs.
After a missed 46-yard field goal by Greg Joseph, the Packers drove the field and capped it with a Mason Crosby field goal to go up 17-3. Then Cousins had another pass tipped and it was intercepted by Adrian Amos. Five plays later Aaron Rodgers found Robert Tonyan wide open in the end zone for a 24-3 lead.
Joseph then missed a 50-yard field goal with 36 seconds left in the second quarter. That gave Rodgers enough time to complete a pair of passes, giving Crosby a shot at a 56-yard field goal to close out the half and he knocked it off the crossbar and through the uprights for a 27-3 lead.
Justin Jefferson was targeted three times and had zero catches in the first half and finished the day with a season-worst one catch and 15 yards.
The Vikings forced the Packers to punt to open the third quarter and then Cousins completed nine straight passes to get the Vikings deep in Green Bay territory only to have Kenny Clark strip Cousins for another turnover.
A two-yard touchdown run by A.J. Dillon on the first play of the fourth quarter put the Packers up 34-3. The Vikings got the ball back and Cousins immediately through his third interception of the day, once again picked off by Amos.
Eight plays and a little more than five minutes later the Packers pushed the lead to 41-3 on a two-yard scramble by Rodgers.
Cousins hit Jalen Nailor for his first career touchdown with 7:36 to go for Minnesota's first touchdown of the day. And then he connect with K.J. Osborn for a score with 21 seconds to go to make the final score a little more respectable.
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