After letting the Packers march down the field a bit to start the game, Sheldon Richardson and Everson Griffen combined to sack Aaron Rodgers and kill Green Bay’s momentum, forcing a punt. The punt pinned the Vikings deep in their own end, the offense sputtered, and the team was forced to punt. Aaaaannnnd… Geronimo Allison blocked it, Josh Jackson recovered it in the end zone, and the Packers were suddenly up 7-0. Mike Hughes had yet another nice play, returning to ensuing kickoff 46 yards, and giving the Vikings good field position. Kirk Cousins was brought in during the offseason to help rally the team when it’s down. And that’s exactly what he did, marching the team right back down the field and hitting Laquon Treadwell in stride to tie the game, 7-7. The Packers then answered with a drive of their own, marching 75 years on eleven plays. The drive was aided by a big defensive holding call against Mackensie Alexander on third down, giving the Packers a new set of downs to play with. Rodgers hit Davante Adams for a 9 yard touchdown, putting the Packers back on top 14-7. The teams then exchanged punts on four straight drives. The Vikings offense went into full-on turtle mode, yet again, with very vanilla playcalling and the team settled for a field goal attempt, which rookie kicker Daniel Carlson booted wide right. The Packers took over with just over a minute and a half remaining, Rodgers led his team down the field, and Mason Crosby gave Daniel Carlson a lesson on how to kick a ball through the uprights as time expired, putting the Packers up 17-7 at the half. The score stayed that way until mid way through the third quarter, when Crosby hit from 40 yards out, giving the Packers a 20-7 lead. As the game moved into the fourth quarter, the Vikings went on a very nice, nine-play 71- yard drive capped by a wide open shoestring touchdown catch by Stefon Diggs, drawing the Vikings to within six, at 20-14. The Packers then marched down the field, aided by two missed calls by the officiating crew - one, an uncalled down by contact that gave the team a first down, and the second an offsides call against Sheldon Richardson, in which left guard Lane Taylor clearly moved first - and ended the drive with another Mason Crosby field goal putting the Packers up by a score of 23-14. And, then… Cousins finds Diggs for the 75-yard TD #MINvsGB pic.twitter.com/JcZlRVHaCp — FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 16, 2018 That play drew the Vikings to within two points, at 23-21. What a play! The Packers then took the next possession and turned in a ten play, thirty-nine yard drive, that took over five minutes off the clock, and resulted in a 48-yard Mason Crosby field goal which put the Packers back ahead by a score of 26-21. On the next drive, Kirk Cousins then lasered a ball to Laquon Treadwell, who tipped it up just enough to allow Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix to pick the ball off, the Packers ran a few plays without running much time off the clock, and Mason Crosby banged through his fifth field goal of the day, making the score 29-21. With just under two minutes, the Vikings got the ball back with two time-outs remaining. Cousins then lofted a ball deep, and the Packers Jaire Alexander intercepted. However, Clay Matthews allowed the Vikings to keep the ball by committing a roughing the passer penalty, giving the Vikings new life. Cousins then marched the ball down the field, before this… Kirk Cousins to Thielen with the TD, and then the 2-point conversion to tie the game pic.twitter.com/7ZB5WKrjqo — NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) September 16, 2018 Finally, the Packers got the ball back with 37 seconds remaining. And Rodgers Rodgers-ed the Packers down the field, where Mason Crosby had a chance to tie the game. The Packers lined up, Crosby booted the ball through the uprights, and… wait-a-minute… Mike Zimmer called a timeout just before the snap. Crosby then lined up for another try, and booted the ball wide left, sending the game into overtime. The Vikings won the toss, and began the overtime period with the ball at the 30 yard line after a nice return by Holton Hill. Mike Zimmer inexplicably allowed Laquon Treadwell back out on the field, and Treadwell immediately dropped two passes. This gave rookie kicker Daniel Carlson a shot at redemption. Carlson saw the opportunity, thought about the kick, and promptly vomited all over himself, pushing the ball wide right. The Vikings defense then held stout, forcing the Packers to punt the ball. Cousins then returned to his best and most reliable playmakers, Diggs, Thielen, Kyle Rudolph, and Running Back Latavius Murray, who set Daniel Carlson up one more time, this time from 35 yards out, lined up directly in the center of the field. Somewhere, someone out there - and damn you, if it was you! - said “Carlson can’t possibly miss from here, can he?” And Carlson replied, “watch this!”, booting the ball wide right, and ending the game in a sickening, horrible tie. Kirk Cousins did absolutely everything he could possibly have done to win the game, finishing 35/48 for 425 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. Dalvin Cook rushed the ball ten times for 38 yards, and added another 3 catches for 52 yards. Adam Thielen had 12 catches for 131 yards and a touchdown, Stefon Diggs caught 9 balls for 128 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Kyle Rudolph added 7 catches for 72 yards. On defense, the Vikings held the Packers to just 4-13 on 3rd down. Rodgers was 30/42 for 281 yards and one TD. Danielle Hunter, Mackensie Alexander, and David Parry each had a sack, and Everson Griffen and Sheldon Richardson combined for a sack as well. It was definitely a disappointing ending for the Purple after such a great comeback. Next week, the team takes on the Buffalo Bills at U.S. Bank Stadium.<doc-sep>The Green Bay Packers got good news on Sunday when it was announced that Aaron Rodgers was active. It was clear, Rodgers was not the same player due to his injury, but he was able to hang tough as the Packers tied the Vikings 29-29. Rodgers finished with 281 passing yards, one touchdown and a passer rating of 97.4. The Packers and the Vikings have become an interesting rivalry. Both teams have gone to war over the years because they are in the same division, but the Vikings feel like they are a team that can make a Super Bowl run. They have made the playoffs the last two years and they were one win away from the Super Bowl. Now that Rodgers is back, the Packers feel like they can take the NFC North crown back from the Vikings and make a Super Bowl run of their own. What Rodgers was able to do against the Vikings showed toughness and courage, and it showed as long as he's under center, the Packers have a chance to win every game. Here's a look at highlights from the Packers' tie on Sunday.<doc-sep>The Green Bay Packers took the Minnesota Vikings’ best punch and stayed upright. Kirk Cousins played his best game as a pro in a big spot. It took an act of God for Adam Thielen to catch what turned out to be the game-tying touchdown, plus an act of ineptitude to set it up. Green Bay withstood the best that the NFC’s best had to offer without playing their own best. There was the wonky officiating (a generous description). A Mason Crosby missed field goal could have won it in regulation. The heinous Clay Matthews call quite literally cost the Packers the game, negating an outstanding over-the-shoulder interception by rookie Jaire Alexander. Minnesota is supposed to be the best the NFC has to offer. Mike Zimmer’s team played its best, at least offensively, and the defense was its usual self. The special teams hurt them, but weird things happen in divisional games. This was as good as that team in purple can play (kicking game aside), the officials cost the Packers a handful of critical penalties, and Aaron Rodgers could barely move, and yet the game still ended without a loss for Mike McCarthy and Co. It took a confluence of events for the Vikings to escape without a loss on Sunday. If just one of half a dozen plays goes differently, the Packers win. And the thing Minnesota can point to, its kicker missing a chip shot field goal, isn’t something that is likely to get much better over the course of this season. Rookie kickers can struggle and it compounds. Ask the Buccaneers and Roberto Aguayo. Meanwhile, the things the Packers messed up — such as playing Davon House over Josh Jackson or Jaire Alexander, the 3rd-and-2 run call, and more — are correctable. In fact, Mike Pettine already made the adjustment to the secondary in the game by not trotting House out there for a critical series late in the game. There’s nothing this team can do about the officiating, though it was regrettable and terrible in Week 2 for Green Bay. The offensive pass interference call on Davante Adams was embarrassing. The roughing the passer call on Clay Matthews was laughable. The mysterious holding call on the Jimmy Graham touchdown was confusing at best. And yet the Packers didn’t lose. The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles lost to Ryan Fitzpatrick and it had nothing to do with not having Carson Wentz. The defense looks like a problem, particularly in the secondary. The Saints lost to that same Buccaneers team a week ago, only to follow it up with an uninspiring win at home against the Browns. Atlanta got a solid win in Week 2, but will face the rest of 2018 without two of its best defenders due to injury. Outside of the Rams, are there any teams in the NFC we can confidently say are better than the Packers? Even in the AFC, the Steelers were supposed to be Super Bowl contenders. They tied the Browns and got lit up in historic fashion by a QB in his third career game. The indomitable Patriots got worked by Blake Bortles on national television. The Packers have started slow under Mike McCarthy before. With Washington next up before the Bills and Lions, the Packers should be 4-0-1 when the 49ers come to Lambeau for Week 6 before the bye. Aaron Jones comes back from suspension next week. Oren Burks should be back from injury and this defense will coalesce as these young talents grow together. Mike Pettine (hopefully) sees his rookies are a better option than throwing Davon House out there when a starter gets injured. Also, maybe it’s already time to have a discussion about moving Tramon Williams to safety. The tie sucks. That’s the technical, football term. It sucks. That it was taken from a team rightfully earning a win sucks even more. But it also wasn’t a loss. And while the rest of the NFC looks uninspiring, the Packers already showed they’re good enough to stand up to the best the conference has to offer. They took the Vikings’ best punch, and now need to hit back on the schedule. Minnesota plays a first-place schedule after their 13-3 2017 season. That means extra games against the Saints and Eagles while the Packers get the Falcons at home and Washington. Plus, if the Packers can go into Minnesota for a win in week 12, it will be as good as a sweep in terms of what it means for the division and conference playoff race. This will sting in the minds of fans for a long time, but there’s nothing like a little win streak to erase the bad taste in their mouths. The Packers still have their season in front of them, with improvements to make offensively and defensively. They’re already showing their toughness and resilience even if it didn’t end up in a win in Week 2 the way it did in Week 1. Even with a hobbled Aaron Rodgers, we were reminded once again: when 12 is on the field, Green Bay can beat anyone.<doc-sep>The Vikings and Packers both missed field goals with a chance to win Sunday's game. For the second straight week there was a tie in the NFL. On the same week the Browns returned to their losing ways, Aaron Rodgers was unable to pull off his customary miracle drive to help the Packers steal a win, and instead, Green Bay tied Minnesota 29-29. It was a close game throughout, but in the fourth quarter the scoring really picked up between these NFC North rivals. Stefon Diggs had a pair of touchdowns early in the quarter to move the score to 23-21 in favor of the Packers. After that, Green Bay kicker Mason Crosby kicked in two of the three field goals he made that quarter to push the home team's lead to 29-21. With less than two minutes remaining in regulation, Kirk Cousins led the Vikings on a game-tying drive. He connected with Adam Thielen on an absurd touchdown pass with 31 seconds remaining, and then found Diggs for the two-point conversion. The Packers had a shot to steal the game in regulation after Rodgers connected with Jimmy Graham to get into Minnesota territory late, but Crosby's 52-yard field goal went wide left. The miss came after he made a kick that didn't count because the Vikings called a timeout before the snap. In the extra period, the contest took an even more ridiculous turn. The Packers never got into position to win the game in overtime, but Minnesota had two chances to take the lead. • Social Media Reacts to Pair of Missed Field Goals by Browns Kicker Zane Gonzalez The first opportunity came on the opening drive of overtime when the Vikings marched down to the Green Bay 31-yard line. Kicker Daniel Carlson sent a 49-yard field goal wide right to keep the score tied at 29. The Packers punted on their possession, leaving the door open for Minnesota to get the victory on the road. However, after going 63 yards downfield to get the ball all the way down to the Green Bay 21-yard line, Minnesota failed to get points on the board. Carlson sent a potential game-winning 35-yard attempt wide right as time expired to leave the game tied at 29. The tie made both teams 1-0-1 on the season. The Packers hit the road for the first time this season to play the Redskins next week while the Vikings return home to face the Bills.<doc-sep>
Morry Gash/Associated Press The Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers tied Sunday, 29-29, after Minnesota's Daniel Carlson missed two field-goal attempts in overtime, including what would have been a game-winner as overtime expired, and Mason Crosby missed a game-winning attempt as regulation time ended. Kirk Cousins was nothing short of spectacular in the tie, finishing 35-of-48 with 425 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. He led the Vikings to a game-tying drive late in the fourth quarter and twice led the team into field-goal range in overtime. Despite coming into the game with a knee injury, Rodgers still put forth a solid showing against Minnesota's stout defense, finishing 30-of-42 with 281 yards and a score. He also rushed three times for eight yards despite clearly being less than 100 percent. Cousins Looking Like Star in Minnesota Take away the one interception late in the fourth quarter—and perhaps the inability to punch the ball into the end zone in overtime—and Cousins was about as good as you could ask for. He spread the ball around to six different receivers. He was clutch. He did more than enough to lead his team to victory. Video Play Button Videos you might like Nothing was more impressive than the final drive he led in regulation, with the Vikings trailing 29-21 and just 1:45 on the clock. He led the team 75 yards in a minute and 14 seconds, hitting Adam Thielen for a 22-yard touchdown pass. He then found Stefon Diggs in the corner of the end zone for the two-point conversion, and the game went to overtime after Mason Crosby was unable to hit a 52-yard field goal as time expired. As if that wasn't enough, Cousins led the Vikings on 39- and 63-yard drives in overtime, only to see Carlson miss both attempts. He's now thrown for 669 yards, six touchdowns and just one interception in two games, showcasing a budding relationship with Stefon Diggs (nine receptions for 128 yards and two scores) and Adam Thielen (12 receptions for 131 yards and a score) on Sunday. The Vikings are a handful for opposing defenses when you also consider a running game led by the talented Dalvin Cook. And Cousins appears set to take this offense to new heights. You can nitpick the team's lack of aggression in overtime, but that comes down to coaching more than it does to Cousins' performance. Thus far, the team's significant offseason investment in him is paying off. Injury Won't Impede Rodgers' Stardom There's no reason to sugarcoat it: Rodgers on one good leg is better than DeShone Kizer on two. Frankly, Rodgers on one good leg is better than most healthy quarterbacks, period. Look no further than the end of regulation. With 31 seconds remaining and the game tied at 29, Rodgers got the ball at his own 25. Four plays later, he drove the Packers 45 yards and set up Crosby with a game-winning field goal from 52 yards out. Crosby couldn't convert, and the narrative of the hobbled Rodgers heroically leading the Packers to victory went out the window. Rodgers had a chance to rewrite that story in overtime, though he only ended up with one possession, and the Packers managed just one first down. Nonetheless, Rodgers had already put the team in a position to win the game, which is precisely why he remains one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. And it isn't as though the Vikings didn't get after him. He was sacked four times. He was hit many, many times more than that. And consistently, Rodgers took the punishment and kept going. It's unclear if Rodgers will be able to keep himself upright on his hobbled knee if he keeps taking punishment. But it's clear that he's the team's best option at quarterback, hurt or not, and if he's lost for any significant period of time like he was last year, the Packers season is essentially over. Vikings Must Address Kicker Issue Now The Vikings and head coach Mike Zimmer need to do some soul-searching in regards to rookie kicker Carlson, who missed all three of his field-goal attempts in a crucial divisional matchup against the Packers, costing the Vikings a win. The decision is complicated by the fact that the team used a fifth-round pick on Carlson in this year's draft, and giving up on him after two games may be hasty.