Three keys to the Vikings’ 27-25 win over the Packers

Jalen Nailor caught five passes on five targets for 81 yards and kicked off the Vikings’ scoring with a 31-yard touchdown.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
December 30, 2024 at 1:50AM
Vikings wide receiver Jalen Nailor (83) completes a touchdown pass from quarterback Sam Darnold in the second quarter against the Packers. (Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Key player

Vikings wide receiver Jalen Nailor

Nailor had the Vikings’ second-most receiving yards in their 27-25 win over Green Bay, catching all five targets for a season-high 81 receiving yards. He came just shy of matching his career high of 89 yards against the Packers in Week 17 of 2022.

The third-year Viking scored the first touchdown of the game with a 31-yard reception in the second quarter when Darnold found him yards ahead of the two closest Packers defenders.

Nailor also made a key third-down conversion in the third quarter, catching a 22-yard pass on the drive that ended with a touchdown by wide receiver Jordan Addison.

Key play

Cam Robinson’s third-down holding penalty

There were relatively few flags thrown Sunday afternoon compared with recent Vikings games, but a late one caused Minnesota to sweat out the final minutes of the game.

The Packers had just narrowed the Vikings' lead to nine points with their second touchdown and a two-point conversion.

On third-and-5, wide receiver Justin Jefferson made a one-handed, 18-yard catch to convert after a rough start to the drive.

But it was called back by a holding penalty against left tackle Cam Robinson and the Vikings were forced to punt the ball away.

Green Bay went on to score the next drive, making it a two-point game after the Vikings had led by 17 at the top of the fourth quarter.

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Key number

134

The Vikings had held Packers quarterback Jordan Love under 100 passing yards entering the fourth quarter, but Love led back-to-back scoring drives for a combined 134 yards and 15 points across 18 plays.

Green Bay scored on a 5-yard rush by running back Emanuel Wilson and a 3-yard pass from Love to wide receiver Malik Heath. Love earned the two-point conversion on the first touchdown with a completion to wide receiver Romeo Doubs.

In both Vikings-Packers games this season, Green Bay has rallied back from deficits to make it a nail-biter.

Up next

at Detroit, Sunday, 7:20 p.m.

The Vikings travel to Detroit with the NFC North title and the NFC’s No. 1 seed on the line. The Lions have been ravaged by injuries since the Vikings lost to them 31-29 in Week 7 but have lost just one game since that meeting — 48-42 against the Buffalo Bills, the AFC’s No. 2 seed, in Week 15.

2024 schedule and results

Jan. 5: at Detroit

Got a question about the Vikings? Email it to accessvikings@startribune.com. We’ll answer your questions in an upcoming Access Vikings newsletter or podcast.

about the writer

about the writer

Emily Leiker

Sports Reporter

Emily Leiker covers the Vikings for the Minnesota Star Tribune. She was previously the Syracuse football beat writer for Syracuse.com & The Post-Standard, covering everything from bowl games to coaching changes and even a player-filed lawsuit against SU. Emily graduated from Mizzou in 2022 is originally from Washington state.

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