Vikings offense short on time in loss to Packers

Yes, the Vikings' defense gave up 43 points, a record high in Mike Zimmer's seven seasons as head coach.

Yes, the defense gave up nine explosive plays — runs of 12 or more yards and completions of 16 or more yards — including gains of 21, 24, 39, 40 and 45.

No, Sunday's 43-34 loss wasn't the new-look defense's fault.

Not entirely because here is another whopper of a record that was set on Sunday. A team record for a franchise that's 60 years old:

18 minutes, 44 seconds.

That's how long — or, actually little — the Vikings' offense held the ball.

"Yeah, that's a team thing," said linebacker Anthony Barr, pointing out the truth without pointing fingers at Kirk Cousins & Co.

"Defensively, we have to get off the field on third downs, and on offense, we have to get first downs. So it's a collective effort. Wasn't there today."

No, it wasn't.

The defense kicked things off by stopping Aaron Rodgers in the red zone and forcing a 31-yard field goal.

Cousins stats were better than his play

It was the first of three red-zone stops for the defense in the first half. In those three stops, the defense held Rodgers to 7 yards on 3-for-9 passing, including an outstanding pass defense by Holton Hill at the goal line on fourth-and-goal.

But when the defense needed a breather — literally — the offense wasn't there to help. The minutes kept piling up on the defense. At halftime, the offense had been on the field for 7:15, including only 3:12 after its opening touchdown drive.

Asked if the defense felt the fatigue of playing 41-plus minutes, safety Harrison Smith said, "I think that was telling as far as the [522] yards we gave up, the points we gave up, not getting off on third down. We kept allowing them to drain us. … You're not going to win a lot of games that way."

It wasn't just the defense allowing the Packers to drain it.

Here's a look at the five possessions in the 11 minutes, 25 seconds that followed the defense's goal line stand early in the second quarter:

• Safety. A risky, but brilliant, call by Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine sent cornerback Jaire Alexander untouched over the blind side. Cousins said he didn't see Alexander until it was too late.

"We had them in a tough spot because when you blitz, you're voiding some zones as well," Cousins said. "I just wasn't able to get the ball up and out."

That made it Vikings 7-5.

• Packers field goal.

• Vikings go three-and-out. Ouch.

On third-and-8, Packers linebacker Za'Darius Smith sneaked between right tackle Brian O'Neill and right guard Pat Elflein for a sack.

And that was the beginning of the end. Right, Kirk?

"That was pretty early," Cousins said. "At that point, you know there's still a lot of football left."

• Packers touchdown with 39 seconds left.

• Two plays and 14 seconds later, Cousins throws another off-target ball to Adam Thielen. He's trying to hit the outside shoulder but misses inside as Alexander makes the easy pick.

"If the ball is outside, I think it's a completion," Cousins said.

• Packers touchdown for a 22-7 lead.

Ballgame, even though the Vikings managed to squeeze in a 14-second field goal drive to end the half.

Yeah, the Vikings offense came alive in the second half. But the Packers never lost control of the game.

"I think they approached us differently [defensively] in the second half," Zimmer said when asked if his offense "found something" in the second half.

When the Packers took their 22-7 lead, Cousins had completed three passes — two to his team and one to the Packers. He had 22 yards.

Yeah, the defense buckled. But going safety, three-and-out and interception in a span of six snaps puts the offense on the hook as well.

Having no fans was strange, to say the least. So, too, was watching the offense on the field for less time than any other game in Vikings history.

"It was extremely strange," Thielen said.

Yes, it was.

Mark Craig is an NFL and Vikings Insider.

Twitter: @markcraigNFL