View game action photos between the Vikings and Packers during the Week 17 Sunday Night Football matchup at Lambeau Field.
The Vikings knew by kickoff that they had to have a victory.
But Minnesota just didn't have it on Sunday night.
No Cinderella story with Sean Mannion stepping in to start for Kirk Cousins, who landed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Friday. Mannion, for what it's worth, was only activated from the Reserve/COVID-19 about 30 minutes after Cousins joined the list.
There was no magical spree of forcing turnovers or creating major sparks with special teams.
The end result was a 37-10 loss that eliminated Minnesota from the postseason.
Sure, the short-handed defense scrapped for a bit, limiting the damage by the Packers offense to six points through the game's first 20-plus minutes.
The Vikings gave up yardage on chunk plays but came up with stops during that span.
The offense, however, failed to sustain drives after a decent drive derailed to start the game. A 24-yard pass from Mannion to a wide open Tyler Conklin would have moved the ball to the Green Bay 24-yard line, but it was negated when officials flagged tackle Christian Darrisaw for being too far down the field before the pass was thrown.
Minnesota went for it on fourth-and-3 from the Green Bay 47, but a pass from Mannion to C.J. Ham fell incomplete.
The Vikings went three-and-punt on their next four possessions.
The Packers heated up in the final 13 minutes of the first half with three drives that each gained 60-plus yards resulted in a field goal and two touchdown passes for a 20-0 lead with 1:05 remaining.
Greg Joseph drilled a 51-yard field goal as the first half expired. Joseph's impressive boot topped the previous long (46 yards) for a field goal in any January game at Lambeau Field.
The Vikings got 60 percent of their net yards (42 of 70) during that possession.
Green Bay outgained Minnesota 299 to 70, averaging a whopping 8.1 yards per play, compared to 2.8 for the Vikings. Minnesota also was limited to 1-for-6 on third downs and gained just four first downs in the first half.
The Packers picked up where they left off in the second half with a touchdown, field goal and touchdown on their first three possessions of the second half before pulling Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers finished 29-of-38 passing with 288 yards and two touchdowns. His passer rating was 114.8.
The Vikings went three-and-punt to start the second half and turned the ball over on downs near midfield and down 27-3 with 7:10 left in the third quarter.
Minnesota put together a touchdown drive to close the period. Mannion completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to K.J. Osborn with 0:00 left in the third quarter.
The Vikings brought in rookie quarterback Kellen Mond on their next possession. He completed the first pass of his career for a gain of 6 to Alexander Mattison. Another completion to Mattison followed but lost one, and a throw on third down resulted in an incompletion after a near interception.
Mannion was back in the game for Minnesota's final possession.
He finished 22-of-36 passing for 189 yards and one touchdown (passer rating of 84.1).
Green Bay finished with 481 yards and limited Minnesota to 206.
The loss snapped Minnesota's streak of 12 consecutive games that had been decided by one possession.
View photos of the Vikings 53-man roster as of Jan. 5, 2022.
1 K Greg Joseph
1 K Greg Joseph
3 P Jordan Berry
16 P Jordan Berry
7 CB Patrick Peterson
7 CB Patrick Peterson
8 QB Kirk Cousins
8 QB Kirk Cousins
11 QB Kellen Mond
11 QB Kellen Mond
12 WR Dede Westbrook
12 WR Dede Westbrook
14 QB Sean Mannion
14 QB Sean Mannion
15 WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette
15 WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette
17 WR K.J. Osborn
17 WR K.J. Osborn
18 WR Justin Jefferson
18 WR Justin Jefferson
20 CB Harrison Hand
20 CB Harrison Hand
22 S Harrison Smith
22 S Harrison Smith
23 S Xavier Woods
23 S Xavier Woods
24 CB Mackensie Alexander
24 CB Mackensie Alexander
2 RB Alexander Mattison
2 RB Alexander Mattison
26 RB Kene Nwangwu
26 RB Kene Nwangwu
3 CB Cameron Dantzler
27 CB Cameron Dantzler
29 CB Kris Boyd
29 CB Kris Boyd
30 FB C.J. Ham
30 FB C.J. Ham
31 RB Wayne Gallman
31 RB Wayne Gallman
4 RB Dalvin Cook
33 RB Dalvin Cook
35 TE Luke Stocker
35 TE Luke Stocker
41 LB Chazz Surratt
41 LB Chazz Surratt
42 LS Andrew DePaola
42 LS Andrew DePaola
44 S Josh Metellus
44 S Josh Metellus
45 LB Troy Dye
45 LB Troy Dye
48 LB Blake Lynch
48 LB Blake Lynch
52 G Wyatt Davis
52 G Wyatt Davis
55 LB Anthony Barr
55 LB Anthony Barr
56 C Garrett Bradbury
56 C Garett Bradbury
58 DT Michael Pierce
58 DT Michael Pierce
59 LB Nick Vigil
59 LB Nick Vigil
64 T Blake Brandel
64 T Blake Brandel
69 T Rashod Hill
69 T Rashod Hill
74 G Olisaemeka Udoh
74 G Olisaemeka Udoh
75 T Brian O'Neill
75 T Brian O'Neill
78 G Dakota Dozier
78 G Dakota Dozier
83 TE Tyler Conklin
83 TE Tyler Conklin
85 WR Dan Chisena
85 WR Dan Chisena
90 DT Sheldon Richardson
90 DT Sheldon Richardson
92 DT James Lynch
92 DT James Lynch
91 OLB Patrick Jones II
91 DE Patrick Jones II
94 DT Dalvin Tomlinson
94 DT Dalvin Tomlinson
96 DT Armon Watts
96 DT Armon Watts
98 DE D.J. Wonnum
98 DE D.J. Wonnum
Scoring Summary
Q1, 11:48 remaining
Packers 3, Vikings 0
Mason Crosby kicks a 35-yard field goal [9 plays, 58 yards, 3:12 time of possession]
Rodgers to Adams enough for points: Aaron Rodgers completed two of his first three pass attempts to Davante Adams. The first went for a gain of 19, and the second resulted in 30 to convert a third-and-3 and move the ball to the Minnesota 17.
Q2, 9:11 remaining
Packers 6, Vikings 0
Crosby kicks a 36-yard field goal [8 plays, 61 yards, 4:18 time of possession]
Another red zone stand: Aaron Jones' 28-yard run gave the Packers a fresh set of downs at the 24-yard line, but the Vikings allowed just 6 yards on the next two plays and Patrick Peterson forced an incompletion on a pass to Adams on third down. Green Bay settled for its second field goal on its third trip to the red zone.
Q2, 4:11 remaining
Packers 13, Vikings 0
Allen Lazard catches a 20-yard pass from Rodgers (Crosby kicks PAT) [6 plays, 66 yards, 3:21 time of possession]
Up for grabs: Lazard won a jump ball against Kris Boyd that Rodgers lofted above a pass rush attempt by Anthony Barr.
Q2, 1:05 remaining
Packers 20, Vikings 0
Adams catches an 11-yard pass from Rodgers (Crosby kicks PAT) [6 plays, 64 yards, 1:03 time of possession]
Start and finish: Adams began the possession with a 19-yard catch on a pass that Barr tipped. He capped it with a gain of 17 immediately before finding a hole in the middle of Minnesota's coverage.
Q2, 0:00 remaining
Packers 20, Vikings 3
Greg Joseph kicks a 51-yard field goal [9 plays, 42 yards, 1:05 time of possession]
Key gains: The Vikings got the ball from their own 40-yard line to the Packers 33 in 14 seconds thanks to a 16-yard pass to Justin Jefferson and an 11-yard scramble by Sean Mannion.
Q3, 9:28 remaining
Packers 27, Vikings 3
AJ Dillon rushes for 4 yards (Crosby kicks PAT) [7 plays, 37 yards, 3:51 time of possession]
Ground and pound: Green Bay took advantage of its best starting field position that resulted from a 21-yard punt return by David Moore and a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Tye Smith. The Packers closed the drive with four consecutive runs by Dillon for gains of 8, 3, 7 and 4.
Q3, 3:22 remaining
Packers 30, Vikings 3
Crosby kicks a 37-yard field goal [8 plays, 32 yards, 3:48 time of possession]
Easing into range: The Packers gained 24 yards on their first two plays of a possession that started on their own 49 after Minnesota missed an attempt on fourth-and-3 with a pass that was behind Jefferson.
Q3, 0:00 remaining
Packers 30, Vikings 10
K.J. Osborn catches a 14-yard pass from Mannion (Joseph kicks PAT) [8 plays, 65 yards, 3:22 time of possession]
Weird set up: The score to Osborn was set up by a 21-yard reception credited to Garrett Bradbury. The Vikings center corralled a pass that was intended for Tyler Conklin but knocked loose with a hit by Adrian Amos. Conklin left the game after the hit but returned.
Q4, 8:41 remaining
Packers 37, Vikings 10
Dillon rushes for 7 yards (Crosby kicks PAT) [11 plays, 70 yards, 6:19 time of possession]
