Minnesota Scored the Final 29 Points, and Green Bay's Late-Game Problem Is Now Five Games Old

For roughly 40 minutes inside U.S. Bank Stadium, the Packers looked like the team their offseason hype promised. Christian Watson torched the Vikings for an 81-yard touchdown and a 2-yard score before halftime, Jordan Love was pushing the ball downfield, and Green Bay held a 22-10 lead late in the third quarter.

Then the game ended 39-22, and the Packers never scored again.

Minnesota ripped off the final 29 points of the afternoon. According to Yahoo Sports, the Vikings became the first team in NFL history to trail by 12 or more with less than 20 minutes remaining and go on to win by 17 or more. That is the kind of stat that usually requires a few paragraphs of context to sound as bad as it actually is. This one doesn't.

This Isn't a One-Week Problem

Go back through the 2025 game log and the pattern is already there. Green Bay closed last season with four straight losses — at Denver, at Chicago, against Baltimore, and a 16-3 dud in this same building in Week 18. Add Sunday, and the Packers have now dropped five consecutive games dating back to last December.

Matt LaFleur spent the offseason talking about closing games better. His team spent Sunday showing that nothing much has changed, and the autopsy has centered on the two areas that decide tight football games: protection and discipline.

The Offensive Line Got Exposed

Jordan Love finished 21-of-42 for 387 yards with two touchdowns and an interception — a 88.1 passer rating on a 50 percent completion rate — and was sacked four times while fumbling twice. He dropped back 46 times and rarely had a clean pocket, and the fourth quarter was a disaster: Green Bay averaged just 3.8 yards per play over the final 15 minutes.

LaFleur didn't mince words after reviewing the film, pointing to "protection busts that should not and cannot happen." The context matters here. Left guard Aaron Banks was a game-time decision and the line has been shuffled for weeks, with right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele also listed as questionable. Jordan Morgan's knee has been trending in the right direction, but there is a real gap between "available" and "settled" for this group — and Brian Flores attacked it relentlessly.

The Backfield Still Has No Anchor

Josh Jacobs remains on the commissioner's exempt list, a status he's held since August 30 following his May arrest in Brown County. On September 10, Jacobs pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal damage to property. Despite that resolution, The Athletic reported he stays on the exempt list — meaning no timeline, no roster spot, no carries.

General manager Brian Gutekunst said on September 1 that he expects Jacobs to play for Green Bay this season. Until then, the Packers are patching together a rotation: MarShawn Lloyd is finally healthy, and the team traded for Kaleb Johnson in the aftermath of Jacobs' placement. Notably, Johnson didn't log a single offensive snap in Week 1.

The One Thing That Worked

Watson was genuinely excellent — 131 yards and two scores in the first half alone, and the third-highest EPA of any player in Week 1 at 13.98. If the passing game can pair that ceiling with a functioning front five, the offense has a path.

The schedule offers a soft landing: a road trip to the Jets on September 20, then a home date with Atlanta. But Green Bay sits 0-1 in an NFC North where Detroit, Minnesota, and Chicago all won in Week 1. The margin for another slow start is thinner than it looks.