Packers make history with blowout win over the Vikings

The Green Bay Packers made history in Sunday night’s 37-10 rout of the Minnesota Vikings, as the Packers — who clinched the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage in the conference playoffs — also became the first team in NFL history to win at least 13 games in three straight seasons.

Now, the Packers are just hoping it ends in a better result than it did the last few seasons. In the 2020 NFL Playoffs, the Packers finished 13-3 and faced the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round, winning 32-18; however, in the next round, they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-26. The 2019 season was no different. Green Bay made quick work of the Seattle Seahawks, winning 28-23 in the divisional round, but were unable to get past the San Francisco 49ers.

The Packers took control of the game early on Sunday, despite the offense’s early inability to score more than a field goal, and Green Bay never once ceded its momentum to the middling Minnesota Vikings. Green Bay settled for a field goal on its first drive of the game, then turned it over on downs and punted — but in that span, the Packers’ defense forced the Vikings to punt twice and turn it over on downs once. The Packers did not score their first touchdown until their fifth possession of the game, when quarterback Aaron Rodgers found wide receiver Allen Lazard for a 20-yard score to make it a 13-0 Packers lead.

The Packers went into halftime with a dominant, 20-3 lead, and thanks to a 17-point second-half performance, they were able to emerge wit a 37-10 victory. Aaron Rodgers finished his night with an efficient stat line, completing 29 of his 38 passes for 288 passing yards and two touchdowns amid an MVP-caliber campaign in 2021. Rodgers had led the Packers to a lopsided lead, so much so that the Packers pulled him early in favor of second-year quarterback Jordan Love, a product of Utah State, who in one full drive completed two passes in four attempts for 19 passing yards, while tacking on nine rushing yards.

Another week meant another dominant performance for wide receiver Davante Adams, who received incredibly high praise from head coach Matt LaFleur earlier this week. LaFleur said Adams has the skillset of a Hall of Fame wide receiver, and once again he lived up to the hype. Adams finished the game with 11 receptions for 136 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown, bringing his season-long total to 117 receptions, second-most in the NFL, 1,498 receiving yards, third-most in the NFL and 11 receiving touchdowns, fifth most in the NFL.

The Packers have one more game left on schedule thanks to the NFL adding a 17th regular-season game, and while the Packers’ starters figure to be on the bench resting, Green Bay should have no problem as it travels to Detroit to face the 2-13-1 Lions.