Meltdown in Minneapolis

By Eric Goska

Trey Smack kicked three field goals in Minnesota.
He could have had a fourth.
(photos by Eric Goska)

Next time, perhaps, Matt LaFleur might side with his placekicker and not his defense.

With the fourth quarter not yet two minutes old, the Packers head coach took a field goal off the board believing he could get a bigger payout against the Vikings. The decision backfired spectacularly as not only did Green Bay come up empty, but Minnesota dialed up 22 unanswered points, more than enough to bounce its division rival 39-22 in the season opener for both teams.

Implosions such as the one at U.S. Bank Stadium are as rare as they are alarming. Unfortunately for the Green and Gold, these late-game failures have become too familiar. Think Packers-Bears rivalry circa 2025.

This latest collapse broke new ground. LaFleur’s desire to hold Minnesota to the fire added fuel to a Vikings’ team eager to break out after having trailed for most of the game.

Said inflection point arrived early in the fourth quarter. With his team up 22-17, LaFleur opted to take a five-yard penalty (Minnesota’s Dallas Turner had been offside) rather than stick with a 40-yard field goal by rookie Trey Smack. That decision left Green Bay with a fourth-and-one at the Vikings 17-yard line, an assignment bungled when Jordan Love failed to gain on a quarterback sneak.

While understandably stoked by the stop, the Vikings were assured of nothing. To that point they had gained 168 yards in 45 plays (3.7 average) with the majority of their snaps (25) bringing fewer than four yards.

Packers head coach
Matt LaFleur in 2025

Not to worry. Aided by a Packers defense beset by penalty—and an officiating crew only too happy to help—Minnesota could not help but prevail.

Three times did Minnesota quarterback Carson Wentz face third down. Three times was his unit stopped. Three times did a flag fly with the promise of a first down.

Three penalties. In the fourth quarter. On the same drive. Each moving the chains.

How often had that happened to the Green and Gold over the years?

Six times since 1937. Six times in the team’s last one thousand, two hundred, seventy-eight regular-season games.

But until Sunday, never had all three infractions come on third down.

For six-and-a-half minutes, as Wentz marshaled the Vikings goalward, yellow flags flew. A 10-yard sack (Edgerrin Cooper and Devonte Wyatt) wiped out by an illegal contact penalty on Javon Bullard. A Wentz incompletion was negated by a roughing the passer infraction on Chris McClellan. Evan Williams’ end zone interception erased by Xavier McKinney’s defensive holding.

Green Bay could not get off the field.

Aaron Jones finally capped the affair with a 3-yard run that put Minnesota ahead for good (25-22) with 6 minutes, 37 seconds remaining. Toss in Jonathan Ford’s encroachment infraction at the outset of the advance and the Packers gifted 28 of the 83 yards the Vikings needed to reach paydirt.

Green Bay’s lead, good for more than 50 minutes, was toast.

Christian Watson led all receivers
with 147 receiving yards.

Possessing a five-point lead after three quarters as the Packers did in Minnesota usually spells victory. Green Bay is 574-38-6 (.934) in the regular season in such games.

Until this debacle, Curly Lambeau (161-5-2) had lost most often when afforded a 5-point cushion after 45 minutes of play. LaFleur now joins him (53-5) courtesy of his ill-advised gambit.

Eight seasons deep into his Green Bay run, LaFleur coached his 118th regular-season game in Minneapolis. His teams have surrendered at least one first down by penalty in 98 of those contests (83 percent).

That’s the highest percentage of any head coach who lasted a full season or more in Green Bay. Ray Rhodes (81.3) and Mike McCarthy (80.4) are second and third, respectively.

Of course, there is no way to know if the Packers would have won had LaFleur opted to stick with Smack’s fourth-quarter field goal. But had it counted, Smack would have joined Chester Marcol (1972) as the only players to have kicked four field goals in their first game with Green Bay.

Fourth Quarter Fizzles
The six regular-season games in which the Packers were outscored by more than 21 points in the fourth quarter.

Pts.   Date                  Opponent   Location                                         Result
31      Sept. 13, 1981      Falcons          Lambeau Field                              GB lost, 17-31
27      Nov. 5, 1950        Colts               Memorial Stadium                      GB lost, 21-41
24      Oct. 12, 1952       Rams              Marquette Stadium                     GB lost, 28-30
24      Oct. 18, 1959       Rams              Milwaukee County Stadium      GB lost, 6-45
24      Dec. 2, 1979         Redskins       RFK Stadium                                GB lost, 21-38
22      Sept. 13, 2026    Vikings           U.S. Bank Stadium                      GB lost, 22-39