They say it’s hard to beat a team three times in a season in the NFL. This trope, while logical given the division teams’ familiarity with each other, doesn’t really hold up to statistical evidence. For the Detroit Lions, that won’t matter this year. Detroit swept the tough NFC North in 2024, but the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers still managed to claw their way into the playoffs, potentially setting up a “gotta beat ’em a third time” matchup with Detroit in the playoffs.
However, the Vikings and Packers were eliminated this weekend after losing some serious eggs in their Wild Card matchup. From a Lions perspective, it was hilarious and satisfying to see the teams that took the Lions all the way in the division standings reveal themselves in the playoffs. For the teams themselves, it was a stark reminder of how far they still have to go to catch up with the Lions and other NFC contenders.
Let’s take a closer look at both games, simply because it’s fun.
Packers, Jordan Love dead in 22-10 loss to Eagles
Last year, Green Bay had a deep playoff run as the seventh seed, upsetting the Dallas Cowboys in blowout fashion and nearly eliminating the 49ers. Packers fans were hoping they could start again as the seventh seed this year, but Sunday’s game was a disaster from the opening kickoff, which Green Bay promptly missed. In two minutes, they were already down 7-0.
To Green Bay’s credit, their defense played much better than expected. A middling unit all season, the Packers defense managed to hold the Eagles to just 290 offensive yards and just 15 points outside of that first touchdown. Even though Saquon Barkley finished with 119 rushing yards, his overall efficiency was mediocre, earning a -2.1 EPA in the game, ranking ninth among the 14 qualifying running backs during Wild Card Weekend (min. seven races).
But this defensive effort was completely defeated by a disastrous offensive performance. Jordan Love was completely out of sorts the entire game, finishing 20 of 33 for 212 yards, zero touchdowns, three interceptions and a passer rating of 41.5. It was his worst performance of the year in passer rating, second-worst in yards per attempt (6.4), and only the third time in his career that he threw three interceptions . His -8.7 EPA ranked ninth out of 12 Wild Card quarterbacks.
Love was undeniably bad in this game, but he wasn’t helped by the Packers’ mounting injuries throughout the game. Already without Christian Watson, who tore his ACL in the regular season finale, Green Bay lost Romeo Doubs (concussion) and Jayden Reed (dislocated shoulder) during the game, in addition to some injuries on the offensive and defensive line.
But injuries are no excuse for a game they were never really involved in.
Clock strikes midnight for Sam Darnold in Vikings’ 27-9 loss to Rams
Speaking of terrible quarterback play, Sam Darnold looked completely flummoxed for the second week in a row. After the Detroit Lions gave Darnold some accuracy and read issues, the Rams did the exact same thing, even more chaotically for Darnold.
Vikings quarterback fired nine time, threw an interception and lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown against the Rams. Once again, he struggled with accuracy, held the ball too long and just didn’t seem up to the task. There were questions about whether Darnold would be able to handle a high-stakes game after last week’s failure against the Lions, and he certainly didn’t assuage those fears after Monday’s performance. He finished Wild Card Weekend with the week’s worst EPA (-27.4), second-lowest completion percentage compared to expectations (-4.6%), and lowest passing yardage per attempt (6.1).
As Darnold heads into free agency, there are serious questions about what the Vikings will do at quarterback. Obviously, they drafted JJ McCarthy as their long-term starter, and he was even potentially on track to start in Week 1 before tearing his meniscus. However, Darnold made a strong case to come back and challenge for that starting spot during the regular season, finishing fifth in the NFL in yards, sixth in passer rating and fifth in touchdowns. But with back-to-back dreadful performances in the big moments, McCarthy might be unavoidable in 2025. As for Darnold, those lackluster games on the national stage may have cost him a ton of money heading into free agency.
Minnesota’s future will be interesting to follow. Not only will they possibly start a “rookie” quarterback, but they also had the oldest roster in football in 2024, and defensive coordinator Brian Flores attends head coach interviews. It won’t be easy for them to repeat their 14-4 season, even though this season was initially billed as a “rebuild” season.
