D Is For Domination

I’ve probably watched all but the first 25 to 30 matchups in the 130 games in the Border Battle between the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings. I’m pretty sure that second half on Sunday was in my top-five most enjoyable watches.

There have been dozens of games with more on the line, of course, and the Vikings look like a team destined to be picking in the top 10. But I’m a sucker for great defensive play, and to see a Packers defense hold the Vikings to four yards of offense in a half of football, playing a team with all 11 of its preferred starters on the field, well, it doesn’t get better than that.

I understand that the Vikings are employing a young quarterback who appears to be light years away from being a serviceable signal caller. Still, he's a guy who has authored two divisional road wins in his brief, very uneven first season as a starter. Forgive me for taking nothing away from that defensive performance.

The theme of the day for me was “unlikely heroes.” The three guys who

Anderson’s play turned the game, and how nice it was to see the Packers make a gigantic play on special teams? Things weren’t looking great early in the third, with the Pack nursing a 10-6 lead and punting the ball away after a quick six-play drive to open the second half.

When rookie returner Myles Price turned to engage Anderson, hoping the ball would bounce into the end zone, it paved the way for the backup safety and special teams ace to block Price toward the football, causing him to make contact with it and allowing Anderson to pounce on the ball. Two plays later, the Pack had what looked like an insurmountable 17-6 lead.

It was Wilson who cashed in, putting an exclamation point on his first career start, where he stuffed the box score with 125 total yards on 30 touches and a pair of scores. The undrafted kid out of Fort Valley State finds out a couple of hours before kickoff that he’d be making his starting debut and then proceeds to plow his way through Brian Flores’ defense, breaking tackles all afternoon. A strong performance up front helped him, highlighted by a changing of the guard.

The plan, apparently, was for rookie Anthony Belton to rotate at right guard with Jordan Morgan, but after his first series, the second of the game for the offense, the Packers kept him in there the rest of the way. Belton is a massive human being and may be best suited on the interior, despite never lining up at guard until a few weeks ago in practice.

Morgan, by all accounts, is a future tackle in this league, likely replacing Rasheed Walker next season. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him getting some reps there down the stretch to get a glimpse of what he may have to offer.

The Packers used Darian Kinnard as a sixth lineman for 21 snaps on Sunday, going heavy and basically daring the Vikings to stop the run. LaFleur called 42 running plays, causing a large chunk of fans to bemoan his conservative play calling and pleading for him to put the ball in Jordan Love’s hands to deliver a knockout punch.

I have absolutely no issues with LaFleur’s strategy on this day. There are times to put your pedal to the metal and get after it -- probably as soon as the next game against the Detroit Lions. Against this opponent, with half of your preferred starters on offense in street clothes, with a QB dealing with an injured left shoulder, and with that next game coming in four short days, it made all the sense in the world to churn away on the ground and let your defense flex against an overmatched opponent.

That second-half defensive performance was something we’ll probably never see again. Watching Micah Parsons ply his craft is a thing of absolute beauty. He was matched up with a left tackle who many believe is among the best in the league, and Parsons made him look like a practice-squad fill-in. The speed, the motor, the relentlessness — he’s an absolute game-wrecker, and, for the first time in a while, we saw his cohorts step up and make their presence felt too.

Devonte Wyatt gets his first two sacks since Week 2, Rashan Gary’s pressure lads to McDuffie’s pick on a day where he finally looked like himself again, rookie Warren Brinson gets 15 snaps and records five pressures. Carrington Valentine is assigned shadow coverage on Justin Jefferson when Nixon left with a stinger and holds him in check. Haddon steps in for Nixon and looks like he belongs in his first career defensive action.

The defense only played 44 snaps and took the ball away three times, the first multiple-takeaway game of the season -- finally. McCarthy threw the ball 10-plus yards past the line of scrimmage just five times, and he went two for five for 34 yards with two picks and no touchdowns. Jeff Hafley’s defense had him completely flummoxed.

I’m not sure how many times I’ve watched the celebration following Evan Williams’ pick, but it’s in the double digits. Watching the defense do the Skol chant in the end zone with thousands of Packer fans clapping along? Chef’s kiss.

Of course, the team can’t celebrate too long. It’s a quick turnaround to the big Thanksgiving Day matchup with the Lions -- a chance to complete the sweep of last year’s division champs, a team that’s been unusually vulnerable at home this season. As solid as Wilson and McDuffie were against the Vikings, it would be very nice to get Jacobs and Quay Walker back for what will be a much stiffer test.

The Pack went 0-4 against the Lions and Vikings last season. So far in ’25, they’re 2-0 and have outscored them 50-19. That’s a very positive development and has set them up to be in the mix in a very top-heavy NFC.

It’s a great sign to see unheralded players step up in a big spot and handle their business. It’s absolutely exquisite to watch the Packers dominate and humiliate their longtime rivals. Now let’s see if they can keep the mojo going with two more key divisional games up next.