With a couple of hundred million dollar’s worth of quarterbacks on the field, the Packers and Vikings game came down to kickers.
Of course.
Vikings rookie kicker Daniel Carlson missed a pair of field goals in overtime, with the second coming as time expired, leaving the Packers and Vikings tied 29-29.
The 35-yarder as the 70th minute ticked off the clock was painful, but his third of the day. The fifth-rounder from Auburn also missed a 49-yarder earlier in overtime, and a 48-yarder in regulation.
Of course, if Packers kicker Mason Crosby had hit his, it would have never gotten that far.
Crosby had hit his first five field goals in regulation, and his first chance at his sixth one. But the 52-yarder was waved off after a timeout, and he missed the subsequent attempt.
That overshadowed a game of odd twists and big plays, and a penalty which will be discussed all week.
The Vikings only had a chance at overtime when a Kirk Cousins interception was wiped away by a roughing the passer penalty on Clay Matthews, his second in as many weeks. This one will be debated, because it’s unclear what Matthews might have done differently. But with the added chance, quarterback Kirk Cousins hit Adam Thielen with a late touchdown and Stefon Diggs for the two-point conversion to even the score.
Cousins finished 35-of-48 for 425 yards and four touchdowns and an interception, giving him an edge over the guy who surpassed him as the richest quarterback in the league. Aaron Rodgers, playing on an injured and heavily braced left knee, was 30-of-42 for 281 yards and a touchdown.