Upon Further Review: Packers stymie Vikings in the ‘Za’Darius Smith Game’

We’re calling this the “Za’Darius Smith game.”

Smith, the veteran pass rusher who signed a $66 million contract with Green Bay in the offseason, lived up to every penny of that deal Sunday night.

He put together his best game in green and gold, logging 3.5 sacks, seven total tackles, five quarterback hurries and five tackles for loss.

All Green Bay had to do was follow suit, and it did, in a 23-10 victory over the rival Vikings.

Smith’s dominance wasn’t a good look for Minnesota’s $84 million man Kirk Cousins, who completed just 16 of 31 pass attempts for 122 yards, one touchdown and one interception — a 58.8 passer rating.

The storyline of Cousins’ flops on Monday Night Football continues to run deep, as he’s now 0-9 in his career. Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers has won his last six Monday contests.

Green Bay survived three turnovers in the first half and settled into its running game after the break, riding Aaron Jones to its 12th win of the season and clinching the team’s first NFC North crown since 2016.

In a season of ugly wins, this perhaps was the prettiest.

Here’s a recap of Monday’s game (Story | Photos):

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Smith. Duh. The 27-year-old set a new career best with 3.5 sacks and logged his fourth multi-sack game of the season. He now ranks sixth in the league with 13.5 sacks on the season and is the first Packers player to log 13+ in a single campaign since Clay Matthews in 2012.

Smith was harassing the Vikings offense right from the start. The Vikings started their first possession from the Packers’ 10-yard line after an Aaron Jones fumble. Smith stopped Mike Boone, the Vikings’ fourth-string running back filling in for Dalvin Cook, for a loss of two yards on first down. Two plays later, Smith rushed Cousins into a hurried throw that sailed out of bounds. Minnesota settled for a field goal.

Whenever Green Bay needed a big play, Smith was there.

The Za’Darius Game.#GoPackGo

(via @thecheckdown)pic.twitter.com/KQROoWEMO0

— FOX Sports Wisconsin (@fswisconsin) December 24, 2019

DON’T FORGET ABOUT ME

Where would this offense be without Jones? The third-year running back simply wore Minnesota’s defense down, rushing 23 times for 154 yards and two scores.

The Packers handily won the time of possession battle (37:32 to 22:28). The ball was in Jones’ hands for a good chunk of that time. Minnesota had success against Jones early, but like we said above, he tired out the defense. As a team, the Packers averaged 3.3 yards per carry in the first quarter, 5.3 in the second, 6.8 in the third and 9.7 in the fourth.

Jones put the game on ice with a 56-yard run for a score in the fourth quarter.

? FEED AARON JONES

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/PITfco9j1f

— FOX Sports Wisconsin (@fswisconsin) December 24, 2019

THAT MOMENT

The only time Minnesota’s offense had any momentum whatsoever, Kevin King was there to stop it. Midway through the third quarter, Cousins connected with Stefon Diggs for 28 yards on third-and-18 to move the Vikings near Packers territory. But two plays later, Cousins overthrew Diggs and the ball landed in the arms of King for his fifth interception of the season.

MERRY PICK-MAS! @King_kevvoo grabs the INT! ??#GBvsMIN | #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/UQZ9FrCfl2

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 24, 2019

THIS NUMBER

3.94 — Cousins’ yards per pass attempt. It marked the quarterback’s third-worst yards per attempt over his career, and the first time the Packers held a quarterback to under four yards per attempt since Arizona’s Drew Stanton in 2015. Of Cousins’ 16 completions, only four went for over 10 yards.

THEY SAID IT

“It feels great to win at [U.S. Bank Stadium], where a couple years ago I was jeered leaving the field after breaking my collarbone. It feels pretty good.” — quarterback Aaron Rodgers

“I got another sack in December. It’s cool to start calling me Mr. December.” – defensive tackle Kenny Clark

“It seemed like he was unblockable. I can’t say enough about him, not only as a player but also as a leader. He’s been a huge addition to this football team.” – head coach Mat LaFleur on Za’Darius Smith

“There’s nothing like checking that first box on the goal list of winning your division. It obviously secures a home playoff game, and now we’re playing for even more coming up next week.” — Rodgers

WHAT’S NEXT

Now that the division is wrapped up, the Packers will fight for a first-round bye next week. They’ll play Detroit, a team that has been mailing it in since a controversial call didn’t go its way in a 23-22 loss to the Packers back in Week 6. The Lions have lost eight straight games.

Green Bay can earn a first-round bye with a win over the Lions or New Orleans losing to Carolina. The top seed in the NFC would belong to Green Bay if the Packers beat the Lions and San Francisco lost to Seattle.