Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer. Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI |
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MINNEAPOLIS -- In the first regular season contest at U.S. Bank Stadium, Minnesota's new billion-dollar football venue, new Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford led the team to a 17-14 win over the Green Bay Packers.
Bradford, acquired from the Eagles at the end of the preseason after Teddy Bridgewater was lost to a knee injury, threw for 286 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his first start for the Vikings. His favorite target was Stefon Diggs, who had nine catches for 182 yards and a touchdown.
Bradford completed 22 of 31 passes.
However, the Minnesota ground game was troublesome, putting it mildly. Star running back Adrian Peterson finished with just 19 yards on 12 carries, and he left the game in the third quarter due to a right knee injury. He did not return.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers ran for a touchdown and threw for another, finishing with 213 yards on 20-of-36 passing. However, his interception, hauled in by Vikings cornerback Trae Waynes with 1:50 to play, enabled Minnesota (2-0) to run out the clock.
The Packers (1-1) got 50 yards on the ground from Eddie Lacy, but they trailed by 10 points entering the fourth quarter. Rodgers led a long drive and scored on a 10-yard run with 4:30 to play, but his late interception sealed the outcome.
Waynes, who was targeted by Rodgers much of the night and took several pass interference penalties, stepped in front of a pass intended for Davante Adams.
The Packers fumbled four times in the game, but recovered three of them.
Penalties were the Vikings' biggest problem all night. Minnesota was whistled 13 times for 137 yards, but a late pass interference penalty on the Packers enabled the Vikings to hold onto the ball. With three seconds to play, Bradford dropped back and heaved a pass out of bounds to end the game.
Packers receiver Jordy Nelson will forever have the first touchdown in the Vikings' new stadium, a 1-yard pass from Rodgers in the first quarter, giving Green Bay a 7-0 lead.
Bradford got the Minnesota offense working in the second quarter, answering with a 4-yard pass to tight end Kyle Rudolph to tie the game, and taking a 10-7 lead when Blair Walsh hit a 46-yard field goal in the final minute.
The first-half highlight for the Packers may have been their run defense, which held Peterson to just 12 yards on nine carries.
NOTES: With their initial games of the season in Jacksonville and Minnesota, this marks the first time the Packers have opened a season with back-to-back road games since 1924. One of those games was in Minnesota, as coach Curly Lambeau's team lost 6-3 to the Duluth Kelleys in their 1924 season opener. ... The Vikings last opened a permanent new home on Sept. 12, 1982, beating Tampa Bay 17-10 in the inaugural game at the Metrodome. ... Packers starting defensive tackle Letroy Guion left the game in the second quarter with a knee injury. ... Vikings Hall-of-Famers Bud Grant, Fran Tarkenton and Cris Carter were all introduced to the crowd during the pregame festivities.
