Vikings Defense Can't Pressure Rodgers in Week 1 Loss

[Viktor]

A pair of veteran Vikings defenders concurred with Zimmer's frustration about the free yards.


"Got me today. Got a couple guys. His hard count is very convincing," said Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr. "He's one of the best in the league at it. You just got to be disciplined, got to hold your water, got to look at the ball as much as you can when you're in that position and not jump and put your team in some tough situations."


Smith added: "I think [it happened] at least two [times]. And you've got to know coming in that he's the best at that. It's one thing to talk about it, but we've got to take it out on the field. That's on us."


Rodgers zipped the ball around to his favorite targets, especially Davante Adams. The wide receiver finished with 14 receptions for 156 yards and two scores.


Marquez Valdes-Scantling had 96 yards on four catches, including a 45-yard score over rookie cornerback Cameron Dantzler. Allen Lazard had 63 yards and a score on four receptions.


Valdes-Scantling's score came with just 14 seconds left in the first half, and helped give Green Bay a 22-7 cushion.


"Dantzler was in good position," Zimmer said. "He looked back – kind of eased up, looked back for the ball – I think that was the touchdown right before the half."


Perhaps it's no surprise that the Vikings defense couldn't get to Rodgers as the game wore on. After all, they were on the field for a whopping 41 minutes and 16 seconds. (Minnesota's 18:44 time of possession Sunday was its lowest regular-season total in franchise history).