GREEN BAY, Wisc. — Jordan Addison returned to the Vikings lineup — and the end zone twice — Sunday, sparking a hot start by Minnesota in a 31-29 defeat of the Green Bay Packers.
Addison had missed the past two games because of an ankle injury suffered in Week 1 at New York.
He put the Vikings (4-0) on the board first with a 29-yard catch from Sam Darnold to cap Minnesota's opening possession of the game. The catch occurred one play after a 31-yard pass by Darnold to Jalen Nailor and was in the same end zone where Addison caught a 20-yard touchdown last season in his first trip to Lambeau Field.
His encore performance also featured a 7-yard rushing touchdown to cap Minnesota's third possession of the game and make it 21-0 with 11:50 remaining in the first half.
Addison became the sixth Vikings receiver to score a receiving and a rushing touchdown in the same game, joining John Gilliam (1973), Jim Brim (1987), Percy Harvin (2012), Cordarrelle Patterson (2013) and Adam Thielen (2019).
He totaled three receptions for 72 yards. In two trips to Lambeau Field, Addison has now caught 10 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns.
View postgame celebration photos from the Vikings - win over the Packers in Week 4 of the 2024 season.
The Vikings offense spread the ball around with eight different players combining for 11 first-half receptions.
Aaron Jones, Sr., Justin Jefferson and Johnny Mundt each caught two passes from Sam Darnold. Ty Chandler, Trent Sherfield, Sr., and Josh Oliver also joined Addison and Nailor in catching a pass in the first half.
Oliver's was a 2-yard touchdown to cap Minnesota's second possession of the game, a 73-yard drive that lasted 5:10 and put the Vikings up 14-0 with 1:37 remaining in the first quarter.
One of Jefferson's receptions was a 14-yard catch from Darnold for a 28-0 lead with 5:28 remaining in the first half.
The Vikings scored touchdowns on four of their first five possessions.
Here are four more observations presented by Minnesota Eye Consultants, the Proud LASIK Partner of the Minnesota Vikings, followed by a scoring summary:
1. Picky, picky, picky
Linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill recorded an interception for the second time in as many weeks. The veteran nabbed a pass by Jordan Love intended for Christian Watson, who suffered an ankle injury on the play and did not return.
Grugier-Hill's interception ended Green Bay's second possession and gave the Vikings the ball at the Packers 46-yard line. Minnesota handed off to Addison for the 7-yard TD run on the seventh play of the ensuing drive.
Grugier-Hill is the fourth Vikings linebacker to record interceptions in consecutive games all-time, joining E.J. Henderson, Chad Greenway (twice) and Eric Kendricks (twice).
Shaq Griffin intercepted Love in the second quarter and returned the ball a career-long 28 yards to the Green Bay 4-yard line. It was Griffin's eighth career interception and set up the touchdown to Jefferson, which followed a holding penalty to start the drive.
Byron Murphy, Jr., got in on the action in the fourth quarter intercepting Love in Minnesota's end zone on a deep pass intended for Dontayvion Wicks.
Although the next possession ended with a quick punt, Murphy was able to force a fumble after a short catch by Tucker Kraft. Camryn Bynum pounced on the ball at the Green Bay 42 with 4:18 remaining.
The Vikings won the turnover battle four to three.
2. Managing mistakes
The Vikings were in complete control of the game until a muffed punt gave the Packers a second wind just before halftime.
Jalen Nailor struggled to track a punt by Daniel Whelan and reached over his head for the ball but was unable to secure the catch. The ball bounced all the way to the Minnesota 3-yard line before Bo Melton recovered the ball with 39 seconds remaining in the first half.
Green Bay followed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Head Coach Matt LaFleur with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Love to Jaylen Reed with 15 seconds remaining in the first half.
View game action photos from the Vikings vs. Packers matchup in Week 4 at Lambeau Field.
For as well as he started (11-of-15 passing for 136 yards, three touchdowns and a passer rating of 140.6), Darnold worked through a couple of mistakes in the second half.
He was intercepted on a pass to Jones, giving the ball back to the Packers at their own 2-yard line to set up a Green Bay touchdown.
Darnold also was sacked during a corner blitz by Keisean Nixon, who forced a fumble recovered by Green Bay deep in Minnesota territory.
The Packers scored two touchdowns within a span of 1:22.
3. Jones strong in return to Lambeau
There were plenty of emotions for Jones in his first game as a visitor to Lambeau Field, where he called home from 2017-23.
Jones rushed 22 times for 93 yards and caught four passes for 46 yards.
He battled for extra yardage to help shrink the game clock in the fourth quarter as Minnesota outlasted a furious rally by Green Bay, which scored 22 points in the fourth quarter.
4. Birthday sack for Pat Jones II
Pat Jones II recorded Minnesota's only sack of the day. It was his fifth of the year, setting a career-best for a single season and 10th of his career on his 26th birthday.
Although the Vikings were unable to sack Love, Minnesota did record 11 quarterback hits and 12 passes defensed.