*Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer *

I think credit should go to Green Bay, I think they played better than we did tonight. I think we made too many mistakes – penalties, especially in the first half and it came back to bite us a little bit. We'll get back to work and see if we can fight again.

Q: You entered the game as the least penalized team in the league, do you wonder what happened there?

A: I don't know, we'll have to see. I know we didn't block them very good up front. We had too much pressure on the quarterback. I thought [Teddy] Bridgewater played well, got us out of a lot of trouble. Everybody has been wanting him to throw for 250-270 yards, now he did. Yay. But we didn't do enough things to win.

Q: Do you think the offensive line problems were with the physicality from Green Bay?

A: I don't know. I know we got beat some. I know we had some mental errors, too.

Q: Did you consider them an overall more physical team today with their pass rush and their running game?

A: I don't know, that's for you to decide.

Q: With so many sacks was it all on the offensive line or is that on Teddy Bridgewater or is the blame to be spread around?

A: I don't know, I'll have to look at it. There was one where they tricked us. There was one where we might have missed it, with someone else other than the line. Those are the two that I can think of off the top of my head.

Q: What were you seeing with the way they were attacking your defense?

A: I thought [Aaron] Rodgers did a good job, he got out of the pocket and made a couple of plays, the 3rd down, the 3rd-and-15, the pass interference on Terence [Newman] was a big play. I made a bad call on their touchdown, I went to the well one too many times and they ran a different combination route.

Q: Which touchdown are you referencing?

A: Right before the half.

Q: Did you have any particular message to the team after?

A: Yeah.

Q: Anything you care to share?

A: Can't win playing the way we did, too many mistakes. You can't return the kickoff back and then get a 15-yard penalty. We can't have pass interferences, can't do those things and beat a good football team.

Q: Is it more difficult to lose with an out of character performance like you had today?

A: I don't look at this one as a [out of character game], you go back to San Francisco, that was out of character. This one, we got beat today, but there was some good things in there too. We had some penalties, yeah, I got it, but when the guy gets out of the pocket, he can make some plays. We didn't rush him right on that particular play. Sometimes you have to give the other team credit as well.

Q: Do you feel there is still a disparity between the Vikings and Packers still?

A: I don't know. We've still got six more games to go, let's play them out.

Q: Do you feel like the anticipation had a factor in the way your guys played?

A: No, I think we were ready to play.

Q: What do you attribute Green Bay limiting your rushing attack to?

A: I guess they just did a better job. I'm not trying to be coy. The second half we didn't run the ball because we were down. We didn't run the ball much in the second half because we had to come back, that's part of it. They were able to run the ball some. I think people are looking at this, 'it's uncharacteristic, this and that.' They played good. We knew we'd get their best shot, there was no doubt we'd get their best shot today. They came in and played good.

Q: Why do you think they were able to run the ball with effectiveness?

A: Sometimes when you're worried about other things, you're going to be a little susceptible. What was their rush average? 3.6 [yards per carry], thank you.

Q: How do you feel Teddy Bridgewater did?

A: I said he did good. I thought he played very well. I thought he threw the ball well, I thought he stood in under pressure, I thought he got us out of a lot of bad plays. I thought he did well.

Q: Did his shoulder injury linger at all?

A: I don't know, he'll be alright.

Q: Do you think Matt Kalil was hindered by his toe injury at all?

A: I don't know. If he was out there, he's got to play.

Vikings Linebacker Chad Greenway

Q: You guys had to overcome a number of penalties. Can you speak on that?

A: Yeah, uncharacteristic I think with this football team up to this point. To be that penalized and offensively just to start that down and distance is tough. Defensively, to do it in critical situations is something we've avoided and need to continue to avoid. Obviously it's frustrating. We need to play better on all phases. Special teams had some leakage in the first half and that type of yardage just kills you. [Aaron] Rodgers made a lot of plays with his feet and out of the pocket as he does. When able to contain a lot of that stuff, and when we did we seemed to hurt ourselves with penalties. So yeah, it was a frustrating loss obviously, one of those you need to get at home in a tough situation like that with two good football teams.

Q: Does Rodgers just keep you off balance? As good as he is, you bite one step on a play-action and he goes down field.

A: I think it's more about just the group of them that does a good job, receivers recognizing that he's kind of in that mode and they get open and obviously, they made some really good catches, too. It wasn't like it was bad coverage. We were on guys and they still found a way.

Q: You talked about the penalties and them being uncharacteristic of the team. It seemed like you guys were pressing, trying to make something happen and they seemed to happen.

A: It's a tedious line. Illegal hands, it's a five-yard, six-yard window. You're a half-yard here that call probably goes uncalled 80 percent of the time. It's just one of those things where you always toe the line with that kind of stuff. Sometimes it gets called, sometimes it doesn't. Some of those are calls that will go the other way next time. We just have to do a better job. I don't think it's us pressing or the moment was too big. I just think it was the way the game went.

Vikings Running Back Adrian Peterson

Q: It's no question that they had you dialed in for the scouting report. Did it feel like that out there?

A: Yeah, it did. Opportunities were kind of slim, and I think penalties play a role in that as well. But we have to take our hats off to Green Bay. They did a great job containing us as a group today.

Q: You guys in the first nine games were the least penalized team in the league. Do you have any kind of idea why today was the day that it just didn't come off right?

A: No, I wish I did, but I don't know. Besides the penalties, offensively we just have to be better running the ball, getting a push up field and protecting Teddy. It was just kind of out of sync today for whatever reason. I think we'll be able to get this tape, regroup, and see the things that we definitely need to improve on. We have a long stretch ahead of us, and we'll come back and get ready for Atlanta.

Q: It seemed like you guys had some momentum going on that one drive, you had a big run, and then the fumble. Tell us about the fumble.

A: You know it was just me doing what I do and trying to make a play. I remember spinning out and my leg got wrapped up and the ball got away from me. The defensive line, I know what those guys did, I watched it on film. They caught me slipping on that one, and it really hurt us. We get seven points out of that, and I think it's a different game. It's unfortunate, but I hate to improve. It's one of those things that will happen; unfortunately it happened at a terrible time.

Q: Did you feel like you were pressing? It seemed like offensively you guys were trying to force things to happen a little bit, and then it just kind of snowballed.

A: I think the first half definitely we were kind of pressing a little bit. The opportunities were slim, and we just couldn't get going for whatever reason. We couldn't get going, couldn't keep anchored and keep Rodgers on the sideline like we game planned. We have to just take a step back and look and see what we did wrong and just improve.

Q: You had said the other day that they were the team to beat in the division, and you weren't able to do it. What does that say about the distance between you and Green Bay?

A: I don't think there's any distance. They came and wanted it more today. We didn't play our best offensively, defensively, or on special teams. The team you've seen today, it wasn't us. It was out of sync, out of whack. They came and executed. I think we had more yards than them passing, maybe almost total yards. They just took advantage of their opportunities when they were presented.

Q: Adrian was that the best pass protection that you've had? On that touchdown pass to Rudolph I don't think he gets that pass off if you don't pick up that blitzer.

A: I don't think it was the best, but when those opportunities present themselves I just do my job and try to get it done, and I was able to do that.

Q: Adrian that was the sixth time you've put the ball on the ground this season. Do you have to do anything differently on those where you're trying to extend the carry?

A: No, not at all, man. I just got to be conscience and keep it high and tight. Things will work out.

*Vikings Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater *

Tough loss today. Thinking on the positive side, if you look back at training camp, who would have thought we'd be sitting here at 7-3 right now after 10 games. We're in a good position right now, we know that we control our own destiny, but we know that a game like this won't be good enough to continue to compete in this division, compete with a team like Green Bay. We had too many negative plays today, starting drives on 1st - and - 20, we have to cut down on some of those plays. But, we have six more opportunities and we have to make the best of those.

Q: What happened on the play were you hurt your shoulder?

A: I just landed funny on my shoulder. I just ran inside, got looked at and felt fine.

Q: How frustrating was it to commit so many penalties after being the least penalized team in the league entering the game?

A: That wasn't like us, uncharacteristic of us with all of those penalties. Coach Zimmer is a tough coach, we're going to watch the tape and I'm pretty sure we're going to make the corrections and look at the penalties and try not to make the same mistakes next week.

Q: Why do you think you and Kyle Rudolph were able to have so much success today?

A: Kyle, he's been working hard and we know that in this offense like I say every week, a different guy will be featured or a different guy has a chance to make plays, and this week Kyle stepped up for us. He made some big plays and we had some favorable matchups with him on those linebackers and safeties and we liked those matchups. 

Q: Did you see a nice matchup there on the touchdown and see that as an area you could exploit pre-snap?

A: Yeah, definitely. It was a familiar look that we saw last year and we knew that we wanted to take advantage if we got the same look and he made the best of that play.

Q: What did you see up front, it seemed like you were constantly under pressure?

A: We knew that coming into this game that was going to be one of their points of emphasis. The past three games I think they hadn't gotten to the quarterback, so we knew that they had heard about how they struggled to get to the quarterback and things like that. We knew that that was going to be one their focuses and today, they applied some pressures. We have to clean those things up and then watch the tape, make corrections and move forward.

Q: What do you feel about the opportunities lost after the defeat such as extending your home winning streak and beating the Packers?

A: The unique thing is we control our own destiny. We have a chance to face Green Bay again January 3rd and right now we just have to learn from today. Like you said, it was an opportunity that we missed out on, but I'm still proud of those guys in our locker room. Those guys continued to compete for four quarters. The thing about these guys, they stay together and that's Coach Zimmer's message as far as just continue to stay together and believe in ourselves and I think we have a great group of guys and we want to continue to do that. We'll see next week.

Q: How do you feel you stack up overall to the Packers?

A: We did some things that weren't like us – penalties, starting drives on 1st - and - 20, trying to play catch-up, so you do those things when you face a team like the Green Bay Packers, a team that I think didn't get their first penalty until the third quarter. When you face a team like that that's playing clean throughout the day, you're going to eventually take yourself out of the football game. But our guys, we continue to fight, we continue to believe in each other. Coach Zimmer is going to get us ready to play Atlanta next week and we'll just keep moving forward. 

Q: What were you thinking from the sideline of that touchdown pass Aaron Rodgers made?

A: That's typical Aaron Rodgers. He's been doing it like that his entire career, keeping plays alive, breaking containment, keeping his eyes downfield and making the big play. He did that today and I know that's something that we worked on this week in practice and I'm pretty sure the coaching staff, the guys will make the corrections and I'm pretty sure those guys won't let it happen again.

Q: Do you have any concerns that this performance gives the Packers new life after three straight losses?

A: I can't speak for Green Bay, but we have to shift our focus to the Atlanta Falcons. Whatever happens with Green Bay over the next five weeks, we can't be concerned with that. We have to focus on ourselves, what's in front of us. 

Q: Why was it such tough sledding in the running game today?

A: That was another thing that we noticed over the three games that they weren't stopping the run much and we knew they were going to key on the run and force us to pass the ball, try to get us behind the sticks and put us in pass situations, so they could let their pass rushers go. Those guys, they did a good job in handling some of our run plays, but we kind of shot ourselves in the foot on some of those plays. We'll watch the tape and make the corrections from there.

Q: Can you talk about the Packers pass rush and sacking you six times?

A: We knew coming into this game that they hadn't sacked the quarterback in the past three games that they've lost, so we knew that that was going to be one of the points of emphasis, that those guys are fired up and we know that when they're getting to the quarterback, that's when they're playing their best football. Those guys did some things today that we were prepared for, we just didn't execute. 

Q: Why has it been difficult to connect with Mike Wallace on the deep balls so far this year?

A: That's something that we're going to continue to work on and it can go both ways. We get to practice this week and everything that we need to clean up, we're going to try and make sure we do that.

Q: Why do you think Green Bay was able to stifle the rushing game?

A: Those guys, the past three weeks struggled stopping the run, so coming into this game we knew that they were going to key on the run and those guys did a great job of handling some of the run plays that we ran today. But for the most part I think we didn't do some things well today. 

Q: Captain Munnerlyn said after the game you guys struggle in big games when the lights are on, can you attest to that?

A: I don't know what it was, but like I said, if you have over 100 yards of penalties in a football game, your chances of winning the game are slim, so we have to cut down on the mistakes, the errors and clean some things up.

Q: Would you say this game was more due to Green Bay making big plays or you guys shooting yourselves in the foot?

A: Those guys made some plays, too. You can't take that away from them, Green Bay is a good football team and we knew that. Like I said earlier in the week, we're aiming for what they are. They're the defending NFC North champions and that's something that we're trying to aspire to become. We knew coming into this game, those guys had the capability of making big plays and those guys did that today and we missed out on some opportunities, too, so it goes hand in hand. But we'll watch the tape tomorrow, make the corrections and move forward.

Vikings Defensive Tackle Sharrif Floyd

Q: It was kind of a strange football game. A lot of things happened out there. Penalties, good play, bad play. Can you summarize it from your standpoint?

A: We went up against a great team. Against these great teams, you can't take bad penalties and hurt ourselves. We shot ourselves as a team today and we just can't do that.

Q: You guys got the opportunity to play in a big game today. How did it feel after waiting for an opportunity like this?

A: It doesn't seem like waiting for opportunities, more so than just playing ball and being aggressive and enjoying the day. But, outside of that, we showed something today that's not us and we know that's not us. We're going to go back to the drawing board and get this thing rolling again.

Q: Too many penalties tonight?

A: A lot of penalties. I'm not going to speak on it, but a lot of penalties. A lot of things that hurt us. We've got to come back together. We have to be a team.

Vikings Cornerback Captain Munnerlyn

Q: There were two times that Rodgers had to call a timeout on third and long. Do you sense that when he was struggling to read what you guys are trying to do?

A: We switched it up on him today. We switched up a lot of stuff today and we tried doing different looks and I think we did a good job.

Q: You guys were showing pressure from both ends and on your sack. How did that play out?

A: We definitely did, I don't think he counted me at all. I think he thought Harrison (Smith) was coming and he did a great job showing and we checked it and I got the sack.

Q: Coaches talked about how to handle success is this kind of one those moments where you guys think its characteristic things?

A: Yeah I definitely think it is, the whole country is watching and we didn't play well at all. It seems like every time we get in these types of games we don't play well, so we have to learn from this and we definitely need to see what is going on with that. We have to fix it. We definitely need to fix this and take this team to the next level, to the playoffs and to the Super Bowl.  

Q: What do you think goes into that?

A: I think some guys are too excited and some guys have never been in these situations before. The only way to be in that situation is to take this stance, I'm glad they got the experience. You have to treat it like a normal game. We did a lot of uncharacteristic things trying to get up for this game when you just have to treat it like a normal game and let the game come to you.  I don't feel like we did that today.

Vikings Defensive End Brian Robison

Q: Is it surprising how well they were driving the ball against you guys?

A: I mean yeah we don't want to give anybody 100 yards rushing, so I would hope I would say it is surprising.

Q: Did they do anything unexpected or do you think there is any reason for their success?

A: They made plays. They made plays and we didn't. It is as easy as that. 

Q: Brian, you guys saw a lot of Eddie Lacy last year especially in that Thursday night game, what makes him so tough?

A: I mean he is a big back, he runs downhill and he is hard to bring down. We know we have to tackle better. I think we will look at the tape tomorrow and we will see that maybe one or two of us were not in our gaps. I don't really know until we watch tape. He is a good back, there is no doubt about it. When he gets going downhill he is tough to bring down so we have to do a better job of that next time.

Q: I'm sure you have already have addressed it but how frustrating is the loss especially with how well you guys have been playing, not just at home but as of lately?

A: I mean it is frustrating, but at the end of the day we need to do what we have done in the past whether it was a win or a loss. We have to put this one behind us and move on to the next one.

Vikings Guard Brandon Fusco

Q: It seems like the games where Adrian Peterson doesn't get a lot of touches is when things go bad, did the game dictate that?

A: Obviously the game plan is around number 28 and so I guess they did a great job of containing him and stopping the run, didn't allow much movement up front. We had a lot of penalties, a lot of drives starting at 1st –and-20, including my penalty. It doesn't help us as an offense, it makes us one-dimensional.

Q: It's uncharacteristic for you guy to have that many, I think it was like nine for 110 yards?

A: Yeah, that's just not Viking football. Viking football is playing physical, which we did not do. It's beating our man in front of us, which we did not do and controling the game and we didn't do that either. It wasn't us tonight.

Vikings Linebacker Anthony Barr

Q: After such a great start, do you think you guys took a step back?

A: I wouldn't say we took a step back. I think they just outplayed us in certain areas of the game. You can see the results. I think the defense did what we wanted to do, we just didn't execute as much as we wanted. A lot of it was Aaron [Rodgers] just making some good throws.

Q: What do you think was the biggest difference between the Detroit Lions game and today?

A: They were able to run the ball a little better today than against Detroit, which helped the passing game out. Obviously, we didn't play as well as we'd like to.

Q: How were they able to play so much better than the Detroit game?

A: I think just coming off a three-game losing streak, they were going to come and give us their best shot and that's what we got today.