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NFL

Defense fuels sweep of Packers; Vikings one step closer to first-round bye

GREEN BAY, Wis. — With 2:51 remaining in the game, the Skol chant took over Titletown USA. Minnesota Vikings fans who traveled five hours to watch their team silence the crowd in Lambeau Field got an early Christmas present on Saturday night.

Minnesota recorded its first defensive shutout since 1993 when it beat NFC North rival Green Bay 16-0 in prime time.

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Another dominant performance bolstered the Vikings case as the NFL’s best defense from top to bottom. Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Hundley finished with a passer rating of 30.2 after throwing two interceptions and not being able to connect with his receivers in the end zone.

What it means: Well, it’s a rivalry again. Mike Zimmer said this week that the Vikings were still trying to make the series with the Packers a rivalry because of how many times Green Bay had been on the winning end this decade. For the first time since 2009, Minnesota swept Green Bay in the regular season.

What I liked: Harrison Smith made Pro Bowl voters look silly for his snub to this year’s game. The Packers got into the red zone for the first time just after the two-minute warning in the first half. On third down from the 15-yard line, Hundley dropped back and looked to throw a short pass over the middle. Smith, who was up near the line of scrimmage pre-snap, dropped back to cover tight end Lance Kendricks, who ran a skinny post about 10 yards before cutting up the middle of the field. Smith got in front of Kendricks at the last second and intercepted the pass for a 17-yard return. Smith picked off Hundley again late in the fourth quarter. In total, three of Smith’s five interceptions this season have been against Hundley. It’s no secret why he’s ranked as the No. 1 safety by Pro Football Focus for the success he’s having in arguably his best season to date.

The Vikings recorded their first shutout since 1993, beating the Packers 16-0 at Lambeau Field on Saturday. Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports

The Vikings entered Week 16 as the No. 1 defense on third down, allowing teams to convert just 26.3 percent of the time. Minnesota held Green Bay to 4-of-15 on third down, but more impressively stunted the Packers on fourth down as they were 0-for-4.

What I didn’t like: Maybe it had something to do with the cold temperatures, but the passing game wasn’t as sharp as it has been in recent wins. Case Keenum was 14-of-25 for 139 yards and a 4-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs, but three drives stalled and resulted in field goals.

Fantasy fallout: Diggs now has seven touchdown catches, the most by a Vikings receiver since Sidney Rice in 2009. Latavius Murray totaled 69 yards rushing on 21 carries, and Jerick McKinnon picked up 42 yards rushing. Kai Forbath booted field goals from distances of 49, 20 and 27 yards.

Injuries galore: Minnesota’s starting offensive line was intact for the first time since beating the Bears on Oct. 9. It was short lived, however, when left guard Nick Easton went down because of a right ankle injury at the end of the first quarter. Including Easton, three Vikings players were not able to return to the game after sustaining injuries Saturday night. Defensive tackle Shamar Stephen had to be carted off to the locker room when he injured his ankle late in the second quarter. Stephen was injured at some point on a play when Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson caught a 25-yard pass, which was subsequently overturned when Minnesota challenged the catch. A late substitution caused the Vikings to be penalized for having 12 men on the field as an injured Stephen couldn’t get off the field in time. Long snapper Kevin McDermott injured his shoulder with 27 seconds left in the first half and was ruled out shortly after the start of the third quarter.

What’s next: The Vikings took care of business on their end. Now they’ll wait for the outcome of the Panthers-Buccaneers game on Christmas Eve to see whether they’ve clinched a first-round bye. Minnesota needed to beat Green Bay and have Carolina lose or tie against Tampa Bay to secure another portion of their postseason fate in Week 16. The Panthers are 6-1 since Oct. 29 and are a 73.6 percent favorite to win Sunday, according to ESPN’s FPI. In its past seven games, Carolina is averaging 174.1 yards rushing per game as opposed to 97.3 yards on the ground in the first seven games.

NFL

Wyoming QB Allen says he'll enter NFL draft

Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen announced on Friday his intention to forgo his final season of eligibility and enter the 2018 NFL draft.

Allen, a junior considered one of this year’s top quarterback prospects, made the announcement shortly after the Cowboys’ 37-14 win over Central Michigan in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise.

With Denver Broncos president of football operations John Elway in attendance, Allen finished 11-of-19 for 154 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions.

Allen is rated the No. 3 draft-eligible quarterback by ESPN draft insiders Mel Kiper and Todd McShay; Kiper ranks him the No. 11 overall prospect, and McShay ranks him No. 15. McShay has Allen going to the Broncos at No. 5 in his latest mock draft.

UCLA’s Josh Rosen and USC’s Sam Darnold are currently ranked ahead of Allen by ESPN’s Kiper and McShay.

Allen’s decision to play Friday went against the current trend of top prospects skipping bowl games to begin preparing for the draft. He said he felt like he “owed” it to head coach Craig Bohl and quarterbacks coach Brent Vigen to play.

“Coming all the way from one scholarship offer, you know, Coach Bohl and Coach Vigen, they believed in me when I came out of junior college,” Allen said. “I felt like I owed them at least one more game here. Football’s a part of me. If I’m not playing, then I’m not me. So I’ve gotta be on the field at all the times, because I love this team, I love this game and I love the Cowboys.”

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Bohl was also quick to praise Allen for playing in the bowl game.

“In today’s world where players are making all kinds of decisions about bowl games, Josh chose to play, and I applaud him for that,” Bohl said. “If there’s any NFL team looking for a player out there, you’re never going to find a bigger competitor and a better leader than him.”

After throwing for 3,203 yards with 28 touchdowns and 15 interceptions as a sophomore, Allen endured a very up-and-down junior campaign. He finished the year with just 1,812 yards and threw 16 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. A year removed from averaging 228.8 yards per game and 8.6 yards per attempt, Allen dipped to just 164.7 yards per game and 6.7 yards per attempt. He was also held under 100 yards passing in three games this season.

Allen’s production also dipped because he missed the final two games of the regular season after suffering a shoulder injury at Air Force on Nov. 11.

However, Allen returned to the field Friday to display one of his most impressive performances of the season. He got off to a hot start, passing for 104 yards and three touchdowns in the first quarter. Allen entered the day with just one total first-quarter touchdown on the season.

With Wyoming’s defense keeping Central Michigan out of arm’s reach in the second half, Allen wasn’t asked to throw the ball much in the final two quarters. Friday marked the ninth time Allen has thrown for at least three touchdowns in a game during his Wyoming career.

NFL

Vikes' Barr expecting worst from Packers fans

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — For the past 10 weeks, Minnesota Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr has been reminded of his hit that resulted in a broken collarbone for Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Twitter posts are filled with statements of him being a dirty player, with some taking it as far as to wish him bodily harm. The linebacker shared one such sentiment on Snapchat, posting a photo of a letter sent to him in the mail from someone hoping “you get your neck snapped.”

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Rodgers suffered a fractured clavicle in his throwing shoulder on the Packers’ second series against the Vikings on Oct. 15 at U.S. Bank Stadium. As Rodgers rolled to his right, he was brought to the ground by Barr — a legal tackle — as his pass went incomplete.

Ten weeks after the incident, the hateful messages haven’t stopped.

“It is what it is,” Barr said. “What are you doing to do? I can’t control that. I have to go about my business the same way I’ve been doing for the last — what’s it, Week 16? Same old story.”

On Saturday night, Barr knows the type of reception he’ll receive at Lambeau Field when the Vikings face the Packers on their home turf.

“I’m sure they’ll all be fired up,” Barr said. “So will we.”

Anthony Barr’s hit on Aaron Rodgers on Oct. 15 resulted in a broken collarbone for the Packers’ star quarterback. Rodgers returned from the injury last week as Green Bay was eliminated from playoff contention. Adam Bettcher/Getty Images

He expects to be a target from a Packers fan base that blames him for dismantling the team’s season. Tuning out that noise, he says, won’t be an issue.

“I don’t think it’ll be too much of a factor,” Barr said, “I’m pretty good at tuning that stuff out.”

Asked about what they might face from the Green Bay crowd Saturday, some of Barr’s teammates expect the retribution to be between fans and not spill onto the field.

“From the years that I’ve been here, there hasn’t been this much hate [in the rivalry], should I say, but it shouldn’t become anything as far as physical,” receiver Stefon Diggs said. “I hope not. I hope there’s still some class there. It’s really unfortunate what happened. Nobody wants that for anybody, but it was, like, how many weeks ago?

“Hopefully they’ve moved past it. [Rodgers] came back. Their season didn’t go probably the way they wanted it to because they didn’t have him. But at the end of the day, we all still play football, we’re all grown men. Hopefully it doesn’t become any type of thing where somebody has to worry about their safety because this is grown men you’re talking about. I hope they don’t try to hurt anybody.”

Rodgers returned for last week’s game against Carolina but, with the Packers having been eliminated from playoff contention, was put on injured reserve Tuesday.

Given that his hit was deemed legal by referees and Barr did not incur a subsequent fine, the level of vitriol that has been spewed at Barr is surprising to everyone but the linebacker.

“No, not really,” Barr said. “It’s Aaron Rodgers. It’s one of the faces of the NFL. It’s going to happen.”

Barr said he hasn’t heard from any Green Bay players who wanted to make amends and move past the incident. While he expects a physical game against their NFC North rival, it’s no different than what he says he’d anticipate any other week.

The Vikings are two wins from a first-round bye in the playoffs. Getting out of Green Bay with a victory helps the Vikings’ chances of achieving that goal, the only thing with which Barr says he’s concerned.

“I think you’re supposed to play to the whistle regardless of who you’re playing,” Barr said. “I don’t know. I’m going to play my game.

“We’re playing for seeding. We have big things to play for right now. Division games are always important. Road games are always important. My focus, our focus, is winning the game. Doesn’t matter who the opponent is. We’re going to go in there and try and play to win.”

NFL

Giants talk GM job with Gettleman; Riddick next

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Former Carolina Panthers executive Dave Gettleman was the second candidate to interview for the vacant New York Giants general manager job.

Gettleman has ties to the Giants, where he spent 15 years in their personnel department before joining the Panthers as general manager.

He becomes the second candidate to officially interview for the position, which was left vacant when the Giants fired Jerry Reese and coach Ben McAdoo two weeks ago.

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Current Giants vice president of player evaluation Marc Ross also interviewed for the job earlier this week.

The Giants (2-12) will interview ESPN analyst Louis Riddick for the job Thursday, according to ESPN and multiple reports. Interim general manager Kevin Abrams also is expected to talk with the team about the position in the coming days.

Gettleman, 66, met Wednesday with co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch and former general manager Ernie Accorsi, who is serving as a consultant in the search. Gettleman worked under Accorsi and the two are known to have a close relationship.

Accorsi also was a consultant in the Panthers’ general manager search in 2013.

Gettleman is considered a favorite to land the GM job, according to a source within the Giants organization.

The longtime NFL executive does have a track record of success. With Gettleman serving as general manager, the Panthers went 40-23-1 from 2013 to 2016 — winning three consecutive NFC South titles and reaching the Super Bowl in 2015 after finishing with an NFL-best 15-1 record.

Gettleman was surprisingly fired earlier this year by the Panthers, partly for his hard-line approach in contract negotiations.

The Giants have tough decisions on the horizon after a woeful season that saw just about everything go wrong. Quarterback Eli Manning was benched during the season and his future has been a topic of conversation. Star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is also in search of a new contract and coming off a broken ankle.

There likely wasn’t a need for any introductions when Gettleman met with the Giants’ brass Wednesday.

Gettleman originally joined the Giants in 1998, when Accorsi was in his first year as general manager. He worked in pro personnel and was promoted to pro personnel director the following year. He stayed in that position for 12 seasons before serving as senior pro personnel analyst in his final season with the team in 2012.

Gettleman began his career in 1986 with the Buffalo Bills. He has also worked for the Broncos and Giants, and he has been a part of seven Super Bowl teams, including three winners.

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