Green Bay Packers: “It’s on us” after 12 penalties in loss to Minnesota Vikings

Twelve flags for 98 yards. Five of them gave the Minnesota Vikings a first down. The Green Bay Packers were penalized four times as often as Minnesota at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday.

Minnesota was flagged three times for 15 yards in a 39-22 win.

Green Bay led 22-10 in the third quarter and outgained the Vikings 419-239 for the game.

Matt LaFleur told the team not to put it in the officials' hands

LaFleur got a question about three straight third-down penalties on one Minnesota drive.

"Yeah, it is," he said. "I mean, obviously, it had an effect because they were able to go down the score, and then we get the pick in the end zone. We get called for, was it DPI or holding? I don't know. I thought a lot of times that, like, you know, those plays happened down there, but they called it. So my point to the team is you can't put it in the hands of the officials."

Earlier in the same availability he had already gotten there: "Far too many penalties tonight."

Tucker Kraft and Christian Watson landed in the same place

Kraft, a captain for the first time Sunday, put the fourth quarter on Green Bay and nowhere else.

"Yeah, it's just a combination of mental errors and penalties," the tight end said. "I mean, in penalties, we're in control of our own actions. It's just we've got to clean that up. That's the only way we're going to grow as a program and be able to beat good teams."

Christian Watson, who scored both Packers touchdowns, was asked how much the penalties mattered.

"I mean, it was huge," Watson said. "I mean, we can't put stuff like that in the ref's hands. We've got to find a way to be disciplined and play sound football and avoid getting those things because I mean as much as you know anyone would want to argue each you know either way you know we put it in their hands I mean it's on us."

Safety Evan Williams framed it as a September problem that does not have to stay one.

"You see it a lot more early in the season," Williams said. "You know, just you see the impact of, you know, playing discipline versus not playing discipline and how that can change a game, you know, flip a game on its head."

Williams kept going, into the part that showed up in the fourth quarter.

"It's just, you know, doing the little things right, you know, just having the mental fortitude late in the game when you're tired, when it's late in drives to find a way to get off the field and do exactly what you're supposed to do," he said. "I feel like we put ourselves in a good spot, but at the end of the day, I said it before, but can't leave it up to the refs to make those type of calls. Just move forward. That's all you can do."

Matt LaFleur says the negative plays opened the floodgates

"When we got behind the sticks, if we had a negative play, a negative run, it just opens up the floodgates, and then it's a guessing game," LaFleur said. "Are they bringing it? Are they bluffing you? But that's the game they want to play."

Kraft said the same thing from the huddle's side of it. "And when we're constantly behind the sticks like that, that's where that defense thrives," he said. "And they took it to us."

Minnesota scored 22 points in the fourth quarter, three touchdowns inside a span of 2 minutes and 39 seconds. Green Bay was stopped twice on fourth down, lost a fumble and threw an interception.

Green Bay plays at the New York Jets on Sunday at noon CT.

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