Vikings: Least penalized team racks up penalties

Apparently, even a smart team can have a dumb day.

The Vikings went into Sunday's game as the NFL's least penalized team. They left TCF Bank Stadium 3 hours and 15 minutes later slapping their foreheads over eight penalties for a season-high 110 yards in a 30-13 loss that stopped a five-game winning streak and dropped them into a first-place tie with the Packers at 7-3.

"First-and-20 makes you so one-dimensional," said left guard Brandon Fusco, who had a holding penalty to create one of those situations. "It changes how you have to play the game. And that's just not us."

Before Sunday's game, the Vikings had league lows of 48 accepted penalties and 57 total. Sunday, they had 10 total penalties, including one that was offsetting and one that was declined.

Left tackle Matt Kalil got the flags flying on the first snap of the game when he essentially tackled his man and was called for holding on a pass play. Kalil also had a false start and another holding penalty that was negated because of a sack. So the obvious question was raised about the injured toe that kept Kalil from practicing on Wednesday and Thursday.

"The toe is all right; I don't point fingers," Kalil said. "The calls are what they are. It was just a jittery game. That's the difference between winning and losing. Making stupid mistakes."

The Vikings had three penalties accepted on the offense, three on defense and two on special teams, including the day's exclamation point when kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson was flagged 15 yards for head-butting kicker Mason Crosby. The Vikings went into the game with only three special teams penalties all season.

"Can't win playing the way we did," Zimmer said. "You can't return the kickoff back and then get a 15-yard penalty. We can't do those things and beat a good football team."

The most damaging penalty was a 50-yard pass interference on cornerback Terence Newman, the reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Week. It came on a deep ball on third-and-15 and gave the Packers the ball at the Vikings 35-yard line with 1:45 left in the first half.

But it wouldn't be the only penalty on that possession. Nose tackle Linval Joseph's roughing-the-passer penalty offset a Packers holding call on third-and-9 from the Vikings 15-yard line. One snap later, linebacker Anthony Barr was flagged for illegal contact, giving the Packers first-and-goal from the 10. They scored to take a 16-9 halftime lead.

"There were two receivers who I thought kind of ran into me first," Barr said. "I kind of braced for it and they called it on me."

Barr also jumped offsides on fourth-and-1 from the Vikings 30-yard line on Green Bay's first possession. That led to a 42-yard field goal.

Those last five words could describe the theme coming from the losing locker room Sunday.