Bigby’s 4 picks, 3 TD’s put away Vikings at Lambeau

Facing another home loss, the Packers knew they had to turn up the heat in the 4th. Atari Bigby turned it up to a whole new level.

Atari Bigby tied the single game record for INT’s in a game with 4, returning 3 for TD’s as the Packers stole a win in the 4th quarter by a score of 42 -20 over the NFC North rival Vikings. To go along with Bigby’s big day, Aaron Rodgers rebounded from shoddy performances to complete 18 of 27 passes for 262 yards, 2 TD’s and just 1 INT. The Packers came into the 4th quarter down by a score of 20 to 8. The Vikings had held the Green Bay offense in check for most of the game and were looking to lock up the game in the 4th. That’s when Rodgers stepped up to the plate, leading Green Bay on a march into Vikings territory. There, Rodgers would find Donald Driver on a short route across the middle for a 2 yard strike. The Packers would miss the 2 point conversion. But after a Viking punt on their ensuing possession, Rodgers would find Greg Jennings on a 68 yard play action strike to put the Packers ahead 21-20. With 4 and a half minutes remaining, Atari Bigby entered into beast mode.

Bigby picked off an errant Tarvaris Jackson throw intended for TE Jim Kleinsasser, and darted downfield, breaking several tackles before finding the end zone for his first TD of the night. But he wasn’t done just yet. On the next Viking possession, Bigby intended to storm down the middle on a SS Blitz, but instead found the ball coming his way down the middle. Using quick instincts, Bigby picked off the ball yet again and raced past the Viking offensive lineman for his second TD of the day. But this still was not enough of a game for the man named Atari. On the next Minnesota possession, he would once again take advantage of a poor throw by Tarvaris Jackson and raced his 3rd INT of the game down a wide open sideline for the score. In the closing seconds, he would add a meaningless pick in the endzone for his 4th of the game, tying a single game record held by Deltha O’ Neal of the Cincinnati Bengals. Bigby attributes his inspired play to watching the offense make some inspired plays of their own minutes before “Once we took that one point lead at the start of the 3rd, we came together as a defense and vowed not to let our offense down. We didn’t want their work to be in vain, and we definitely didn’t want to let the Vikings come into our house and push us around. So, I decided to push back. The ball and I just had a great relationship out there today.”

The Vikings had been in control of the game until the 4th. Adrian Peterson was finding holes through rushing and receiving and was proving to be the X factor for 3 quarters. Tarvaris Jackson’s inaccuracy proved to be the downfall for the Vikings. He finished 17 for 31 with 2 TD’s and 4 picks. The Viking defense had been holding the Packers in check for most of the game. Good pressure was applied by Kevin Williams and Jared Allen, who had kept Aaron Rodgers from making good passes to start the game. The game simply boiled down to poor throws made by Jackson.

The Packers will take on the Lions for the 2nd time this season in Detroit next week, while the Vikings will take their bye week next week and have a chance to prepare for their next game in 2 weeks against the Lions. We wish luck to Curtgreen24 and the Vikings, and are looking forward to our second matchup Week 7 in Minnesota!