GREEN BAY, Wis. -- This is how you play with your two-time NFL MVP quarterback’s left knee swathed in a brace:
A masterful plan and play-calling by coach Mike McCarthy.
A special-teams play like nothing from the last six years.
And oh yeah, that gimpy quarterback did enough Aaron Rodgers things.
This is how you fail to win despite it all:
For the second straight week, an untimely roughing-the-passer call against Clay Matthews put the Packers’ defense in a jam. His penalized late hit on Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins on Minnesota’s final drive of regulation wiped out rookie Jaire Alexander’s interception and allowed an eight-point touchdown drive to tie the game with 31 seconds left.