It’s often been stated that there are few statistics that are more key to winning and losing football games than “time of possession.” That seems to be holding true for the Minnesota Vikings, particularly in light of their 43-34 loss to the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium to open the 2020 season.
According to Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Vikings set a franchise record for their lowest time of possession since the National Football League started tracking it as a statistic in 1977. The Vikings held the football for just 18:44 in Sunday’s loss, which makes the fact that they managed to score 34 points seem downright miraculous.