Chris Lempesis is back in the basement Packer room in Milwaukee to break down what can only be described as… a football-shaped shrug. If you sat through the entire 2 hours and 45 minutes of Green Bay’s 16–3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium, give yourself a gold star, a warm blanket, and possibly a small tax credit. Because “meaningless regular season finale” doesn’t even begin to cover what this was. This was a glorified preseason game with Clayton Tune, a bunch of backups, an announcing crew that felt like CBS’s Z-team, and a vibe so sleepy that someone on BlueSky claimed even Larry McCarren sounded disinterested — and folks, if you’ve lost Larry, what hope is there for the rest of us? The Packers sat damn near every key player, prioritizing rest over rust to avoid a Week 18 repeat of last year’s nightmare (Christian Watson ACL, we remember). And hey — mostly mission accomplished… except for the part where Javon Bullard somehow stayed in long enough to tweak his knee (why?) and Bo Melton also left with a knee injury. Otherwise, the main takeaway was pretty simple: Matt LaFleur coached this thing like, “let’s just get this over with and get the hell out of here.” Lemps hits the handful of things actually worth discussing from the “Clayton Tune Game,” including a legit bright spot: a trio of defensive ends Bretton Cox Jr., Baron Sorrell, and Colin Oliver (Oliver’s NFL debut) who combined for 2 sacks, 3 tackles for loss, 6 QB hits, a forced fumble, and a recovery — and who played with more juice in a meaningless game than Green Bay showed defensively against Baltimore. Sorrell, especially, gets the full Lemps stamp: 110 miles per hour every snap, and possibly a real answer for the future with Rashan Gary’s status suddenly very much on the table and Kingsley Enagbare headed toward free agency. Offensively, Lemps highlights Chris Brooks running hard and looking like a “winning player,” and the bizarre roller coaster of Emmanuel Wilson, who somehow went 7 carries for -14 in the first half — including a run so disastrous it became one of the biggest RB losses since 2007 — then rebounded in the second half with 11 carries for 58 yards. Also: Daniel Whelan punted the hell out of the ball, because yes, the Packers absolutely got their full quota of preseason vibes… right down to special teams being the most stable thing in the building. But if you’re looking for negatives, Lemps has you covered: the backup pass protection was so brutal he spent part of the afternoon wondering if Clayton Tune was going to leave the stadium in a full-body cast, and he’s not exactly thrilled with what he saw from Jordan Morgan at left tackle. And no, Tune is not your “future Malik Willis replacement.” He’s break-glass-in-case-of-emergency — and this was definitely that. Then comes the most suspicious moment of the day: LaFleur calling timeout with one second left just to kick a short field goal… in a game where the spread was Vikings -13.5 and that kick helped the Packers cover. Lemps isn’t saying anything. He’s just saying it was… odd. Peculiar, even. From there, the show pivots to what actually matters now: the playoffs — and the most unhinged, beautiful outcome possible: Packers–Bears, Part 3.The trilogy.Saturday night.7 p.m. Lambeau time.Prime Video.Lemps sets the stage for the Wild Card matchup, why it’s the premier game of the weekend regardless of conference, why the rivalry is real (especially if you live in Wisconsin), and why it’s time for the 2025 Bears’ absurd run of bounces to finally run out. Because yes, the Bears are good… but also: enough. Finally, Lemps opens the mailbag for a sampling of your reactions — including full-on fan apathy, first-half offensive stats that don’t seem mathematically possible (0.6 yards per play), and frustration with the team’s refusal to use Matthew Golden creatively even in a game tailor-made to boost his confidence. If Tune and Golden have history, why not spam Golden touches? Why not chase that first pro TD? Why are we throwing to fourth-string tight ends instead? Because the game plan was the same as the vibe: runs up the gut, punts, and get the hell out. It’s playoff time now, baby. But the Packers are rolling into it on a four-game losing streak again, so yes — beer is necessary. All that and more on Packers Tune Out in Minneapolis, right here on LempsTalkinPack. 🎧 Listen now on PackersTalk.com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you carry the G. And yes—grab a beer first. You’ll need it. Support the show Website: Lempstalkinpack.comSubscribe/Rate/Review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify & iHeartTip jar: Venmo & PayPal links on the site (help fund the victory brews!) You can follow Chris on twitter at LempsMKE (@ItsJustChrisNow)LempsTalkinPack is a part of the Packers Talk family of podcasts, serving up five distinct podcasts to satisfy the most fervent of Packer fans. Variety is the spice of life, so subscribe to Packers Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow Packers Talk on Twitter and Facebook.
