Though Minnesota isn’t technically eliminated — not yet — the chances of making the playoffs are now minuscule at best.

The home crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium had been pregaming for hours on New Year’s Eve and was ready to erupt in the minutes leading up to kickoff.

Then out walked injured quarterback Kirk Cousins. He went shirtless for the occasion, sounding the customary Gjallarhorn, then firing up the fan base with a Skol chant for the ages.

That proved to be the lone highlight of the night as the Vikings suffered an embarrassing 33-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers that effectively ended their season. Though the Vikings aren’t technically eliminated — not yet — the chances of making the playoffs are now minuscule at best.

Not only would the Vikings need to beat the Detroit Lions next week, they would also need some help from a couple of teams ahead of them in the standings. It’s hard to see any of that happening based on the way the Vikings played against the Packers in prime time.

After deciding to start rookie quarterback Jaren Hall, the Vikings turned back to veteran quarterback Nick Mullens midway through the game because things were going so poorly. On the other end, the Packers got an outstanding performance from quarterback Jordan Love, who finished 24 for 33 passing for 256 yards and three touchdowns.

It was an onslaught from the start, with the Vikings looking overmatched in every facet.

After the Packers got a field goal from Anders Carlson to make it 3-0, they intercepted Hall on the next possession to get the ball back. A couple of plays later, the Packers stretched their lead to 10-0 when Love found rookie receiver Jayden Reed with a strike over the middle for a touchdown.

That was a sign of things to come for the Vikings. They struggled mightily on offense with Hall leading the charge and couldn’t stop a nosebleed on defense. Not exactly a recipe for success.

Though the Vikings got a field goal from Greg Jospeh to cut the deficit to 10-3, that was as close as they got to anything resembling a comeback.

In response, the Packers went on a 10-play, 75-yard drive, imposing their will in every facet before Love made it 17-3 on a scramble near the goal line.

Instead of playing it safe, the Vikings opted to be aggressive, which the Packers immediately took advantage of by sacking Hall and forcing a fumble in the process. A few plays later, the Packers increased their lead even more with Hall finding Reed once again to make it 23-3 at halftime.

That deficit was enough to get Hall benched in favor of Mullens coming out of the locker room. Naturally, Mullens started slinging it right away, finding star receiver Justin Jefferson for a 12-yard gain on his first pass attempt. It looked like the Vikings might have something going until they stalled out in the red zone.

After the Packers got another touchdown to make it 30-3, the Vikings managed to cut the deficit to 30-10 when Mullens found tight end Johnny Mundt for a touchdown. The damage was already done, however, the Packers added a field goal to finalize the score at 33-10.