Get Your Cheese Heads Ready, Vikings Fans
Josh Frey
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In a usual week, the fans of the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings are mortal enemies. Regardless of who they play, Packers fans root against the Vikings, and Vikings fans root against the Packers. Week 12 is a little bit different, though. On Sunday night, Vikings fans need to get their cheese heads ready to go because this week, we’re all Packers fans.
You see, the Green Bay Packers travel to Philadelphia for a Sunday Night Football matchup with the Eagles. Currently, the 9-1 Eagles hold the No. 1 seed in the NFC essentially by 1.5 games because of their Week 2 victory over the 9-2 Vikings.
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Minnesota needs Philadelphia to lose at least two more games in order to claim the top seed in the NFC, and there doesn’t appear to be too many more opportunities for that to happen. Here are the remaining seven games on the Eagles schedule in 2022:
- Week 12 vs. Green Bay
- Week 13 vs. Tennessee Titans
- Week 14 @ New York Giants
- Week 15 @ Chicago Bears
- Week 16 @ Dallas Cowboys
- Week 17 vs. New Orleans Saints
- Week 18 vs. New York Giants
With the Giants (7-4) seeming to come back down to earth after losing three of their last four games, it doesn’t appear that they should pose too much of a threat to the Eagles. Because of that, there are three clear possibilities from which Philadelphia losses could come:
- Week 12 vs. Green Bay
- Week 13 vs. Tennessee
- Week 16 @ Dallas
The Vikings desperately need losses in all three of these games. Keeping in mind that the Vikings have all three divisional road games left on their schedule, it seems likely that they will take another loss at some point this year. Last season, Minnesota went 1-2 in road divisional games, only finding victory in Chicago, so banking on a 15-2 season from the Vikings seems premature.
Of course, their loss in Green Bay came with Sean Mannion as their QB. However, it’s hard to believe that Kirk Cousins would make up a 27-point difference in that game.
It shouldn’t be a concern for the Vikings in terms of NFC North standings if the Packers win this game, either. Minnesota currently has a magic number of two, so two more wins this year secure that division title.
At this point, Eagles losses are far more important than Packers losses. Because of that, Vikings fans need to do their civic duty tonight by rooting for their hated rivals on Sunday Night Football.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.