Vikes at Pack Preview: Vikes Playing for Postseason, Packers for the Offseason
Joe Oberle
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So, it has come down to this: the Vikings travel to Lambeau Field in late December to face the Green Bay Packers and the game is essentially meaningless . . . for the Packers. The Vikings sewed up the NFC North Division last week against Cincinnati, the Packers are out of playoff contention and the whole Aaron Rodgers-Anthony Barr kerfuffle is basically moot, since the Packers put Rodgers on the injured reserve for the rest of the season. So, what is there to play for this Saturday night? Actually, for the Vikings, there is plenty.
The Packers don’t have a lot to play for (save for pride and jobs) now that they are out of the playoffs, and the Green Bay brass put an exclamation point on that thought when they put Rodgers on ice. And tight end Kyle Rudolph was not surprised.
“He [Rodgers] did everything he could to come back and help his team make a playoff push,” tight end Kyle Rudolph said. “And now that that’s not an option, it wouldn’t make sense to put a future hall of famer out there if he is not healthy.”
Certainly, the Vikings would like to have seen number 12 out there. That makes for a better test for them and it might have put to rest some of the bad blood between the teams after Anthony Barr knocked Rodgers out for seven games with a broken collar bone in the first quarter of the first meeting between the two teams on October 15. That is half a season ago, and should be forgotten—by the players—but a Packer fan never forgets, particularly the ones calling for Barr’s head.
“In the year’s I have been here, there hasn’t been this much hate,” wide receiver Stefon Diggs said. “It shouldn’t become anything as far as physical; I hope not. I hope there is still some class there. It’s unfortunate what happened. Nobody wants that for anybody. But this is a rivalry game. For us [players], we don’t hate anybody. There is probably more hate between fans than there is with players. We all play the game that we love and we want to win, we just want to go out there and win the game.”
And winning the game is important to the Vikings, there is plenty more at stake—they have bigger things in mind and a first-round bye chief on the list. They have to win one or two of their remaining games (at Green Bay and versus Chicago) to have a crack at the bye, and they need the Carolina Panthers to not win the NFC South Division and tie and force a tiebreaker with Minnesota. The Vikings can clinch a bye this weekend with a win and a Panthers loss or tie—or—a Vikings tie and a Panthers loss and a New Orleans Saints loss or tie and a Los Angeles Rams loss or tie. (The Vikings have a tie breaker with the Saints and Rams but not with the Panthers.)
The Vikings also have the slimmest of chances to attain home field advantage throughout the playoffs (including the Super Bowl), if they win out and the Philadelphia Eagles lose out (the 12-2 Eagles player both the Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys at home). But nothing happens for the Vikings if they lose in Lambeau, so we can be sure the players are all concentrating on that.
It’s extremely important,” Rudolph said regarding getting one of the top two playoff seeds in the NFC. “Our first goal was to win the NFC North and clinch our berth in the playoffs and now it’s about seeding.”
The Packers will be without Rodgers, which is a huge blow to their offense (in fact, Davante Adams is in the concussion protocol and is likely doubtful for Saturday night), but the cupboard isn’t bare, as backup Brett Hundley has been playing well since he took over for Rodgers after he was scraped up from the U.S. Bank Stadium turf in October.
“You can tell [Hundley’s] watched Rodgers for some years, and he’s got a lot of the same mannerisms and a lot of things,” Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said. “They’ve changed a little bit on some [things in the offense]. There’s a few different runs here and there and a few different throws. But, there’s really not a lot, there’s really not a lot.”
But there might be some changes in what Hundley sees when he lines up against the Vikings defense on Saturday. Zimmer always like throw some new wrinkles into the game plan, and certainly the Vikings defense has improved since the sixth week of the season. Zimmer’s defense is now the number two defense in the league in several categories: yards allowed per game (283.9), rushing yards allowed per game (85.3) and points allowed per game (17.3). Hundley, who has filled in admirably, should see a Vikings defense that could give him some trouble.
On the other side of the ball, the Vikings offense is certainly more settled than the early part of the season and under quarterback Case Keenum it has been quite proficient since last these two teams met (ranked eighth in yards, 10th in passing yards and 10th in points per game). In the first game, running Jerick McKinnon scored both touchdowns (one rushing and the other receiving), but he only has one score since then. Latavius Murray has stepped in and picked up the load, scoring six times since the Packers game. The tandem running back method has worked well for the offense, which as a whole, has rushed for an average of 121.3 yards per game—currently ranked ninth in the NFL.
So much of that is due to the offensive line, which has been the biggest improvement on the team this season. Though a little dinged up of late (they had one of five players in their regular starting position by the end of the Panthers game), the line is hopeful to see Riley Reiff return from an ankle injury and have the entire complement on Sunday. (Reiff returned to practice on Wednesday and was listed as having limited participation.)
Although, if I were Reiff, I might pull up a little lame by the end of the week, as the forecast for Green Bay is less than ideal (a high of 20 and a low of two degrees with 10 MPH winds). But the Vikings claim they are no longer hot house flowers and will be ready for it (they were practicing outdoors in 20-degree weather at Winter Park on Wednesday). Reiff, to be sure, likely wants to get back on the field.
It definitely could be chilly there,” Rudolph said. “But we’re very familiar with playing there at night and in the cold. It’s not like we’re coming from Florida or LA so, we’ll be prepared for it.”
Cold, wind, snow, dark of night (the Vikings could seem it all), the team has to deliver a win the fans of Minnesota—not just because of a desire for better playoff seeding, but for what it means between these two fan bases every time the teams line up in one of the best and bitterest rivalries in the league. Leave it to a native Minnesotan to know just what it will be like on Saturday night in Lambeau.
“If I know the Packer fans, they really don’t care what the records are—we’re the Minnesota Vikings, and they don’t like us very much,” said wideout Adam Thielen, who was selected to his first Pro Bowl this week. “I expect it to be just as crazy as if it were a game for them to get into the playoffs, or a playoff game. They’re really smart football fans and I think they bring it every time.”
It should be fun, as the Vikings get it done.
Minnesota—27, Green Bay—10