Packers vs. Vikings: Two of the Top NFC Teams Battle in Week 17
“Everybody knows we hate the Packers, and they hate us.” This quote from Vikings superstar Justin Jefferson encapsulates the energy that will be around this Week 17 clash. In a game with huge NFC playoff implications, the 11-4 Packers will go to the 13-2 Minnesota Vikings to once again play in a rivalry that has been working for decades. For the Vikings, a win gives them a shot at the one seed in the NFC, a loss would most likely make them the five-seed Wild Card in a loaded conference. For the Packers, a win would give them an outside shot at the fifth seed if the Vikings were to lose this game and their Week 18 game against the current one seed in the NFC, the Detroit Lions.
The Vikings come into this game having won nine straight, mostly due to their improved defense with coordinator Brian Flores and a much surprising possible Pro Bowl year from Sam Darnold. The Vikings have rebounded from the loss of both Kirk Cousins and rookie J.J. McCarthy last offseason and are en route to being the one seed, having a bye in the first round of the playoffs in January. If Sam Darnold and Jefferson can replicate last game’s performance of 10 catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns, they will definitely be hard to beat, but with a Packers defense that just pitched the first shutout of the season, those numbers seem unlikely. The Packers go into this game having won six in a row, dating back to November 3rd, and have a good shot at surpassing the Vikings if they were to win this game.
The two teams played previously on September 29th, a game that ended in a 31-29 thriller and a Vikings win in Green Bay. Packers quarterback Jordan Love was iffy, to say the best, in that game, as his stats of 389 passing yards and three touchdowns seemed great until the time and place of his three interceptions took place. The Packers running game is much improved from that Week Four matchup, however, as Josh Jacobs has totaled over 1,500 total yards and 14 touchdowns this year, numbers that would normally be near the top of lists if it wasn’t for Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry. The Packers will need a big game out of their running back to take the pressure off of Love after the last game where neither player had to play much of the second half. The matchup between these two playoff teams will take place this Sunday, December 29th, at 4:25 p.m. EST.
