With a dominant 37-10 victory against the Vikings under their belts, Green Bay moved to 13-3 for the third straight season. The Packers are undoubtedly playing their best football at the best possible time. We learned a lot from this game, but here are three of the biggest takeaways!
#1: The Packers continue to exhibit impressive composure and resiliency.
Coming into this game, the pressure was on for the Packers in a myriad of ways. Battles between these two longtime division rivals are always intense and pose high stakes. That was especially true on Sunday.
After Minnesota stunned Green Bay with a 34-31 victory in November, this game offered a huge opportunity for redemption. But perhaps the biggest impetus to win on Sunday was that the Pack could officially secure the coveted #1 seed in the NFC.
Considering the Vikings’ long history of upsetting Green Bay and the Packers’ frustrating tendency to play down to their opponents’ levels and/or choke in important games, many fans felt nervous heading into this Sunday Night Football match-up.
However, even with so much riding on the outcome of this game, the Green-and-Gold rose to the challenge. They did exactly what they needed to do to get the job done, showing composure and resiliency from beginning to end.
#2: If Green Bay starts slowly on offense, don’t panic.
One of the most bizarre mysteries this season has been the Packers’ immense struggles at the beginning of their match-ups. Green Bay has scored seven or less points in the first quarter in 15 of their 16 games. Even more shocking is that the Green-and-Gold were actually held scoreless in Q1 in nine of these matches.
This trend continued on Sunday against the Vikings. Despite a few moments of offensive brilliance, the Packers didn’t exactly start off with a bang. Several promising drives stalled, and Minnesota even forced Green Bay to turn the ball over on downs early on. Thus, the Packers managed to put only three points on the board in the first quarter.
However, Green Bay’s offense heated up soon afterwards. The Pack went on to score 34 more points in a convincing 37-10 victory. The incredible connection between Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams was on full display, with Allen Lazard and A.J. Dillon also showing off their skills.
While the Packers’ sluggish offensive starts certainly aren’t ideal, history proves they aren’t cause for major panic, either. Green Bay has put up at least 24 points in 13 of their 16 games, and 30 or more in seven of those.
Evidently, as we saw against the Vikings, it just takes a while for the Packers’ offense to find their groove. But once they do, they’re hard to beat.
#3: The NFC’s road to Super Bowl LVI will run through Lambeau Field.
Everything went according to plan for the Packers on Sunday. With their win against Minnesota and the Cowboys losing to Arizona, Green Bay officially clinched the NFC’s #1 seed.
That means the Green-and-Gold will get a ‘bye’ during the first week of the playoffs. Even better, their remaining games – including a potential NFC Championship – will be played at Lambeau. Every aspect of home-field advantage, including the grueling weather and a packed stadium of diehard Packers fans, will be in their favor.
With that being said, Green Bay controls its own destiny from here on out. Go Pack Go!
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