The Green Bay Packers will play host to their bitter NFC North rival in the Minnesota Vikings. They are set to square off on Sunday Night Football to cap off a loaded week 17 Sunday slate. Matt Lafleur’s team will look to eliminate their opponent from playoff contention. Currently sitting at 7-8 in the eighth seed in the NFC playoff race, a loss by Minnesota would see the group’s postseason hopes fall to just five percent.
Along with this, Green Bay will be looking to keep pace for the one seed in the conference and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Controlling their own destiny, a victory by the Packers on Sunday Night would see them lock up the top seed. This is if the Arizona Cardinals can knock off the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington earlier on in the afternoon. With no shortage of storyline surrounding this one, here are three reasons the Packers will defeat the Minnesota Vikings.
3. Controlling Their own Destiny
Green Bay is chasing the top seed in the conference for the second season in a row. They are looking to keep one game clear of the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The team currently holds the tiebreaker over Tom Brady and company due to a superior conference record. However, if the Packers and the Cowboys were to tie for the top seed, Mike Mccarthy’s group holds the tiebreaker as a result of their one loss in NFC play. Possessing the ability to lock up the top seed in Dallas were to be knocked off by Arizona, expect the Packers to be all business on Sunday Night.
Knocked off the Vikings earlier on in the year in disappointing fashion, beating them will allow the team to exact revenge while putting a damper over their post-season hopes. Furthermore, with three dome teams and one warm-weather team currently chasing them in the NFC, locking up home field will be a major advantage for Green Bay if they hope to get back to their first Super Bowl in a decade.
2. 248.5 and 400.3
Two telling stats that describe how the season has gone for Minnesota on the defensive side of the ball. In their secondary, they are without Anthony Harris after he inked a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency. This has led the group to undergo massive struggles in the back end of their defense. They have reliedheavily on veteran Patrick Peterson and Cameron Dantzler. The group has also seen free agent acquisition Mackenize Alexander struggle mightily.
Along with this, the Vikings recently chose to release Bashaud Breeland. With Dantzler unlikely to play heading into the weekend with a calf injury, the Packers should be able to have their way with the depleted secondary. Starting with star wideout Davante Adams, the 29-year-old has caught a touchdown pass seven times against Minnesota, including three games with multiple touchdown receptions.
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1. Turning to a Journeyman
On Friday, the Vikings made headlines around the NFL and placed longtime quarterback Kirk Cousins on the COVID-19 reserve list. He is out for ten days as a result of being unvaccinated. Forced to turn to a journeyman, the team activated seven-year veteran Sean Mannion from the reserve list to make the start. A third-round draft pick of the St. Louis Rams in 2015, the 29-year-old has placed sparsely over his NFL career.
Most recently starting for the Vikings in 2019, the Oregon State alumn tossed for 126 yards, and two interceptions in a game Minnesota sat their starters after clinching a playoff berth. Likely to rely heavily on the run game and star rusher Dalvin Cook in this one; if Joe Barry’s group can force Mannion into a few mistakes, look for them to capture the victory easily.
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