Let the primetime streak begin as the Green Bay Packers make their first appearance in the spotlight in a bout with the division-rival Minnesota Vikings.
The Packers currently own sole possession of first place in the NFC North division and the Vikings are trying to pick themselves up from the bottom of the league.
It also marks the first time that Vikings’ wide receiver Greg Jennings will compete against his former team.
Minnesota Vikings (1-5) Analysis: Minnesota opened the season throwing haymakers; they lost their first three games by a combined 14 points, two of the losses occurring very late in the fourth quarter. Since then, the Vikings squeaked out a victory against the Steelers in London and have lost the next two by a combined 41 points.
The Vikings would be a lot better off if they could find some decent quarterback play. Josh Freeman’s debut on Monday Night Football was one of the worst performances from any player on the season. If he’s trying to find teams to pay him a contract next year, showing up and throwing 33 incompletions on national television won’t do him any favors. The sad part about the Vikings’ quarterback situation is that they have Adrian Peterson in the backfield. He draws so much attention from opposing defenses that it shouldn’t look this hard.
Minnesota’s defense is a fairly solid unit who gets killed by their ineffective offense. Despite losing to the lowly Giants, the Vikings were great at pressuring Eli Manning and holding the Giants makeshift run-game to two yards per carry. It’s going to be a long day for the Vikings if their offense can’t stay on the field because Aaron Rodgers finds ways to beat almost any defense.
Green Bay Packers (4-2) Analysis: After dropping two of their first three the Packers have persevered through some game-changing injuries and won three straight contests. Green Bay is flying up people’s power rankings and starting to stand out as one of the NFC’s elite teams.
This isn’t the same high-flying offense that Packers fans have come accustomed to. Instead, Green Bay has developed an efficient ground game (6th in the league at 134.7 rushing ypg) all while throwing the ball at a successful rate (fourth in the league at exactly 300 passing yards per game). The loss of Jermichael Finley to a scary injury – bruised spinal cord – will surely have an effect because he was such a nightmare match-up for opposing linebackers and defensive backs. Luckily for the Packers, tight end is a position they have great depth at.
For the first time in a long time, Green Bay’s defense and special teams have carried the team through the first half of the season. Mason Crosby has been kicking field goals like crazy (13 field goals over past four games). Moreover, the Packers are excellent against the run while giving up only 79 yards per game which ranks third in the league. It’s going to be a challenge for AP to run through Green Bay’s stout defensive line, even though he did run for 509 yards in three games against them last year.
Brutally Honest Prediction: Packers 27 Vikings 14
Green Bay is 20-6 all-time in Sunday Night contests and it really shouldn’t change against a Vikings team who has no positive outlook on the offensive side of the ball. The Packers will struggle to adjust to the absence of both Finley and Cobb, but Lacy should get rolling in the run-game. Peterson will eclipse 100 yards, but not by much as the Vikings struggle to get trips in the red-zone.
TV Coverage: NBC 7:30 PM CT Sunday Night Football; Al Michaels (play-by-play), Chris Collinsworth (color analyst) and Michele Tafoya (sidelines)
Betting Lines: Green Bay favored by 9.5 points and over/under at 47 points
2013 Record straight up: 5-1
2013 Record against the spread: 4-2
2013 Record in over/under: 4-2
Week 7 Pick Redux: Predicted GB 27 CLE 10 (actually GB 31 CLE 13); Hit the trifecta with straight up, spread (-10) and over/under (45). Second week in a row!
Will the Packers keep rolling or is it possible they hit a wall? Let me know by commenting below.
Nick Grays is a senior writer at the Sports Bank where he covers the Wisconsin Badgers and Green Bay Packers. He also enjoys sharing Fantasy Advice and pretends to be a Golf expert from time-to-time. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here or visit his blog Nick Knows Best. If social media is not your thing, shoot him an email at grays@uwalumni.com.
*Pictures obtained from jerseyal.com and huffingtonpost.com