Vikings, Packers meet for NFC North title
On Sunday night at Lambeau Field, the Minnesota Vikings will visit the Green Bay Packers, hoping to hold onto the NFC North crown. It seems odd that it is the Vikings, not the Packers, who will enter the game in the lead position, but that is exactly what has happened following two blowouts in Week 16.
Green Bay visited the Arizona Cardinals, hoping to earn a shot at not only the North title, but also a first-round BYE. Instead, the Packers were absolutely crushed on the road in front of a national audience, getting stampeded 38-8 by a team that outclassed them in every way. Green Bay turned the ball over four times and allowed nine sacks, with Aaron Rodgers looking dazed and confused throughout.
Meanwhile, the Vikings clinched their first playoff berth since the days of Leslie Frazier and Joe Webb with a crushing win against the New York Giants at TCF Bank Stadium. The Vikings were all over the men from New York the second the game began, turning Eli Manning into an interception machine while recording three interceptions and four sacks en route to a resounding 49-17 win.
With those results, both teams are at 10-5 and vying for the NFC North under the lights next weekend, in the National Football League’s final regular-season game of the year.
For both the Packers and Vikings the game is only about seeding and getting a game at home. Minnesota and Green Bay have clinched playoff spots, with Minnesota able to be either the third or sixth seed, and Green Bay either the third of fifth.
So who wins? Well, it depends on what you value most. The Packers certainly have the better quarterback with Rodgers and a wealth of experience. They are also playing at home, somewhere they rarely lose in big moments. However, Green Bay has dropped both divisional games at home, falling to the Detroit Lions at Lambeau for the first time since 1991, and the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving.
If you believe in momentum, the Vikings are the clear choice. Minnesota has been playing much better football than Green Bay has over the last two months, and has a great ground game that should be well-suited for the cold and snow of Lambeau in January. Minnesota will need a good performance out of the youngster Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback, but the Packers can be beat in the secondary.
It should be a terrific game for the North, a division that has been tightly contested throughout most of the season. Minnesota has a chance to establish itself as the new bullies in the gaggle, while Green Bay can prove that it is still king of the mountain.
Come late Sunday night, we will have our answer … and a finalized playoff picture.
