On Saturday night the Minnesota Vikings (11-3) look for their twelfth win when they face the Green Bay Packers (7-7) in the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field.
When these teams met in week six linebacker Anthony Barr broke the collarbone of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and he changed the course of the Packers season, the division and most likely the entire conference.
Now Barr prepares to face his replacement, Brett Hundley after Rodgers was put on injured reserve once the Packers were eliminated from the playoffs. Without their starting QB, the Packers look forward to spoiling the Vikings’ plans as they play for nothing more than pride against a division rival.
With the division title already secured Minnesota looks to earn one of the top two seeds in the NFC and lock up a bye in the postseason. Putting it simply this will be a critical game in Minnesota if they want any type of shot at the number one seed which right now is in the hands of the 12-2 Philadelphia Eagles.
The Vikings will look to Case Keenum to lead them to victory. Minnesota’s quarterback has been a revelation this season, but it would be foolish to give him all the credit for the success of the team as there is a lot going around him that has propelled Minnesota to the second-best record in the conference.
Tight end Kyle Rudolph and wide receivers Adam Thielen and Stephon Diggs are immensely talented weapons that have found ways to be constantly open for Keenum as he scrambles behind the line of scrimmage. As a result, the Vikings QB owns the best rating when passing outside the pocket.
The Vikings running game has also exceeded expectations this season as Jerry McKinnon and Latavius Murray have been workhorses in Minnesota’s running attack to help the Vikings rank 9th in the league in rushing.
The Vikings defense has also been grabbing a lot of well-deserved attention this season as it has been phenomenal and should be able to send a message to the rest of the conference by making this game in Lambeau Field against Hundley and company a no contest.
