Green Bay Packers

4 Things the Vikings Do Well

Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea (USA TODAY Sports)

NFC North rivals square off on Sunday when the Green Bay Packers head to the Twin Cities to take on the Minnesota Vikings. A Green Bay win will all but wrap up the NFC North in the middle of November. If Green Bay loses, the Vikings will cling to fleeting hopes of taking the division.

Green Bay has leaned on their defense in recent weeks. That unit will be significantly tested against a Vikings offense that has plenty of top-tier weapons to work with.

Here are four things the Vikings do well that the Packers need to keep tabs on in Sunday’s matchup.

Limiting turnovers

Minnesota is tied for first in the NFL with the fewest giveaways. Kirk Cousins has been pretty damn good this year. Cousins has 18 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Minnesota has six total giveaways, tied with the Seattle Seahawks for fewest in the league.

Conversely, the Packers feast on turnovers. They will enter Sunday’s affair having taken the ball away 16 times this year, good for sixth in the NFL.

Minnesota’s offense can be fairly criticized, whether for poor situational play calling, not feeding their top weapons enough, or an inability to close out games. But this team has done a brilliant job of protecting the rock, meaning the Packers may have to find other means of success for their defense on Sunday.

Building leads

Minnesota’s 4-5 record is a bit of a head-scratcher because they appear to be far better than that. One mind-blowing stat is that the Vikings have had a lead of at least seven points in every game this year. They are the only team in the NFL to do so this season.

Green Bay has routinely gotten off to a slow start on offense. They’ve found themselves behind the eight-ball on numerous occasions. Don’t be surprised if Minnesota jumps out to a quick lead on Sunday if these trends continue. Yes, the Packers’ defense has been phenomenal, but Minnesota has been equally as good at controlling the first quarter.

The big question that remains every week for the Vikings is whether or not they can sustain those leads.

Green Bay’s offense has been under the microscope the last couple of weeks, so they should be plenty motivated to go out and make their mark.

First-quarter scoring

Not only have the Vikings led by at least a touchdown in every game. Often, those leads have come early.

Minnesota is eighth in first-quarter scoring this year, while Green Bay is 29th in that same category. If the Vikings can jump out early and then lean on their defense, the pressure will be on the shoulders of Aaron Rodgers and their offense to come up with big chunk plays, something they haven’t been doing a whole lot of this season.

The early swings and momentum shifts will absolutely play a huge factor in this game, and a lot of the statistical evidence favors the Vikings.

They play in close games

The Vikings aren’t playing close games by design. Surely the Vikings would like to have some blowout wins sprinkled into their schedule, but this team is constantly involved in nail-biters for one reason or another.

Minnesota’s five losses have come by a combined 18 points. So far, they’ve played in three overtime games this year, going 1-2 in those contests. Their losses have been heartbreaking, and the wins haven’t come easy. Three of the four victories came down to the final possession.

It’s weird to phrase this as something Minnesota does well because it’s not their intention, but my goodness, is it ever true.

If things go according to script, the game will go as follows: Minnesota scores a first-quarter touchdown to jump out to an early lead. Green Bay’s defense then buckles down as the offense tries to figure it out. A see-saw battle ensues that sees the Packers take a lead into halftime. All hell breaks loose in the second half, and one unpredictable play after another occurs. The game comes down to the final two minutes before the curtain drops.

A blowout from either side on Sunday would be pretty surprising. Expect to do plenty of pacing around. This one will not be for the faint of heart.

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