Much is at stake on Sunday night when the Minnesota Vikings head to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers. Temperatures will be dropping into single digits. Green Bay dreams of keeping a grasp on the top seed in the NFC, while the Vikings hope to stay alive in the wild card hunt. A win would at least give them a pulse.
Here are four things the Vikings do well that the Packers need to be ready for.
Running with Dalvin Cook
Dalvin Cook was activated from the COVID/Reserve list on Wednesday and is in line for a full workload against the Packers. He’s been a terror for Green Bay in his career.
Minnesota was 1-5 when they crawled into Lambeau Field last November. Cook ran wild, going for 163 yards and four touchdowns. In their lone matchup against Green Bay this year, Cook combined for over 100 yards and also had a touchdown. He’s primed for another big night against a defense that is struggling.
Green Bay’s defense has taken a downturn since their hot start early in the year. Lately, they can’t stop a nosebleed.
Fresh off a game where Nick Chubb ran all over them, this unit lacks confidence in the trenches. Minnesota fares well when they feed Cook, and they will do plenty of that on Sunday night.
Never go away
One of the more startling stats this year is that the Vikings have played 15 games, and 14 of them have been decided by one possession. This team always plays in games that come down to the wire for better or worse.
Minnesota has played in three overtime games and has had two other contests decided on the final play of the game (both against the Detroit Lions). On the flip side, the Packers can’t seem to close a game with any zest.
Two weeks in a row and three out of the last four games, the Packers have had opportunities to bury their opponents but failed to capitalize. If the trends hold on Sunday night, this game will come down to the last few possessions in the fourth quarter.
Score early
Minnesota is sixth in the NFL in first-quarter points, averaging 5.7 on the season. They’ve scored early and often for much of the year and have had at least a one-touchdown lead in every game but two.
Conversely, the Packers have been miserable out of the gate. Green Bay is 26th in first-quarter points per game, averaging 2.7.
What’s the best way to settle in when you’re a road underdog playing in the Frozen Tundra? Start fast.
On paper, this is a huge advantage for the Vikings. The problem they have had is sustaining leads. But if they can yet again start fast and pile up some early points, all the pressure will fall on Green Bay.
The Packers have said things about their slow starts all year, calling it a constant learning experience and noting that they need to start faster. It has yet to change with only two games left in the regular season, and it might just be who they are at this point.
A quick start will be critical for the Vikings in a game that few expect them to win. The real challenge will be hanging on to the lead if they grab one early on.
Capitalize in the red zone
The Vikings offense is fifth in the league in converting red zone opportunities into touchdowns. They’ve done so on 62% of their red-zone looks this season.
What may make them the most effective once they get inside the 20 is that they don’t turn it over much, and they have plenty of weapons that a defense must keep tabs on.
Even without Adam Thielen, who underwent season-ending ankle surgery, Green Bay will have its hands full with Justin Jefferson and Cook once the Vikings enter the red zone. Cousins has been efficient in this area of the field while Jefferson and Cook have feasted.
Green Bay’s defense struggled mightily in the red zone in the early stages of the season, but they had a real pivot point against the Washington Football Team in Week 7. Since then, it hasn’t been all smooth sailing, but it’s been a lot better.
Minnesota needs touchdowns, not field goals, to come out on top. Aaron Rodgers has been locked in on another galaxy for five weeks, and Mike Zimmer knows field goals won’t get the job done.
